For Swedish cosmetics maker Oriflame, Asia contributes to only 10 per cent of the company&rsquo;s turnover of 1.5 billion Euros. Yet the Indian cosmetics market sized at Rs 4275 crore and growing at 15-20 per cent annually is a promising one. CEO and President Oriflame Cosmetics Magnus Brannstrom speaks to Preeti Khicha. Excerpts.

Q&A: Magnus Brannstrom, Oriflame Cosmetics

Business Standard

Reliance Broadcast Network has launched its Hindi channel, BIG MAGIC, targeted at the Hindi-speaking belt of India. In less than three months of acquiring Imagine Showbiz from Cinestar Advertising, it has relaunched the channel after branding it. Unlike other Hindi general entertainment channels (GECs), BIG MAGIC would not look at a general spread but more at regional entertainment. Reliance Broadcast Network CEO Tarun Katial says the Hindi regional entertainment space is uncluttered, with traditional GECs and Hindi movie channels doing well in this belt.

BIG looks to weave magic

The Sarpanch rules the bottom of the pyramid, or that&rsquo;s what the oracles of the marketing cubicles want us to believe. No wonder the first pit stop for the longest running farce in rural history (the promotional van), is always the Sarpanch&rsquo;s residence. Apart from the Sarpanch, there are a few other clich&eacute;d characters playing the opinion leaders in a rural marketing blockbuster. The teacher. The kirana store seth. The head of the family.

No one killed the Sarpanch

Direct selling company Tupperware is aggressively looking at expansion opportunities in India. To that end, it is developing new product lines designed exclusively for the country besides looking at innovative marketing tie-ups. The maker of premium plastic containers used for storing or serving food, which is fighting thousands of unbranded competitors that are sold at dirt cheap prices, knows too well that&rsquo;s the only way to stay on top of its game.

Direct call

While there has been a fair amount of action on the education infrastructure front, the software that goes into creating an institution is yet to come into focus.

KIT: Teachers in India

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The top 10 business bestsellers

    This hotel&rsquo;s bed has not only attracted customers to come again, but has made many of them to ask if they could have such a bed in their homes. Now the hotel goes to customer homes to set the bed up and train them on how to make this special bed. Name the hotel chain.

The Strategist Quiz (#196)

&nbsp;

    Which company can be identified with this copy, &ldquo;We&rsquo;ve just opened office by not opening an office&rdquo;?&nbsp;
    Berkshire Insurance India&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    Which airport is the first to open a permanent library in its premises with over 1,200 books in 20 languages?
    Schipol Amsterdam&nbsp;
    &nbsp;
    In the late 1880s, the founder of this 120-year-old brand set out to fulfill a lifelong ambition of building his factory with the help of his seven

Answers to last week&#39;s quiz (#195)

A vibrant venture capital ecosystem is contributing to the spurt of innovative business models.

Rise of the serial entrepreneur

The oldest face of Indian automobiles is set to get a radical makeover with a new design and styling. But not many are convinced whether nostalgia and the latest move by Hindustan Motors (HM) would be enough to ensure a smooth ride for the Ambassador (Amby) in future.

Ambassador's new gamble

It started six months ago as an expression of sports brand Nike&rsquo;s solidarity towards cricket and was supposed to be replaced just after the World Cup. With India winning the Cup and &lsquo;Bleed Blue&rsquo; moving beyond just an advertising tagline, Nike India has now decided to continue its celebrated campaign for some more time.

Bleed Blue paints the town red

John Hegarty, chairman and worldwide creative director, Bartle Bogle Hegarty (BBH) is one of the most successful advertising professionals in the UK whose work is keenly followed by many across the world. The brands he has worked on include Levi's, British Airways, Audi and Johnie Walker among others. The co-founder of BBH, which was set up in 1982, attended the Goafest last week. He spoke to Viveat Susan Pinto.

Q&A: John Hegarty, Chairman & Worldwide Creative Director, BBH

The most valuable IPL franchise has made it easier for the South-based cement firm to enter North and West India.

CSK scores for India Cements 

But the going may be tough with competition having a distinct edge in points of presence.

Costa Coffee brews mass market plan

To establish a beachhead in the sports drinks market in India, Amul (Gujarat Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF) is gearing up to re-launch its sports drink brand Stamina.

Amul set to show off Stamina

For a growing number of people it&rsquo;s no more parathas at home but bagels and waffles at swank eateries.

Out for breakfast

Krishnan. Srinivas Krishnan.&rdquo; Hmm... Somehow it doesn&rsquo;t sound right. Still, why should that stop me from driving Commander Bond&rsquo;s set of wheels? That&rsquo;s right.

Posh comes to shove

A N D Haksar has done a no-nonsense new version of the Kama Sutra. He tells Rrishi Raote about the pleasure and profit of turning Sanskrit into modern English.

Tonsure care

Angela Saini, debut author of Geek Nation, How Indian Science is Taking over the World, is on a publicity tour of India. Saini, who did a post-graduate degree in engineering science from the University of Oxford, is an award-winning science journalist who has published in Science, Wired, The Guardian and New Scientist, here talks to Sunitha B about the book and how she got down to writing it.

Pop science

BMW Motorrad is finally here, although most might have forgotten that the Bavarian bikes aren&rsquo;t so new to India after all. Not too long ago, the F650 Funduro was sold in the country, but it sold in very small numbers owing to its prohibitive price tag. And before that, in the 1950s, when Goa wasn&rsquo;t a part of India, many BMW singles (the R26 and the R25) were pressed into service as motorcycle taxis, now popularly known in the sunshine state as &lsquo;pilots&rsquo;. No known examples of these specimens survive as taxis, though. Yes, BMW motorcycles aren&rsquo;t new to India at all.

Motorradical idea!

Three separate incidents brought the subject of age and our attitude to it centre-stage this week.

Old Bones Nation

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