Brands
Whirlpool makes a big splash welcoming the festive season
MUMBAI: In keeping with the festive spirit, Whirlpool Of India, a subsidiary of the Whirlpool Corporation, a global manufacturer and marketer of major home appliances, has announced its plans for the festive season of 2006. The company unveiled four new product ranges as its special ‘Diwali’ promotion “Magic Ka Maskaa Lagaao” kicked off.
The newly launched products will be supported by a multi-media campaign including above the line – advertising featuring brand ambassadors Ajay Devgan and Kajol and a host of below the line activities such as marketing tie-ups, in-shop display, promotions, direct marketing, product demonstrations and on ground events in seven states. The total advertising and marketing spend earmarked for the Diwali promotion this year is in the range of Rs. 600 million, informs an official release.
Focusing on its growth plans, the company announced its new marketing initiatives. As part of the festival plans, the company has introduced new ranges of products, which include ‘Sensation Classic’ front load washing machine, Sparkle & Verve Semi Auto washing machine, Genius XL refrigerator. All the newly launched products come with unique innovative features intended to create magic in the life of a homemaker.
Speaking on the occasion, Whirlpool of India managing director Arvind Uppal said, “We had a very good first half of year 2006 and with the festival promotion and new product launches, we are confident of reinforcing our market leadership. We would be looking at a growth of 40% over 2005 this festive season.”
This ‘Diwali’ promotion is in line with the brand’s proposition to help homemaker create magic every time she brings a Whirlpool product home. Commencing on 15 September 2006, the company would offer an assured gift and a scratch card on purchase of any Whirlpool product. The assured gifts vary from Nirlep non-stick saucepan to winning an Intergold diamond pendant. Apart from winning a gift on every purchase, the consumer will also be entitled to a scratch card. Above all, company would also offer special prices to celebrate the spirit of Diwali with the customers, adds the release.
Announcing the special ‘Diwali promotion’ and launching the new range of products, Whirlpool of India VP marketing Shantanu Das Gupta, “Our endeavour has always been to understand our consumer’s needs and coming up with innovative ways to cater to them. We are extremely excited to bring this unbeatable consumer offer for all our customers this year, during Diwali. It builds off the insight that all homemakers love to be pampered by their spouses.
“Bringing home a Whirlpool appliance is the perfect way to apply the ” maska” this Diwali! Our four new ranges of products are specially designed keeping in mind the needs of a homemaker. With these initiatives, we intend to give our consumers the best in class products and offers that would bring magic to their homes this Diwali.”
Brands
Google nears Nvidia in race for world’s most valuable company
Market cap gap narrows as Google hits $4.65 trillion, Nvidia at $4.86 trillion.
MUMBAI: In the AI gold rush, even the giants are sprinting and Google is suddenly gaining ground. Google is rapidly closing in on Nvidia in the race to become the world’s most valuable publicly listed company, with the gap between the two narrowing sharply amid diverging stock momentum. The tech giant’s market capitalisation has surged to around $4.65 trillion, following a more than 140 per cent rise in its share price over the past year.
That rally has added over $2.6 trillion in value in just 12 months, including nearly $900 billion since January alone. Its stock recently hovered at $381.80, slipping marginally by 0.04 per cent, but still reflecting strong upward momentum.
Nvidia, meanwhile, continues to hold the top spot with a valuation of approximately $4.86 trillion. The chipmaker crossed the $5 trillion milestone in October last year and peaked at $5.27 trillion on 27 April. However, its shares have largely plateaued over the past six months, rising just 0.2 per cent recently to $199.99.
The contrast in trajectories is striking. While Nvidia has seen relatively flat movement, Google has gained over 36 per cent in the same six-month period. Barron’s estimates suggest that if current trends hold, the valuation gap could shrink to as little as $190 million by the time Nvidia reports its first-quarter earnings on 20 May.
Daily momentum paints a similar picture. Nvidia recorded average daily gains of about 0.66 per cent last month, compared to Google’s stronger 1.42 per cent, an edge that could prove decisive in the short term.
Driving Google’s resurgence is its aggressive push into artificial intelligence across its ecosystem, from search and YouTube to cloud computing. The company has already invested $144 billion in capital expenditure over the past two years and plans to deploy a further $490 billion over the next two.
Its cloud division is also gathering pace. Google Cloud reported an order backlog of nearly $220 billion in the latest quarter, with total backlog touching a record $462 billion, around half of which is expected to be realised within two years. The company’s entry into chip sales is also beginning to factor into its growth narrative.
The last time Google briefly topped the S&P 500 by market value was in February 2016, when it edged past Apple for just two days. This time, the stakes and the numbers are far higher.
At the heart of the contest lies a single force: artificial intelligence. As both companies pour billions into infrastructure, chips and platforms, the leaderboard is no longer just about size, it is about who can scale the future faster.
