MAM
MobiKwik appoints Saurabh Srivastava as chief marketing officer
MUMBAI: MobiKwik, a mobile wallet with over 15 million users, has appointed Saurabh Srivastava as its chief marketing officer. He will be a part of MobiKwik’s core leadership team.
Srivastava, previously ixigo.com VP – marketing & product strategy, has more than 13 years of experience in consumer centric businesses. He has worked with brands like Goodyear, Maruti Suzuki, Dainik Jagran, GroupM and DDB in the past.
MobiKwik founder and CEO Bipin Preet Singh said, “Saurabh brings with him the experience of working with a variety of consumer brands both in the physical and online space and at different stages of their lifecycle. His experience of nurturing and growing brands, ability to understand consumer internet markets and drive data led consumer insights to achieve brand leadership are skills that will help MobiKwik reach the next level of growth. We welcome Saurabh on board and look forward to working with him to achieve our vision of creating the most preferred mobile wallet for customers and merchants.”
Srivastava added, “Mobile wallets are fast becoming the payment instrument of choice for Indians from all walks of life and MobiKwik is at the forefront of this revolution. This role will give me an opportunity to shape the way Indians look at payments and make mobile wallets a household phenomenon. I am up to the challenge of helping create a consumer Internet brand that millions of customers across the country would love. I look forward to joining MobiKwik and working with great minds at MobiKwik to create the next generation mobile payments system for India.”
MobiKwik is making a big offline push this year and has recently entered into a partnership with Cafe Coffee Day (CCD) to enable customers make payments through the MobiKwik wallet across all outlets in India. This is the first serious push that a mobile wallet service has made to enable digital transactions with an offline merchant of the size and scale of Cafe Coffee Day. Srivastava’s understanding of offline retail will be useful for the company in its bid to get more and more offline retailers to adopt mobile wallets.
MobiKwik recently raised close to $25 million in a series B round from Tree Line Asia, Cisco Investments, American Express and existing investor, Sequoia Capital. The funds will be used for investments in technology/data analytics, brand building and growing the network of users and merchants. In 2015, the company aims to create a brick-and-mortar retail network of more than 100,000 merchants across India. These stores will serve both as points for cash loading into the wallet and for wallet payments acceptance.
Brands
Raj Cooling Systems launches Agreyas appliances brand
Emraan Hashmi named brand ambassador for consumer appliance push.
MUMBAI: A company known for cooling solutions is now heating up its ambitions in the home appliances market. Raj Cooling Systems Pvt. Ltd. has launched a new consumer appliances brand, Agreyas, marking its entry into India’s rapidly expanding home appliances sector valued at more than Rs 1.5 lakh crore. The move represents a strategic diversification for the company, which has traditionally focused on cooling solutions for residential, commercial and industrial applications. Through Agreyas, the firm plans to tap into growing consumer demand for energy efficient and technology driven household appliances.
To build brand visibility, Agreyas has appointed Emraan Hashmi as its brand ambassador. The campaign has been developed under the banner of Zoommantra Productions, with actor and filmmaker Rohit Roy contributing to the creative direction.
The brand’s initial portfolio will include mid premium air conditioners, washing machines, geysers and other white goods designed to cater to modern Indian households seeking efficient and reliable appliances.
Raj Cooling Systems, founder and chairman Kalpesh Ramoliya said the launch aligns with the company’s broader expansion plans.
“The launch of Agreyas is in line with our vision to build a strong presence in India’s consumer electronics and home appliances market. The brand has been developed as a standalone identity to meet the evolving needs of Indian consumers,” he said.
Hashmi said the collaboration comes at a time when Indian buyers are increasingly looking for innovative and functional home solutions.
“I’m looking forward to working with Agreyas at a time when consumers are seeking more innovative and efficient home products. The brand reflects changing consumer behaviour around functionality, innovation and ease of use,” he said.
Raj Cooling Systems plans to invest around 10 million dollars in developing the brand, with an additional 5 million dollars earmarked over the next three to five years for product development and distribution expansion.
Agreyas will follow a multi channel distribution approach, selling through online platforms, retail outlets and dealer networks aimed at both urban and semi urban markets across India.
With the launch, the company is positioning Agreyas as a standalone consumer facing brand while continuing to leverage its existing manufacturing, engineering and research capabilities built through its core cooling solutions business.
