Brands
Global fashion and lifestyle brand “Smiley” to enter India
MUMBAI: Smiley, one of the most recognized icons in the world and an iconic global and lifestyle fashion brand, today announced its plans to enter India market through its anchor brand Smiley. The company’s plan is to set up exclusive Smiley stores which would have the complete merchandise of The Smiley Company – apparel, sportswear, shoes, bags, jewellery, school merchandise, accessories and even Smiley branded chocolates and confectionery.
Brandspoke is seeking Indian partners including distributors, manufacturers, and franchise partners to establish Smiley as the preferred fashion and lifestyle brand.
Smiley was founded in 1972 by creator Franklin Loufrani. Owner of the iconic smiley logo and emoticons, in 1997, Franklin’s son Nicolas Loufrani introduced the first emoticons which later became the universe of Smiley¬ World. Its products are sold worldwide with strong trademark and copyright protection.
Smiley has already registered its trademark in over 100 countries and active in more than 25 different industries. The Smiley brand and logo have significant exposure through licensees in sectors like clothing, home decoration, perfumery, plush, stationery, publishing, and through promotional campaigns.
Speaking on the Smiley Company’s strategy for India market, Mr. Nicolas Loufrani, CEO, Smiley said, “Smiley’s number one market in the digital world is currently India which represents almost 15% of our entire global fan base. Having started to seed our positive values online and seeing the tremendous interaction with our Indian fans we feel it is now time to extend our activities here and provide them with the Smiley products they all dearly wish to see”.
About “Smiley London” and Smiley “Happy Sports” product ranges showcased at India Fashion Forum 2014, Mumbai, India.
“Smiley London” is a daring revival of the Smiley heritage born out of the Brit¬ish electronic and house music scene, where Smiley ruled the dance floors. Smiley London revisits back in the day when it was about unity and togeth¬erness and revives the spirit of wearing your smiley with pride and keeping the beats alive.
Smiley “Happy Sports” delivers a colourful and vibrant alternative to an overtly branded sports fashion market, drawing from the original concept behind sports fashion and reminding people that sport and activity is about movement, teamwork, togetherness, enjoyment and making the most of your life. Happy Sports works with bold and bright colour ways to deliver a collection which catches the eye.
The ever expanding collection targeted at a young 18-to-35 years fashion audience is bang on trend stylish high quality tee’s, tops, hoodies, varsity jackets, baseball caps, beanies all with on trend print applications, such as metallic foils, urban camo’s and classic smiley prints.
The designs are positive and energetic which is both universal and accessible, appealing to all ages and sporting interests. Smiley ‘Happy Sports’ sells a philosophy of ‘Stay Active, Stay Happy’.
Brands
Vodafone Idea elevates Vineeth Jayendranath as VP, marketing head Mumbai
Telecom marketer takes charge of Mumbai circle with growth and brand focus
MUMBAI: Vodafone Idea Limited has promoted Vineeth Jayendranath to vice president, marketing head for the Mumbai circle, marking a key milestone in his career as the telecom operator sharpens its regional strategy.
In his new role, Jayendranath will lead marketing efforts across prepaid and postpaid segments in one of the country’s most competitive telecom markets. His mandate includes driving revenue growth, strengthening brand positioning, and deepening customer engagement, while also managing profit and loss responsibilities for the circle.
Sharing the update, Vineeth Jayendranath said, “Excited to share, I am starting my new stint as Vice President, Marketing Head for Mumbai circle at Vodafone Idea Ltd. Would like to thank everyone who has supported me in this journey.”
Jayendranath brings over 12 years of experience spanning telecom and IT, with a strong focus on customer value management and data-led marketing. Since joining Vodafone Idea, he has held multiple leadership roles, most recently serving as general manager leading customer value management and prepaid business across Gujarat, Maharashtra and Goa.
During this period, he handled large subscriber bases and multi-billion rupee revenue portfolios, while rolling out hyper-personalised campaigns and a “segment of one” strategy to improve customer retention and upgrades. He also championed a digital-first approach, pushing adoption of data services and unlimited plans through targeted, insight-driven initiatives.
Earlier, he worked with Idea Cellular Ltd in strategy and business intelligence roles, and began his career at Infosys as a systems engineer. A brief stint at Hyundai Motor India Ltd during his internship added early exposure to marketing strategy.
An alumnus of SVKM’s Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies, Jayendranath has steadily built a reputation for combining analytics with marketing execution.
His elevation comes as telecom players double down on circle-level strategies to stay competitive, and Vodafone Idea appears to be betting on data-backed marketing to keep Mumbai firmly in its corner.
