The Hindu : Tamil Nadu / Chennai News : A platform to showcase a range of consumer products

Online edition of India's National Newspaper
Thursday, May 24, 2007
ePaper

Tamil Nadu

Tamil Nadu - Chennai

A platform to showcase a range of consumer products

Staff Reporter

The HinduMetroPlus Lifestyle show will feature 350 stalls

SETTING THE STAGE: (From Left) Kailash Savant, SFP Sons; D. Suresh Jain, Kesar Gift Mart; Sharad Chokani, Home and Beyond; M.K. Logendra Kumar, Samsung; Supratik Datta, The Hindu, Pankaj Chandak, General Motors; P. Usha, Classic Polo; T. Ayyap pan, Jute Manufactures Development Council, and Rais Arif of Icare Communication at the press conference on Wednesday. — Photo: R. Ragu

CHENNAI: "In four years The Hindu MetroPlus Lifestyle show has grown into one of the largest such exhibitions in the country," said Supratik Datta, assistant general manager, Advertisement-Marketing, The Hindu .

Addressing a press conference to announce the event at the Taj Coromandel here on Wednesday, he said this year's edition would be held at the Chennai Trade Centre between May 31 and June 4.

The exhibition will cover 86,000 square feet of stall area, with a total of 350 stalls. There will be a pavilion for international participants from Thailand, Egypt, Pakistan and Kenya.

The Lifestyle show is being introduced to Delhi and Visakhapatnam this year.An annual consumer exhibition organised by The Hindu, it showcases a wide variety of products across a range of categories, including automobiles, furniture, arts and handicrafts, interior décor, electronics, IT products and luxury goods.

With over 80,000 visitors to host, it also features a food court, set up by Planet Yumm and Vivekananda coffee.

M. K. Logendra Kumar, from Samsung, the show's main sponsor, said last year his company "notched one of the best sales in the entire country in five days." This year Samsung will be launching its new range of LCD televisions at the show.

Pankaj Chandak of General Motors, India, spoke about how General Motors is "serious about becoming a major player in the Indian automobile industry."

Referring to the launch of three new car lines last year, he said the company would introduce the Chevrolet Spark this year.

"Good evaluation ground"

Stating that the Lifestyle show was a "good evaluation ground for the brand," P. Usha from Classic Polo, said today's market was "highly personalized, and customized" and underlined the importance of being in touch with customers.

The show has also - for the first time - drawn in a government body: the Jute Manufacturers Development Council under the Union Ministry of Textiles will be participating. T, Ayyappan, Market Promotion Officer, talked about plans to make "the product export quality" and promote it as "eco-friendly and biodegradable."

Sharad Chokhani from Home and Beyond said his company aims to be a "one stop shop for bedroom sets, sofa sets and dining tables." It will launch a new product range from Malaysia at the show. Kesar Gift Mart began with a very small stall, said Suresh Jain, CEO.

This year, the company will introduce corporate gifts using 24 carat gold plated foil and a wide range of trophies and awards.

Ahsan perfumes (SFP Sons), an associate sponsor, will display a life-size model of a deg and bhapka (distillation units) at the show, "to give customers an idea of the attar industry" said Kailash Savant, CEO.

Show partners

The event partner of The Hindu Metro Plus Lifestyle show is Icare Communications. Taj Coromandel is the hospitality partner. The Communications Partner is BSNL (Chennai Telephones) and the Food and beverage partners are Planet Yumm, Vivekananda Coffee and Sabols.

Paramount Airways is the airline partner, and the Lighting Partner is K-Lite.

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