Re-feel Cartridge Gets 20 Cr Funding From TLG Capital For Expanding Franchisee Network

UK based Private Equity firm TLG Capital has invested $4.46 Mn(Rs 20.5 Crore) for a 36% stake in Re-feel Cartridge Engineering Pvt Ltd in its first Indian private equity deal. The deal values the startup which provides printer cartridge refill and laptop repair services at $12.40 Mn(Rs 57 Crore).

The funds will be used by Re-feel for expanding its franchisee network and expanding its laptop repair business. TLG Capital’s Sidarth Menon has been appointed chief financial adviser at Re-feel Engineering.TLG is also planning to replicate Re-feel’s overall business model in sub-Saharan Africa due to the similarities it sees between the two markets.

In 2008, Bennett, Coleman & Co Ltd (BCCL), publishers of ‘The Times of India’ and ‘The Economic Times’, had completed a private treaty deal with Refeel Cartridge. As part of the deal, BCCL has invested around Rs 15 crore in the company.

Refeel Cartridge was floated in February 2007 but the first store was set up only in August 2007.The company claims refilling inkjet cartridges at their store will enable price saving of 75% than buying an OEM cartridge and 60% for laser cartridges. Little wonder, the company has more than 50 corporate clients.

Refilling printer cartridges is a way by which companies can cut their printing costs by at least 50-60%. Typically, a large organisation has a printing budget of around Rs 5-7 lakh per month.Around 40% of our revenue is expected from the enterprise segment and the balance from the small office home office (SOHO) and retail customers said an official from Re Feel Cartridges.

Re Feel Engineering also owns the Club Laptop franchisee which operates in the laptop service segment.Club Laptop offers a one stop solution for laptop repair and laptop accessories.

Tags:refeel cartridge, refeel franchise,franchisee, franchisee network, laptop repair franchise, sidharth menon, TLG Capital, Franchise Funding, Franchise Venture,service franchise.

Source:India Micro Finance.July 28, 2010.

This Blog/Information/News Item/Press Release has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based at Bangalore,India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.

Keen To Clean Founder Brij Purohit Looks To Franchise In India

Domestic and commercial cleaning franchise, Keen to Clean, has plans to launch into the Indian market before the end of the year.

Founder and franchisor Brij Purohit, who comes from India, told Franchising "The market in India has a huge potential and I know the market very well."

The structure of the franchise business in India is yet to be finalised, said Purohit, who launched his one-stop cleaning business in 2003 and began franchising two years ago. There are now 13 franchises in Victoria and one in New South Wales, offering carpet, blind and upholstery cleaning as part of the service.

Tags:Cleaning Franchise, commercial cleaning franchise,Service Franchise, Keen To Clean, Brij Purohit, Franchise Business, Franchise Structure, franchise model, Franchising In India,

Source:Franchising.com 16 July 2010

This Blog/News Item has been posted by Sparkleminds, A Franchise Consulting Company Based At Bangalore, India, Offering Complete Franchise Solutions Nationally and Internationally for more than a decade now.Visit www.sparkleminds.com for more details.

Reliance Industries Ltd Invests In Franchise Driven Deccan 360

Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) on Friday announced that the company would be investing an undisclosed amount in Capt. G.R. Gopinath-led Deccan 360.

This investment is being made a wholly owned subsidiary of RIL. However, Capt. Gopinath, refused to divulge details of the shareholding pattern of the entity and the capital expenditure, while addressing a press conference here.

Service providers

This investment would help Deccan 360 increase the air and surface network coverage across the country and introduce world-class services and systems to express end-to-end supply chain logistics space in business-to-business and the retail sector, said Capt. Gopinath. Deccan 360 has appointed national service providers on a franchisee model and has already set up over 80 service centres and eight surface hubs to service the operations. It has now deployed eight freighter aircrafts, covering 15 airports, with a fleet of over 300 trucks and 850 vehicles nationwide. It has a capacity of more than 300 tonnes per night by air, with over 60 warehousing hubs, delivering overnight services to 50 cities, all driven by 60 plus nationwide franchisee.

