Salon inaugurated

Toni & Guy opened its first salon in Ludhiana at Silver Arc Mall, Ferozepur Road. Having changed the face of the salon/hairdressing industry on international scale, the brand has an annual turnover of 200 million pounds, with 300 salons in UK and over 500 salons in 42 countries worldwide. Toni & Guy is the world’s number one hair dressing super brand, with a reputation which has been built on an impeccable pedigree and foundation of education, fashion focus and friendly professional service. Sonali Bhambri, director, Toni & Guy, North India, said, “Expanding our growth and visibility in the market including opening of salon in key locations like Ludhiana. This is an essential part of our growth strategy to make the brand more accessible to the consumers. The salon, which is made on global standards and offers an enriching pampering experience with great customer service is sure to be appreciated by our customers.” Ajay Nayar, director, Silver Arc Mall, Ludhiana, said, “We have carefully selected the best brand in beauty and hair for our last space in the mall, as we did for the entire mall which positions Silver Arc as the best mall in Ludhiana. Toni & Guy believes in bringing best quality of all the services.”

FIEO’s budget proposals

The Federation of Indian Export Organization have expressed that Union Budget 2016-17 will be industry friendly. The members proposed that inverted duty structure in respect of various items may be given due consideration in the Union Budget as it not only effects exports but also the manufacturing sector and adversely hit Make in India. Apart from that the actual refund mechanism for service tax is cumbersome and time taking which blocks the working capital of exporters. Hence, the demand of exporting community is that Service tax should be exempted for exports. Further they added that Terminal Excise Duty (TED) on purchase of capital goods from indigenous manufacturers under EPCG Scheme may also be exempted as the current refund process leads to blockage of working capital for a considerable period of time and increase transaction cost. Today, the biggest challenge affecting MSME exports is on the marketing front. This is because most of MSMEs lack financial resources to meet the cost. Government needs to chip in with liberal funding. Government may create an Export Development Fund (EDF) in order to support them on this front. The corpus of the fund should be 0.5 per cent to 1 per cent of export value so that sizable money is available to promote MSME exports. MSMEs play a pivotal role in India’s exports as well as in ‘Make in India’ Programme. In view of current downfall in exports, encouragement to MSME Sector by way of fiscal incentives on their year-on-year export growth would motivate them for aggressive export marketing, which in turn could help in restoring export momentum. Hence, MSME exporters may be provided additional exports benefits. Currently, no additional fiscal benefit is available to MSME sector under FTP. pl add to business briefs

Basant Ice Cream bag laurels

Basant Ice Cream, ice cream king of the city, won four gold and a bronze medal at the Great India Ice Cream Contest held on February 11, 2016 at Hotel Hilton, in Gurgaon. The event organised by Indian Dairy Association in collaboration with Dupont Company, witnessed participation by more than 100 companies from across the country. A panel of 20 judges with years of experience behind them, made selection from more than 2000 samples of ice cream based on parameters like flavour, colour, melting, texture and overall quality. Charanjit Singh Basant, managing director, Basant Ice Cream, received the award.

Expo from February 19

Garments Machinery Manufacturers and Suppliers Association (Regd.) – Expo announced their maiden GMMSA EXPO-INDIA 2016 to be held at Dana Mandi, Bahadur Ke Road, Ludhiana, from February 19-22. The expo is being organised to facilitate the garment machinery manufacturers and suppliers to showcase their products with the latest world class technology. The expo is expected to have an estimated footfall of more than 40,000 visitors from all over India and overseas. Speaking on the occasion Ram Krishan, administrator, GMMSA, Expo India 2016, said, “The objective of the expo is to capitalise the opportunity to provide latest technology and know-how to give a shot in the arm of garment manufacturing industry and keep the industry appraised to compete in the domestic as well as in the global market. It is being organised by the industry itself for the betterment of Ludhiana industry on the whole and in particular to boost domestic as well as export segment in particular.” — TNS