India discovers a new TREASURE at Treasure Island

Two weeks after the pilot-launch (March 26, 2010), Treasure Showcase at Treasure Island mall, Indore was opened to the public on Sunday, April 11, 2010. The launch was a grand event.

Treasure Showcase is a new and unique concept in modern retail and introduces about 60 brands into mall retail across apparel, accessories, footwear, cosmetics and home, creating an inclusive modern retail environment and a platform for local/regional manufacturers to take their products, brands and ambitions national. Based on a unique partnership model and a NO RENT initiative, Treasure Showcase aims to create the next generation of brands for a whole new generation of consumers. Idiom had earlier conceptualized and designed the NO RENT initiative in July 2009 and a series of road show events that followed, to launch the idea of Treasure Showcase and invite prospective brand partners.

The prototype store was launched by Mrs. Malaika Arora Khan, the face and brand ambassador of Treasure Showcase in a grand premier launch called FIRST DAY FIRST SHOW. The launch included a high decibel media campaign in all mainline English and Hindi dailies of Indore and supported a very unique and innovative on-ground activation promotion where walk-ins are induced to not only shop then and there but schemes that promote repeat visits and repeat purchases were created. The grand bumper prize will see one lucky shopper walk away with home appliances worth 2 lakhs on June 30, 2010, while other lucky winners will receive gifts ranging from cash vouchers worth Rs. 50,000 to gift coupons and more.

Treasure Showcase Indore is the prototype for what creates ‘RETAILOCRACY’ - an inclusive modern retail environment and a level playing field between what is considered traditional retail and what is construed as modern retail. Expand the market for modern retail, by promoting consumption and innovating retail thus enabling emerging and aspiring manufacturers and brands to enter malls.

Indore will soon be followed by Nanded, Ujjain, Lucknow, Agra, Amaravati, Bangalore, Bareilly, Bhilai, Chennai, Hyderabad, Jabalpur, Kolkata, Mumbai, Mohali, Pune, Raipur, Thiruvanathapuram, Udaipur and Vadodara in the months that follow to set up 20 Treasure Showcases by 2011, across the emerging towns and cities of India – the REAL INDIA.

The initial response to Treasure Showcase has been encouraging and positive. Change is here to stay. Indore can now look forward to a whole new shopping experience at Treasure Showcase and exciting promotions over the coming weeks.

Posted By Sumeet

Wellness turns over a new leaf

On Sunday, March 21, 2010, Kochi woke up to two exiting pieces of news.  As the newest entrant to the IPL bandwagon. And as home to the newest and most comprehensive wellness experience that Kerala has ever seen.

Ela – The World Spa was officially inaugurated yesterday by Union Minister of State for External Affairs, Dr. Shashi Tharoor.

Air Travel Enterprises, better known as the ATE Group, is one of Kerala’s most reputed and well established companies to have redefined travel and hospitality to create a total services sector.

The company saw an opportunity in setting up a world class spa and salon, offering the best wellness experience possible. The location was Kochi – the melting pot of cultures and home to travelers of yore, from far and wide. The Greeks, Romans, Jews, Chinese, Portuguese, Dutch, British – they’ve all come here at some point and left a distinct mark on the Kochi we know today. Today, the city is home to an amalgamation of the five senses. And brings with it wellness forms from across the world. From Europe to the Far East; India and the Middle East.

Ela brings alive the magical lightness of being. As if we could trade places with the fresh green leaf that flirts with the breeze, embraces sunlight, drenches itself in rain and plays with dew. A complete experience of the five senses, that transforms you into a lighter, fresher, more relaxed individual.  An island of tranquility in the hustle bustle of a mall.  Ela offers world spa experiences from Sweden to Thailand and Bali along with Ayurveda and Hammam. To complete the experience is a salon, gym, café and retail, all housed within a 4000 sq.ft. space on the fourth floor of Oberon Mall, Kochi.

Walk into Ela and you are instantly taken over by the freshness of nature. A water screen welcomes you. Explore the fluid pathway that leads you in, from the salon to the Hamman to the gym. The café overlooks the city of Kochi, while the Ayurveda and World therapy rooms transport you into another world of calm.

