Brands
Vakrangee makes Guinness World Record with 1107 simultaneous store launches
MUMBAI: Mumbai-based technology company Vakrangee, which connects India's rural citizens with its modern ecosystem through its retail network of Vakrangee Kendra, has entered the Guinness World Records by launching 1,107 stores at 11:07 am on 14 January 2019. It achieved this by beating the existing Guinness World Records title of ‘Most stores launched simultaneously’ of 505 stores held by Xiaomi Technology India Pvt Ltd, which it had made in 2018.
These 1,107 stores were part of the 3,300+ Nextgen Vakrangee Kendras which were launched on the same day. These Nextgen stores offer a comprehensive range of products and services across banking, insurance, ATM, assisted e-commerce, e-governance, financial services, and logistics. These Nextgen outlets are spread across 19 states, 350+ districts and 2,000+ postal codes of the country, out of which more than 70 per cent outlets are from tier 5 and tier 6 cities.
Commenting on the same, Vakrangee founder promoter and executive chairman Dinesh Nandwana said, “We are honoured and excited to receive this certification from Guiness World Records. This global recognition is a validation of our belief and commitment to the transformation agenda to the Nextgen Vakrangee Kendras. This record-breaking feat also showcases capability of our extended family of Vakrangee employees, franchise partners and vendor associates.”
Vakrangee’s planned target is to reach at least 25,000 operational Nextgen Vakrangee Kendras by FY 2019-20 and further enhance it to reach 45,000 Nextgen outlets by FY 2020-21 and 75,000 by FY2021-22.
Brands
Hardik Jhaveri named senior director marketing at Colgate-Palmolive Asean hub
Former Hill’s Pet Nutrition general manager returns to the company to steer marketing for South Asean from Kuala Lumpur
KUALA LUMPUR:Â Hardik Jhaveri has been appointed senior director marketing for the South Asean hub at Colgate-Palmolive, marking a return to the consumer goods major after a three year stint with Hill’s Pet Nutrition. He will be based in Kuala Lumpur and will lead marketing strategy for the region.
Jhaveri joins the role after serving as general manager at Hill’s Pet Nutrition in Taipei, where he led a cross functional team and oversaw the business with full profit and loss responsibility. The role placed him at the helm of operations in Taiwan, managing growth in what he described as a start-up style environment within a global multinational.
Before that, Jhaveri spent over a decade with Colgate-Palmolive across several marketing and innovation roles in Asia. As associate director innovation for Apac excluding China, based in Hong Kong, he led new product development and launches across multiple markets.
His portfolio ranged from developing specialised oral care products such as a diabetes focused toothpaste for the Indian market to launching premium oral care experiences under the Colgate Total brand in Australia. Alongside innovation, he also worked on launch planning, brand strategy and communications for the company’s oral care portfolio.
Earlier in his Colgate-Palmolive journey, Jhaveri held roles including marketing manager innovation, senior brand manager and brand manager. His work spanned urban and rural markets in Mumbai and customer development responsibilities in the Greater Kolkata Area.
Prior to his long association with Colgate-Palmolive, Jhaveri worked as brand officer home care at Unilever, where he helped drive marketing initiatives for the Rin detergent brand, including nationwide relaunch and on ground activation campaigns.
He began his career in advertising with Bates David Enterprise, working on brands such as IDBI Bank, The Leela Hotels and The Times of India.
Jhaveri holds a post graduate programme in management from the Indian School of Business and has also completed a level 4 diploma in wine from the Wine & Spirit Education Trust.
Announcing the move, Jhaveri said he is excited to begin his new chapter at Colgate-Palmolive’s South Asean hub and thanked colleagues and mentors who supported his journey at Hill’s Pet Nutrition.
