Interbrand bags Eureka Forbes brand mandate

Home appliances major Eureka Forbes, part of the Pallonji Mistry-controlled Forbes Gokak group, has roped in the US-based Interbrand, a leading global brand strategy and design consultancy firm, for charting out a fresh business strategy for its flagship Aquaguard brand of water purifiers.

The broad areas that Interbrand will work on will include brand positioning, and leveraging the brand equity into other categories, among others. Sources close to the Forbes Gokak group declined to reveal more on the plan.

"The Aquaguard brand of water purifiers was launched in 1984 and it revolutionised the Indian market. Today 65 per cent of the Indian population was born after Aquaguard was conceived. Therefore, we feel it is essential for us to reposition the brand," sources said. The company pioneered the concept of direct sales model in health and hygiene products.

Today, Aquaguard is a Rs 200 crore brand and has a 74 per cent share in the market. Eureka Forbes is a joint venture between Forbes Gokak, formerly a Tata group company, and Electrolux AB of Sweden. Following the change in management control, the Pallonjis have been in discussions to buy out Electrolux's 40 per cent stake, but the deal did not make any headway.

The other brands of Eureka Forbes include EuroClean vacuum cleaners and EuroAir brand of air purification systems.

The US-based Interbrand is represented in India through the Bangalore-based Equitor. It had valued the Titan watch brand of Titan Industries at around Rs 350 crore. Earlier, it had undertaken the valuation of the Tata brand name.