Ela has seen an encouraging response from visitors to the mall, since its soft launch in January 2010. The Group hopes to take this further to truly create a world class spa experience for Kochi, and other city that would follow.


Posted by Sumeet

Idiom-izing New York

Sonia, Girish and Jacob's visit to Parsons, the New School of Design

Notes from New york

10th March : Girish + Jacob + Sonia

Presented our perspective on India/emerging market and shared Idiom's work and successes with the students, in the School of Design Strategies [at Parsons, the New School of Design]. Followed by an interesting discussion with a group of students. Graduating students are worried about whether (E design thinking), this higher level play of design is a fad or is here to stay, whether sustainability again is just a fad. There was a palpable energy and excitement that the presentation and discussion managed to evoke the sheer speed and scale at which things are happening in India was one of the things that fascinated everyone. Carlos Teixeira [Director, Academic Affairs] our amazing host had quite a schedule planned for us.

11th March : Girish + Jacob + Sonia

Morning: Carlos and his co-faculty members (faculty members, the program director, and career service) presented to us, what they do in the program of Design and Management at Parsons. What is interesting about Parsons, The New School is that its really five schools spread across a few streets and blocks. There is the School of Design Strategies, The School of Fashion, The School of Art, Media and Technology, The School of Constructed Environments and ADHT (Art, Design, History and Technology). Interestingly, the street was very close to the New School's heart in the early years, where anyone could walk off the street and attend a class. Corridors continue to be art galleries. 40% of the students are international. But even the international students come from reasonably affluent backgrounds and we still need to find ways to make emerging markets, sustainability and such real world issues sexy to them.
  We discussed however, the opportunity of internships and of using our design success stories as cases and the possibility of online interactions. Besides, we also committed to developing an exhibition for the Parsons' gallery, that brings alive both India and our work.

Afternoon: With Carlos, met Joel Towers, Dean Parsons and Mathew Caballero, Asst Dean, Parsons. It was nice to find out that one of the most respected design institutions in the world had quite a refreshing perspective and had chosen to be nimble. Joel talked about the New School being part of a global network, where there would be a lot of exchange in not very typical/formal/structured ways. We were all very excited about the possibility of collaboration.

Evening: The evening rocked! We presented in the Orozco room. This is a room reserved for very special occasions. Orozco (a Mexican mural artist painted a mural on the walls of this room, in a way that it couldn't be taken out. He wanted his work to be accessible by the public and not put away in a museum). Well, we made our work accessible to the cool junta of New York (finally!) But seriously we had an amazing crowd of academicians, practitioners and industry. Most that Carlos had invited, some whom Jacob and Sonia had called. We showed our E India movie, The Idiom presentation (by Sonia and Jacob) and then Kishoreji (Kishore Biyani), along with us, took questions. We started at 6 pm and it showed no signs of winding up, even by 9 pm and continued on to dinner. (The legendary) Bruce Nussbaum, who was there went on record to say that this was the most engaging discussion he had had on design ever. Even Mr Biyani was excited and enjoyed the discussion.  Most were fascinated by the scale and speed at which things are happening in India. Carlos was beaming (he made it possible and everyone was thanking him for inviting them). We made new friends, in the UN, in Panasonic, in Havaianas, in AIGA, in Smart Design and many more.

12th March

We (Carlos, Jacob, Girish, Sonia) had lunch with Miodrag Mitrasinovic, Dean, School of Design Strategies. He told us about the idea of laboratories/about the India-China School. It was a meeting that turned out to be more than just refreshing!!! We have a follow on meeting early next week to make a plan of action to develop on the emerging design education needs in India looks like things will happen sooner than later. 