Deccan 360 has integrated a multi-modal capability ensuring clock-work precision in its operations and offers a never before reach, according to Capt. Gopinath, founder of the company Commenting on the initiative, RIL Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh D. Ambani said “we believe that our collaboration with Deccan 360 will see a transformation in the logistics domain in India. I have full faith in Capt. Gopinath and his team to make this a big success. We are sure that this initiative will propel the customer experience to the next level in the logistics domain.”

On the occasion, Capt. Gopinath, Chairman and Managing Director, said, “Deccan 360's strategic partnership with Reliance will enable us to realize our dream faster — a dream of creating world class logistics reach to every nook and corner of India. Our air and surface network would open up backward reaches of India and integrate these with the Metros. We all know that supply chain is the lifeblood of a country's economy.”

Tags:RIL,Deccan 360,Logistics Franchise,Courier Franchise,cargo franchise,service franchise,

Laptop Service Franchise Company ClubLapTop to Open 300 Stores By 2011

CLUBLAPTOP’S RESPONSE has been phenomenal so far. The company started franchising in December 2009, and within two months has opened 16 stores in 13 cities of India. The inquisitiveness of the people about the company has been so exceptional that the company plans to open 300 stores all across India by 2011.

At franchise exhibitions, Clublaptop counter was always filled with more and more people, eager to know more about the company and their queries were cleared by the one-to-one sessions. The tremendous responses from franchisees and consumers alike have been taken in a positive way with the assurance of success guaranteed in future and a clear indicator of entrepreneurs seeking tech service franchisees.

Chief executive officer of Re-feel, Alkesh Agarwal says, “There is a dearth of proper after-sales services in the laptop segment and services provided by the OEM are very time-consuming as well as costly. Our focus is to offer quality services at a reasonable price.”

Speaking about the venture, Agarwal emphasized, “We have excellent contacts nationally as well as internationally, and hence procure spare parts and related equipment from these locations. We have always maintained one objective and that is never to compromise on quality. Hence, it is our endeavor to offer the best services at reasonable prices. ”

While speaking on the predominance of laptops in today’s world, Agarwal added, “These days, laptops are outshining desktops. A laptop offers mobility and ease of use, while desktops are on a steady decline, both in terms of usage as well as in sales in the metro markets. Also, desktops have proper after-sales support team, whereas in the laptop segment, dearth of proper services is plaguing the field. It is in this realm that we are targeting to venture into this segment,” Agarwal added.

However, Clublaptop does not merely want to reach the pinnacle of success alone. With multiple franchisees as part of the Clublaptop family, the company aims to achieve success by enhancing the broader community of franchisees and consumers and in due course of time create an ambiance for the development of a good and responsible corporate citizen.

Along with laptop services, Clublaptop plans to showcase a wide range of laptop accessories. Hence, it aims at being a one-stop solution to offer quality service to laptops as well as provide the latest gadgets when it comes to laptop accessories.

Sushmita Sens TEPL To Be India Franchisee For Miss Universe Pageant.

It’s a dream come true!”
The multi-talented diva-esque Sushmita Sen has always believed in wearing many hats and excelling in all that she undertakes. Be it winning the first Miss Universe crown for India, becoming a top-notch Bollywood actor, adopting a baby girl at the age of 24 or establishing a business house way ahead of most of her contemporaries, Sushmita has been a forerunner of sorts.

However, the Ex-Miss Universe’s heart was still pining to attain one particular thing: “I have always maintained that I am what I am because of Miss Universe, and I always wanted to take that association ahead in some way. Due to an array of reasons, it had remained a pipe dream till about 1 ½ months back, when Paula Shugart, president of the Miss Universe Organisation made a fateful call to me, asking if my company Tantra Entertainment Private Limited (TEPL) would like to become the India franchise owner for holding the preliminary to Miss Universe 2010, which also would entrust TEPL the responsibility of holding a national pageant to select Miss Universe India 2010? I have always believed that the universe conspires to give you what you really want, and that too all in good time. Well, I just had an exemplary revelation of the Universe’s way of working. What better an association could I have asked for?” smiles Sushmita, whose company has thus become the India franchise owner for holding the preliminary to Miss Universe 2010. Primarily into feature film production and distribution, TEPL has ventured into the pageant industry with this franchise and calling the national pageant.

