MAM
Pepperfry unveils its first concept store ‘Studio Pepperfry’
MUMBAI: Pepperfry.com, India’s leading online Furniture & Home Marketplace launched its first concept store “Studio Pepperfry” in Mumbai today. The opening of the 2,500 sq. ft. studio represents the brand’s physical presence for showcasing products in an offline retail style setting. It has been conceived as an experience zone for customers, who are looking to enhance their living spaces. In addition to being the largest furniture retailer in the country, Studio Pepperfry forms an integral part of the brand’s strategy to provide design thought leadership and services to the evolving Indian home shopper.
“Studio Pepperfry” showcases a curated range of furniture from Pepperfry’s online portfolio and serves as a design inspiration for customers interested in furnishing their homes. It has iPad wielding interior design consultants to understand consumers’ requirements and provide them consulting services on various aspects of design, specifically related to furniture. These experts have in-depth knowledge of the Pepperfry furniture portfolio. They can take customers through the various designs showcased at the Studio and the extended online Pepperfry range to suit their individual tastes and preferences.
Additionally, the Studio offers customers the advantage of availing services ranging from customization to advisory related to design and other helpful tips enabling them to make the right purchase decision.
Pepperfry understands that shopping for furniture is a complex process especially, for millennial customers setting-up homes for the first-time. They have high aspirations around design that reflects their global outlook and sense of self. These customers seek the best in terms of quality without compromising on their busy lifestyle and packed schedules. At Studio Pepperfry they can benefit from a vastly superior furniture experience by acquainting themselves with cutting-edge designs to suit their contemporary selection. Besides that they can also understand and witness the quality and finish of Pepperfry furniture products.
Talking about the first brick and mortar venture Ashish Shah Founder & COO Pepperfry said, “Customers are always posed with questions around quality and assurance while buying a high-value item like furniture. At Studio Pepperfry they will be able to get a better understanding of the quality of products and services that we offer. It will also help us build their confidence and trust in the brand.”
He further adds, “Our Studio represents the best and latest from our range of thousands of furniture designs that are available on our marketplace. We looking at the Studio purely as an experience centre eventually all the orders will have to be placed on the website. We want our customers to enjoy the whole experience of designing their homes by taking them one step closer to choosing the right furniture to build their dream homes.”
Pepperfry has the largest range of furniture online and offers free shipping and installation on all furniture items and ships to more than 1000+ towns in the country through its partners and their own last mile delivery infrastructure. The brand will introduce 16 similar concept stores in major metros by the end of 2015.
MAM
VML India lands two finalist spots at Cairns Hatchlings 2026
The Mumbai agency is back in Australia with two teams, a UN brief and 24 hours to impress
MUMBAI: VML India is heading to Australia again. The Mumbai-based creative agency has secured two finalist spots at the Cairns Hatchlings 2026 competition, one in the Audio category and one in Design, making it the only Indian agency to have reached the finals in both editions of the contest since its launch in 2025.
Four people will make the trip. Senior copywriter Shilpi Dey and senior art director Raj Thakkar will compete in Audio. Art directors Shabbir and Shruti Negi will go head-to-head with the world’s best in Design. The finals take place at the Cairns Convention Centre from 13th May, culminating in an awards ceremony on 15th May.
The work that got them there is worth examining. For the Audio category, Dey and Thakkar tackled a brief for LIVE LIKE MMAD with a campaign called Inner Voice, Interrupted. Using spatial audio techniques, the campaign recreates the overwhelming self-doubt that descends after a long workday, physically panning negative thoughts left and right before cutting the noise entirely to reveal a confident inner voice. Strategically targeted at commuters via Spotify during evening rush hours, the campaign reframes the hours after work as an opportunity for personal growth and charitable action.
For the Design category, Shabbir and Negi worked on a brief for Canteen’s Bandanna Day, a campaign highlighting how cancer pushes teenagers out of their own defining moments. Using a pixelated design language to create stark contrast between a blurred world of isolation and a focused world of connection, the campaign, titled The Flipside of Cancer, shows teenagers fading into the background of birthdays, skateparks and school proms. As a Canteen bandanna appears, the blur flips and the teenager snaps back into sharp focus.
Kalpesh Patankar, group chief creative officer of VML India, made no attempt to disguise his satisfaction. “We are immensely proud to see our teams consistently excel on the Cairns Hatchlings platform since its inception,” he said. “They have masterfully tackled challenging briefs across diverse categories, demonstrating both layered storytelling and a unique creative approach. This exceptional teamwork is truly inspiring.”
Dey and Thakkar, returning to the finals after last year’s run, were candid about the demands of the audio medium. “It’s one of the most demanding mediums, where we only have a few seconds to capture a listener’s world with sound alone, so absolute clarity is essential,” they said. “The true measure of creative work is its ability to create positive change, and our audio submission was made to help those who need it most while encouraging people to silence the inner voices that hold them back.”
Shabbir and Negi, competing in Design for the first time, described the experience as “a completely different beast.” “We see it as an opportunity to showcase our expertise, raise the bar, and challenge ourselves in new ways, while also learning from creative minds from across the globe,” they said.
In Australia, the four finalists will face a live 24-hour brief from the United Nations before presenting in a live pitch session. Twenty-four hours, one brief, one shot. VML India has been here before. It knows exactly what is at stake.
