IFJ Story shining bright :- k-lite industries .....

IFJ Story shining bright :- k-lite industries .....


“Quality has been the first and the last word on
our agenda. Otherwise, we would have been wiped out like several others who tried to brand themselves during the last couple of decades in the competitive Indian markets,” says Dilip Kumbhat, Chief Executive, K-LITE Industries, a unit of the Kumbhat Group and an ISO 9001 certifi ed company operating out of Chennai.
Describing their beginnings, Dilip Kumbhat says, “We began our journey in 1978. My father was an electrical engineer who traded in lighting products. After I completed my degree in engineering, I joined my father’s business. I was keen to steady development
Despite the ironic reality that the tag of being a ‘small scale industry, restricting manufacturers from expanding production facilities, currently, almost 95 percent of big brands in India do not manufacture their own products. Dilip Kumbhat explains, “The entire production is outsourced to smaller manufacturers and these big brands only market products. We have six production units in Chennai and our entire product range is sold under our brand name,” he adds with pride. K-LITE has grown in stature as an Indian brand for electrical luminaires, ranging from tiny halogen lamps to a range of fl uorescent light fi ttings. The product basket includes posttop lanterns, fl ood lights, street lights with mercury or sodium; apart from metal halide lamps for road lighting, industrial and other
applications. Dilip Kumbhat says, “K-LITE has an exclusive range of out-door luminaires and
we are proud to call it a standing testimony to our commitment to innovation, quality,
durability and proven performance. The outdoor luminaires, several of them designed for CFL, are very popular and extensively used in leading hotels and amusement parks. K-LITE
has the expertise to manufacture custom built luminaires.” He further adds, “We have made a foray into the production of LED luminaires, the lighting of the future. Plans are also afoot to go in for fi ber optic lighting.”
manufacture our own products and so we began with a small production unit for distribution boards and panel boards. It was a small fi nancial investment and there were giants in the market, some of whom are still around. It was not very easy to market our product at a higher level,” he says. As K-LITE products began to get noticed, they began the design and production of lighting fi xtures for Indian Railways, which continues to date. “There was no major breakthrough at anytime and we developed steadily, as we kept developing new products,” he says, adding that the major turbulence in the industry occurred in terms numbers and variety of products consequent to the allowance of free imports in the post liberalization period of the early and mid 90s. “Products from all over, especially from South East Asia fl ooded the Indian markets at unbelievable prices. Several manufacturers around Chennai had to shut down their production, and some of them even turned importers,” he says. “The imposition of anti dumping duty later corrected the scenario but this was an eye opener for many Indian manufacturers to perk up their designs and quality,” says Kumbhat.

IFJ LIFESTYLE STORES......

The Indian version of ‘lifestyle’ is climbing upthe evolutionary ladder. Anjelika Kripalani,Managing Director and Interior Designer,Renaisaance Homez, Delhi, says, “During the last15 years there has been a pragmatic shift in theconcept of lifestyle stores. After 1995 the Indiangovernment banned imported furniture. In 2002,it changed the policy and imported furniturebegan to come into the country and becamepart of the merchandise. At that time there werehardly 4-5 players in the country that could bedefined as lifestyle stores. As the product basketwidened and the number of stores soared, therewas further experimentation.”While for some, these experiments were akin toclimbing up a greasy pole due to their inabilityto gauge the dynamics of rapidly changingconsumer preferences, others seemed to ridethe wave of post-liberalization consumerism.According to Raseel Gujral Ansal, Creative Head,Casa Paradox Pvt. Ltd., New Delhi, a lifestyle storeis something that has furniture, soft furnishings,home accessories and artifacts, giftware, andperhaps some clothing. “There are multiplevendors supplying to one roof and these couldbe indigenous or imports. That’s generally howa lifestyle store is perceived here as well as inthe rest of the world,” she adds. Priti Sayeed,Business Head, BoConcept India, Gurgaon says,“Lifestyle stores reflect people’s self image or selfconcept, the way they see themselves and believethey are seen by the others. Lifestyle stores are animportant factor in determining how consumersmake their purchase decisions.”

shopping place that combines the magnetismof high-end retail, dining and entertainmentand is oriented towards upscale consumers.He says, “They offer apparel, home goods,books and music and many more amenities.However, lifestyle stores in India are largely aone-stop destination for products positionedas lifestyle, such as furniture, furnishings andhome decorative perceived as representing style,comfort and individuality, appealing to a varietyof taste and preferences.” Rashida Baker Asrani,Managing Director, ABACA - Indo Italian FurnitureCo. Pvt. Ltd., Mumbai, adds, “In India ‘lifestyle’was earlier associated more with clothes, bags,shoes and fashion. Today lifestyle includes homedécor, kitchen accessories and has more to dowith a holistic lifestyle, hence retailers try to offera whole range of products which would enhanceone’s sense of style and aesthetics.”Asim Dalal, Managing Director, The BombayStore, Mumbai, feels the earlier concept of highstreet and departmental stores has now evolved

living the regal dream: VADODARA ......

