After gifts & greetings, Archies is moving a step ahead with jewellery & accessories...
This company shares its name with the famous comic character ‘Archies’ and it boasts of having found its Veronica in the form of a Stupid Cupid. Now that is equally stylish! Archies Gallery has been synonymous to greetings & emotions, since 1979, but with the entry of new players like Spencer, Expressions, et al, it started losing its sheen. To ramp up its act Archies Gallery has launched a new store under the brand name Stupid Cupid. In an exclusive interview with 4Ps B&M, Pramod Arora, Executive Director, Archies Limited, talks candidly about the leadership of Archies in the greeting & gift industry and its future expansion plans. Excerpts from the interview:
How do you rate the potential of the gifts market in India?
There is no organised player in the gifting segment. Our gifting segment is a little different as sentimental gifts are also available besides utility gifts. Other stores also offer gifts but as a onestop shop for different kind of gifts, I don’t think there is anybody in the organized retail sector except us. The recall value of Archies Gallery is phenomenal, thanks to our greeting cards business that started about years ago. The brand became synonymous to greetings, emotions and that has carried us through.
What is your strategy behind opening Stupid Cupid?
We sell fashion jewellery & accessories in our Archies Gallery stores, but had given them very less space. Since there was a huge demand for it, we started looking for ways to expand it, so decided to open a store, which caters to that particular market and give it larger share of space. That’s how we thought of opening Stupid Cupid, keeping in mind the youngsters.
Your ‘Archies says you care’ campaign was a success. Any new campaigns planned?
Advertising has been an integral part of our business right from the beginning. We’ve stuck to a couple of lines, which communicates what Archies stands for. It’s the most special way to say you care & create an impression on people’s mind to help them relate to Archies.
This company shares its name with the famous comic character ‘Archies’ and it boasts of having found its Veronica in the form of a Stupid Cupid. Now that is equally stylish! Archies Gallery has been synonymous to greetings & emotions, since 1979, but with the entry of new players like Spencer, Expressions, et al, it started losing its sheen. To ramp up its act Archies Gallery has launched a new store under the brand name Stupid Cupid. In an exclusive interview with 4Ps B&M, Pramod Arora, Executive Director, Archies Limited, talks candidly about the leadership of Archies in the greeting & gift industry and its future expansion plans. Excerpts from the interview:
How do you rate the potential of the gifts market in India?
There is no organised player in the gifting segment. Our gifting segment is a little different as sentimental gifts are also available besides utility gifts. Other stores also offer gifts but as a onestop shop for different kind of gifts, I don’t think there is anybody in the organized retail sector except us. The recall value of Archies Gallery is phenomenal, thanks to our greeting cards business that started about years ago. The brand became synonymous to greetings, emotions and that has carried us through.
What is your strategy behind opening Stupid Cupid?
We sell fashion jewellery & accessories in our Archies Gallery stores, but had given them very less space. Since there was a huge demand for it, we started looking for ways to expand it, so decided to open a store, which caters to that particular market and give it larger share of space. That’s how we thought of opening Stupid Cupid, keeping in mind the youngsters.
Your ‘Archies says you care’ campaign was a success. Any new campaigns planned?
Advertising has been an integral part of our business right from the beginning. We’ve stuck to a couple of lines, which communicates what Archies stands for. It’s the most special way to say you care & create an impression on people’s mind to help them relate to Archies.
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Source : IIPM Editorial, 2008
An Initiative of IIPM, Malay Chaudhuri and Arindam Chaudhuri (Renowned Management Guru and Economist)
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