Hindujas, Planet E-Shop In Joint Venture

The Hinduja group has tied up with the US-based Planet E-Shop group of the US to form a 51:49 per cent joint venture for India's first 24-hour shopping television channel -- Shop24Seven -- soon.

A pilot project is currently on in Mumbai and the company is expected to kick off commercial operations soon. Expansion throughout the country will be in a phased manner.

Aasia Industrial Technologies, a subsidiary of Hinduja TMT, the holding arm for Hindujas' convergence business, holds 51 per cent equity in Planet E-Shop Holdings India while the US company has the remaining 49 per cent.

Planet E-Shop Holdings currently holds 97 per cent equity of Planet E-Shop India, a company floated for the purpose of launching the channel. The US-based Planet E-Shop specialises in various sectors of media commerce in America and China.

Hinduja executives declined to comment on the investment that has gone into the venture. "The revenue model for this kind of venture has met with success in US and Europe. We will be engaged in marketing of exclusive household products," Hinduja executives said.

The revenue model of the venture is based on a unique concept in major overseas countries. Main revenue streams for the company will be from retailing, advertisement, etc. The Shop24Seven channel will directly compete with other channels such as TSN and AsiaSkyShopping.

The venture would produce its own programming content for the products and has already set in motion the steps required for setting up a world class facility for the same.

The project envisages marketing of exclusive consumer products through a teleshopping channel, Internet portal and points of presence through a franchised retail outlets, with fulfilment through a carefully planned mechanism of call centres.

Currently, Hinduja TMT has the IN TV, IN Mumbai and IN Time channels under the IN brand.