 A city of manydevelopmentVadodara, a city with a significant population from the service sector has always been seen as conservative. Ar. Dhirendra Patel, Principal Architect, Void, says this is changing, “Baroda has started experimenting with newer ideas and awareness has increased considerably. Major developments have been seen in the last five to seven years.” Vadodara has been blessed with a history few other cities enjoy, with the industrial belt around Vadodara being a catalyst for development. Ar. Rajnysh Rami, Interior Designer, Studio7 Designs says, “International executives from the industries are present in the city and they have indirectly pressured the development of Vadodara. Being a service sector oriented city, a lot of intellectual development has also been taking place.”Offering another perspective, Ar. Karan Grover feels Vadodara is developing with zero control. He says, “Baroda was stagnant over the last twenty five years when all the other cities were rapidly growing in terms of real estate. It is in the last eight years that we have seen a boom in property; and the demand is not consumer driver, it is anticipated consumerism.”educationEstablished in 1881, the Maharaja Sayajirao University (MSU) of Baroda is a testament of the rich educational fabric of the city, with thirteen faculties it is the only university in Gujarat with English as the medium of instruction.

“MSU is one of the best universities; however, it does not allow any other institution to come up, thus restricting growth,” says Ar. Nirav Hirpara, Director, Vadodara Design Academy and Chairman, IIID Charotar Center. “Education is a major component of overall development, and people eager to learn travel the distance to study, to the exteriors of the city,” he adds.Centrally located within the state, education is a major resource for the city of Vadodara. The Department of Architecture at the Faculty of Technology and Engineering, Maharaja Sayajirao University; Vadodara Design Academy; Parul Institute of Engineering and Technology; Navrachana Education Society; and Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel Institute of Technology are some of the leading architectural institutes in Vadodara. “Being an educational hub, the city is safe and offers affordable accommodation; making students feel very comfortable,” shares Ar. Rajnysh Rami.names, Vadodara, formerly known as Baroda, is strategically located on the major rail and road arteries joining Mumbai with Delhi and Ahmedabad earning it another moniker ‘the Gateway to the Golden Corridor’. The city is also known as Sayaji Nagri after its famous ruler Sayajirao Gaekwad and Sanskari Nagri which is a reference to its status as the cultural capital of Gujarat.The golden period of Vadodara started with the accession of Maharaja Sayajirao Gaekwad III in1875, whose enlightened rule continued for over sixty years. He modernized the city by establishing compulsory primary education, a library system, a university and textile and tile factories, thus creating Vadodara’s image as an educational, industrial and commercial centre. “Maharaja Sayajirao was an incredible ruler, he knew the plight of the urban man; Vadodara today is the blueprint of what he envisioned,” says city veteran Ar. Karan Grover, Principal Architect, Karan Grover & Associates.

IFJ interior solutions for changing times......

Germany wins the phoenix award for rising first from the ashes, after the economic crisis that petrified all of europe in the last few years. showing an important positive growth rate, with the expectancy of recovery in the year ahead, the news is good and the prospects better. the interiors sector has also shaken off the fear of chinese competition and has focused on leveraging the key strengths of high quality and design, a winning combination for the interiors sector. ifj takes a look at the trend forecast for the year 2012, in germany..
of the recent economic situation have seen many changes in the way people live, entertain, spend their money and interact with their work, in Europe. This has translated into changes in the offerings of the suppliers to the interiors sector : multiple-function furniture, moveable and flexible-use furniture and the inevitable bow to the inexorable advance of technology. The trends set in place a couple of years ago, when people were frightened into their shells (read homes) have grown, without the fear factor, into a pride in home, and a confidence in consumers in being their own interior designers.

Spaces are increasingly less defined and the broadened scope is a function of the multiple tasks people perform in their homes, including surfing the internet, sending email communications and holding conference calls from home offices

As incomes fell in the early days of the crisis, people sheltered at home, seeking the comfort and the less expensive option for eating, entertaining and just being.This translated into more investment into these spaces. The open kitchen, grew into the open home, as designer couple Doshi-Levien showed at the Das Haus exhibit at IMM, in Cologne, one of the world’s leading furniture and interiors tradefairs. “Areas that used to be strictly separate are now blending into one another, and leaving their traditional functions behind,” says Ursula Geismann, of VDM. So open-plan kitchens now accommodate dining spaces, with armchairs instead of the regular dining chair, and offices in the form of laptops on the work surface.

IFJ LUXURY DESIGN STORY

IFJ LUXURY DESIGN STORY .............

Born in new york and raised between europe and the us, janet morais brings the benefit of influences from both cultures to her work in high end design interiors active on the design scene for just a decade, Janet Morais, owner of the interior design firm DeMorais & Associates, and co-founder of the product editing and international brand representation company, DeMorais International has an impressive body of work that belies this brief time. Janet Morais says her early experiences defined her path. “I was fortunate to have had the experience of growing up in two very distinct cultures. My parents traveled often through Europe and my most memorable moment was our summer trip to Paris. At that moment I knew Paris would be the city I called home. All that I loved and aspired to be at such a young age was in one magical city. My determination and tenacity to create perfectly curated environments was set in stone at that very moment.”
The learning continued with later experiences during university studies in Paris and the US. “One of the greatest lessons the US and its universities taught me, was to formulate a driven competitive edge. It was in the US that my professional foundation was laid, but it was in Paris that I developed my exuberant and extravagant approach to life. While taking classes at the Sorbonne I began interning with one of Paris’ top stylists at Galleries Lafayette near L ’Opera. I vividly recall every moment spent in that magnificent city. I was inspired by everything and everyone. My eye for beauty and exquisite detail was refined. Once I completed my university studies, I knew that only in the US would I be able to take my career to success, so against my creative will I returned,” she says.

Read More To Click Here....