Posted By Sonia

Designing Engineering Excellence

The TVS exhibit at the Delhi 2010 auto expo

An Indian trade show dedicated to showcasing automotive excellence

The 10th auto expo held in New Delhi between Jan 5th – 11th, 2010 was a grand success. There were over 150,000 business visitors, 2000 odd participants and over a million visitors. The crowd consisted of overseas buyer delegations, International Business Visitors, Dealers Delegation, Government Officials, Senior Executives of PSUs, Garage & Workshop Owners, CEOs / Decision Makers, Division Heads, Managers / Department Heads, Engineers, Consultants, Technicians, Mechanics, Drivers, Delegation from State Transport Companies, Delegations from Technical Institutions and General Visitors. The expo was spread across 70,000 square ft at the Pragati Maidan in New Delhi. It witnessed the largest ever overseas participation with contingents from Britain, Canada, China, France, Germany, Italy, Japan, Spain and Taiwan. There were 72 vehicle launches at the expo, 10 of them being Global launches. Many participants launched vehicles with the aim of tapping into Indian market, as we have the 2nd largest two-wheeler consumer market in the world.

TVS Motors rocks the Expo:

  

  One of the front runners in the Indian two-wheeler market, TVS motors, had an excellent expo. TVS showcased its range of existing production models along with those that run on alternative energy sources and an ATV concept vehicle called the Hammerhead. TVS had one of the best exhibits at the expo. The swanky exhibit area was conceptualized and built by Idiom Design and Consulting, Bangalore. The TVS exhibit area was one of the trendiest and most modern looking exhibit areas at the Delhi auto expo.

The Engineering Ripple:

    The design objective that Idiom had been given by TVS was- ‘Real products for Real people’. Keeping this in mind, Idiom came up with a design concept called ‘Engineering Ripple’. As TVS is moving forward with Technology, Idiom felt that they needed a modern design that was interactive and also showed the people how TVS has evolved over the years.

     

  The exhibit area was designed in such a way that people could have interactive opportunities with the working of these machines. So, in addition to displaying the vehicles, Idiom also embedded working automotive parts (like the disk brake system, fuel intake design and 2-wheeler engines) into the display. There was a history and technology timeline display depicting the evolution of TVS through the years. There was also a visual suspended meeting room overlooking the exhibition space. The Wheels unplugged review says “The display at TVS Motor Company stall demonstrates the company’s unwavering pursuit for green technologies to create pragmatic innovations that benefit the lives of people. “

The 2010 TVS motors line-up:

The TVS section at the expo was well received by many. Anand, an Engineer with a reputed auto-manufacturer said “ABS in two wheelers is a boon to riders. Ok! No stunts! But safety improves. Hope Bajaj and Hero Honda soon catch up. ABS will be really useful in places like Kerala where you have rains for 3-4 months continuously”. They also introduced their new babies, the 110cc Jive and the Wego scooter. The focus of TVS for the year 2010 would be on these two models. There were many more TVS displays like the new ABS (anti-lock braking system) kitted Apache RTR 180, the Scooty Streak hybrid (petrol + battery operated) and the delicious Hammerhead (a 4-wheeled quad concept vehicle).

The hottest new scooter to hit Indian roads: the Wego

   Over the last couple of years, Idiom has been working with TVS with the Branding of its newly launched scooter, the TVS Wego. The Wego comes with a 110 cc engine that delivers a peak power of 8 BHP @ 7500rpm. TVS has made use of vehicle simulation models, computational fluid dynamics and frequency response analysis techniques to ensure smooth and noise-free engine and best-in-class ride comfort and handling. The all aluminum low-friction engine ensures best-in-class mileage. Multi-reflector halogen headlamps and LED tail lamp with optical guides give the scooter dynamic styling better described as urban dynamism.

  One of the unique features of TVS Wego is its Body Balance Technology that enables lower steering effort, better control and maneuverability through optimum vehicle mass and mass distribution, making it the best scooter to handle in city traffic conditions. With the launch of TVS Wego, TVS Motor becomes the only company with the widest range of scooters in the market starting from the entry-level Scooty Teenz, Scooty Teenz Electric to the iconic Scooty Pep+, the snazzy Scooty Streak and now the TVS Wego. With Idiom’s help, TVS has launched another sure winner.

 

Post Expo:

 The space was designed in such a way that no particular display stole the show and all the displays were given equal visibility. TVS lived up to people’s expectations. They had a world-class exhibition area to showcase their work. TVS motors seems to be adopting greener technologies to the maximum extent possible while not deviating off from biker’s interests. No wonder the TVS stall at the expo received many visitors and was a big hit. Idiom gave TVS what they asked for- a design showcasing real products for real people.

Posted by Rahul