Elaborating about this new business venture of hers, Sushmita says “We’ve launched a mother brand called ‘I AM’ – in keeping with my belief that every individual’s journey begins and blossoms forth from these two words, they’re what define you. This mother brand will work in several verticals, which will be disclosed in good time. However, to begin with, we’ve launched the vertical called ‘I AM She’, a refreshing new platform that will select the next Miss India Universe, who will represent India at the global Miss Universe® competition. ‘I AM She’ has found an able sponsor in the Alchemist group, a leading conglomerate in fields such as healthcare, real estate, F&B etc. We’ve also launched the CSR vertical called ‘I AM Foundation’ which will undertake several CSR initiatives, especially with the participation of the girls chosen as finalists for the Miss Universe India pageant. This year, we’ll be working closely with the Cancer Patients Aid Association (CPAA), The Energy and Resources Institute (TERI), Bal Asha Trust, The Research Society and The ANI Foundation.”

Having bagged the franchise, Sushmita has set her sights firmly on having the best of Indian girls/women get a chance to represent the country on the prestigious platform. “I have been closely involved in the process of choosing the perfect girls, and by perfect I do not mean just physically perfect. We’re looking for girls who have a balanced body and mind, a strong set of values, confidence, and intelligence. More so, I want the participants to be highly people-oriented - they should be able to connect with all kinds of people in a genuine way. I’ve been very keen on inducing academically oriented and highly qualified girls in the pageant, because, I want to send out the message that participating in a beauty pageant does not demean your intelligence or stature – if at all, it helps you use your looks and personality for a larger good. Details regarding the pageant, which will be open for girls between 17-27 years of age, and will be held at the historical Jag Mandir in Udaipur on 27th February 2010, can be found on the website www.iam-she.com.”

International Commercial Cleaning Franchise In India

New Zealand's largest commercial cleaning franchise, Crest Commercial Cleaning, has struck up a deal in India which will see it operating in around a dozen cities and employing thousands of people in the next two years.

Since securing the country licence agreement in 2008, Crest Commercial Cleaning (India) Pvt. has employed 300 people in India. It is now on track to expand that to 3000 employees in the next two years, as a growing number of companies in India place more emphasis on hygiene and cleanliness.

"We have established ourselves in this powerhouse economy at an opportune time," says Crest co-owner and spokesperson Grant McLauchlan "As the Indian economy becomes more sophisticated, customers, particularly international corporates, are demanding better hygiene standards.

"Many people tell us that one of the big barriers to doing business in India is hygiene and so we are seeing savvy companies starting to make that a priority," Mr McLauchlan says, on his return from a business trip to India last week.

He says with a 6-9 per cent growth rate and a population of a billion people, India's growth potential is huge.

"The country has developed more of a Western feel in the big cities and there are large shopping malls and office blocks emerging all over the skyline."

"Obviously there is an opportunity for us to maintain these buildings, whether it is the provision of cleaning services or electrical and mechanical maintenance of the infrastructure."

He says cleaning, or housekeeping as it is known in India, is worth around $150 billion per annum but is currently serviced by untrained, poorly resourced contracting companies.

Competition for customers is tough as hundreds of new shopping malls try to attract people through cleaner more hygienic environments for the new middle class, which is relocating to Indian cities.

Mr McLauchlan says Crest is doing well in the Indian market because it is a quality brand, with excellent training programmes in place for staff. The training in India is based on New Zealand standards. Crest New Zealand cleaning staff in New Zealand are required to undertake an NZQA recognised qualification which leads to a National Certificate in Cleaning and Caretaking.

"Training cleaning staff to achieve nationally recognised qualifications makes more sense for commercial cleaners than hiring unskilled staff," he says "Training has a very positive effect on morale, motivation and on the person's ability to carry out cleaning to high standards.

"While New Zealand and India are our focus over the next two years we are looking at expanding into other Asia countries and the Middle East beyond that," he said.

Hence entrepreneurs in India can look forward to a host of international service franchisees lining up in India to offer their services to the indian consumer.