Hair today

ZOOMING IN

HAIR CARE is getting more complicated all the time. A year ago Paras Pharmaceuticals launched Livon Silky Potion which was described as a 'post-wash' conditioner that was applied after a bath.

Now Marico has jumped on the 'post-wash' conditioner bandwagon and launched Silk-n-Shine, which is aimed at young women with long, lustrous locks. The new conditioner promises to help untangle long hair.

Priced at Rs 89 for 100 ml Silk-n-Shine is cheaper than Silky Potion which sells for Rs 140 for a 100 ml bottle. The size of the hair conditioner market is estimated at Rs 38 crore to Rs 40 crore growing at a rate of 20 per cent according to retail audit firm AC Neilson ORG-Marg. Of this, Livon is estimated to be a Rs 20 crore brand.

Marico's offering will be available in all metros and mini-metros. Says chairman and managing director, Harsh Mariwala: "Silk-n-Shine marks the entry of Marico into the world of value added beauty products."

The company test marketed the prototype of Silk-n-Shine for three months in West Bengal before launching it nationally.

Says Saugata Gupta, Head of Marketing, Marico Industries: "From hair oils to post wash hair potions, Marico will now have a comprehensive basket of hair care products to offer its consumers."

Currently Marico derives its revenues from 12 brands "" Parachute, Saffola, Sweekar, Hair & Care, Shanti, Mediker, Oil of Malabar, Mealmaker, Sil, Revive, Kaya and Sundari. Of these Parachute Coconut Oil accounts for 50 per cent of its revenue.

In fact, it is now in the process of test marketing another product in the hair care segment "" Parachute Shampoo "" in Andhra Pradesh. This is expected to be launched in the near future. "Since the shampoo market is crowded, we'd like to launch a differentiated product," says a company spokesperson.

Smart moves

THE RS 110-crore Chaya Group is determined to step out in style. It is opening one exclusive store after another under the Stori brand name. Last week it opened a new showroom at Centrestage Mall in Noida on the outskirts of Delhi.

The Noida showroom is the group's 12th and eight more are planned by year end. Stores are planned in Mumbai, Chennai, Ahmedabad, Pune, Nagpur and other cities. Stori also has a countrywide presence in multi-brand outlets.

The Bangalore-based Chaya Group, set up in 1982, started off in the textile trading business and moved on to garment trading before entering the readymade garment sector in 1998.

What's Stori's USP? The group says its menswear is geared at the metrosexual male. Also, according to K K Roy, senior consultant and group president, Chaya Group, the company is drawing up plans to go global by the turn of the year. "We will be doing this not through exports but through tie-ups," says Roy.

The Stori range is aimed at the 22 to 45 year age group, though its marketing men say that anyone who thinks young is welcome, says Roy. "For now, we deal in semi-casual and casual wear for the upwardly mobile and fashion-aware urban male. But we will look at product diversification in the near future too."

The clothing range includes trousers in various styles and blends ranging from Chinos and linen cottons to Compyarn and Tussers; as well as cotton, twills, checks and dobbies in shirts.

Feast for kings

This must be the costliest slap-up meal available anywhere in India. It's a 10-course feast that costs a mere Rs 11,000 per couple. But for that Rs 11,000 the lucky diners will get an exotic spread that includes three appetisers, sashimi, six main dishes, soup, dessert, fruits, Japanese tea and two 300 ml bottles of sake.

For the uninitiated Kaiseki is the royal Japanese cuisine and it's being served for the first time at the Metropolitan Hotel Nikko in the Capital.

At the hotel, chef Nakamura, the expat chef will personally present each course in a private dining room. At least a week's notice will be needed to book a table and the dinners will be available from July onwards.

If you're wondering about the power list who will buy this dinner, Hotel Nikko has tied up with a credit card company which will offer special cards to extremely high net worth individuals. The card to be launched soon is going to be made available, by invitation only, to just 200 people in India with $1 million plus in their accounts, hotel sources say.

For those who don't have that money or the card but are still willing to spend "even more than Rs 11,000", say for a 15-20 course Kaiseki meal, the hotel will still take requests.

On the privileged diners' list will be many of the hotel's high-profile regulars, with the Kaiseki meals offered to the likes of Vijay Mallya, the Nandas, the Ambanis, the film industry's Kapoor clan.

As for the more ordinary gourmets, a scaled down version is on offer this month end onwards. A six-course Kaiseki dinner with a bottle of sake for Rs 5,400 per couple. But don't forget your credit card or you could be washing dishes for an awfully long time.

With contribution from Anoothi Vishal and Jai Arjun Singh