NAMES DIVYALAKSHMI SALMAN ANSARI SNEDEN ANTHONY YAASH CHOGLE SIDDHESH DALVI DOMINIC GOUVEIA RADHIKA KANOJIA GAGAN

VERMA DARSHAN IYER

ROLL NO. 10B701 10B704 10B705 10B710 10B712 10B718 10B726 10B758 10B761

TUG OF WAR : Future Group & Reliance ADAG Brace for the 'Big' Fight

Indias big guns are engaged in a battle. Kishore Biyani, Vs, Anil Ambani - over a small name with big stakes: BIG BAZAR Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group has filed to register Reliance Big Bazar with Indias trademark authority. Meanwhile, Biyanis supermarket chain is also called Big Bazaar. Biyani treats Ambanis attempt as a way of theft , as the chain has been nurtured by him since 2001 and hence is opposing it.

Reliance, on the other hand, uses Big as the moniker for its entertainment and media channels ranging from Big FM, Indias largest radio network, to Big Video, Big Music, Big Flicks under Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

Big Bazar is one of the many names it has hence considered for its supermarket venture.
Reliance Adag applied in November 2006 for trademark registration of the name However, it is unusual for two Indian corporate giants to get into a fight over such major brand name.

 Reliance

ADAG move to register Reliance Big Bazar with India trademark authority met with stiff resistance from Kishore Biyani.

Biyani had been running Big Bazaar since 2001 and viewed the move by Reliance ADAG to get the Reliance Big Bazar name registered as an attempt by the company to leverage on the high brand recall of Big Bazaar.

In 2006, Reliance ADAG registered the name 'Reliance Big Bazar' with India's trademark authority. As soon as the move became public, it was met with stiff opposition from the CEO of the Future Group, Kishore Biyani (Biyani). The bone of contention between the two companies was the 'Big Bazar' name. The Future Group's flagship retail chain was also known as Big Bazaar and Biyani was not amused at Reliance ADAG's move to get the name registered. Reliance ADAG which uses the moniker big for most of its ventures decided to use Big Bazaar for its supermarket chain .

INTRODUCTION TO THE TWO DISTINCT PARTIES INVOLVED IN THE CONFLICT

 Founded

byMr.Kishore Biyani(M.D & CEO of group) Incorporated in 1987(as Manz wear pvt. Ltd) HeadquarterMumbai Diversified Business>>Retail as flagship sector Employees more than 80,000 people 1.3million sq.ft of retail space

 King

of Indias Retail Graduated in commerce from HR college , Mumbai Belongs to business family(cloth trading) From manufacturing to retail Retailer by Karma but nationalist by Dharma

The various formats under pantaloon retail:-

The hypermarket chain was introduced in India in 2001 by Pantaloon Retail(India ) Limited.The first store was established in Kolkata. Store was launched to meet the aspirations of middle class. Within a span of 2yrs store added food bazaar and gold bazaar in its range of offering.

APPARELS

FOOD

FARM PRODUCT Fruits Vegetables Imported fruits Dairy products

CHILL STATION Soft drinks Packaged juices Milk items Frozen foods Ice creams

HOME AND PERSONAL CARE Shampoo Detergents Soaps Liquid wash Creams deodorants Home cleaners Utensils Plastics Crockery Sundries

Denims and tshirts Fabric and cut piece Formals Casuals Party wear Ethnic wear Accessories Undergarments Night wear Dress materials Sarees

Staples Ready to eat Ready to cook International food Spices Imported bazaar Tea and coffee

ELECTRONICS BAZAAR TV sets Washing machines Refrigerator Personal care Small appliances Laptops Computer accessories Kitchen appliances

FASHION & JWELLERY Footwear Beauty care Star parivaar

FURNITURE BAZAAR Living room bed room Kitchen Dining room Kids room Paintings Decorative rooms

CHILD CARE AND TOYS Kids wear Toy bazaar stationary Child care

OTHER SERVICES MR. RIGHT Bakery Loot mart Tulsi Future money Future generally

Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group (usually referred as Reliance Group) is one of India's largest conglomerates, headquartered in Navi Mumbai, India. The company, which was formed after Dhirubhai Ambani's business empire was divided up, is headed by his younger son Anil Ambani. It has a market capitalization of US$ 15 billion, net assets US$ 7 billion. The ADAG Reliance Group has a business presence that extends to over 20,000 towns and 4.5 lakhs (450,000) villages in India, and across the globe. The shareholder base is over 12 million, among the largest in the world. The group is present in many sectors including Telecom, Capital, Power, Infrastructure, Entertainment and Health.

 Anil

Ambani (born 4 June 1959) is an Indian business baron and chairman of Reliance Group. As of 2010, he is the fourth richest Indian with a personal wealth of $13.7 billion

In addition to taking on Biyani, if Reliance ADAG enters Indias $300 billion annual retail market, it could open up another turf battle, this time with Mukesh Ambanis Reliance Industries Ltd. That is because a retail entry by Anil Ambani could potentially run afoul of a 2006 agreement between the two estranged brothers that set aside business segments in which the two will not compete with one another. Mukesh Ambani has already lined up Indias most ambitious$6 billionretail venture that is opening hundreds of convenience stores and hypermarket nationwide in the next three years. With at least 544 stores, Reliance Retail, ironically, competes with Biyanis Big Bazaar.

The central objective for Big Bazar was to bring in stability and consolidation. It was started to capitalise on the existing brand loyalty of big bazaar. Which in return helps companies to sell differentiated experiences and solutions and connect with the consumer emotions through the same name. To build their customer base. Reliance, on the other hand, uses Big as the moniker for its entertainment and media channels ranging from Big FM, Indias largest radio network, to Big Video, Big Music, Big Flicks under Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt Ltd.

Big Bazar targets higher and upper middle class Targeting young working class- The large and growing young working population is a preferred customer segment for Big bazar. These young people are early adopters of most modern product lines. An estimated 40-50% of the Indian working womens salary is spent on apparel and footwear. Big Bazar specifically target young, working professionals, home makers who are primary decision maker.

You pick a name and work on it and spend a lot of money on advertising.- That would take years to build. You have just started a shop and are just trying to sell products. Now, that wouldnt drive as many customers to the shop would it? What do you do then? Simple. Just pick a successful brand in the area you want to do business in and play with the alphabets a bit and voila you got your brand.

Thats exactly what Reliance did. It registered a brand name as Big Bazar and got through with it. It might even open few stores in the near future. Registering a company name should not be like registering a domain name. Domain name registrations are susceptible to this, which are unmonitored. But the trademark registration or the officials who are monitoring these will know that there is already a brand name called Big Bazaar and both of them sound the same.

Take Anil Dhirubhai Ambani's attempt to register the trademark Reliance BIG BazarKishore Biyani took offense despite Reliance application . Incidentally, there is, a difference in the way the two companies spell bazaar. The Anil Ambani group spells it with a single "a" while Pantaloon uses two 'a's . At the same time, it is noteworthy that the Future group had failed to object to the application from Reliance Anil Ambani group in the first place just before it was granted to ADAG. The Future group filed objections against three applications within the stipulated fourmonth period for objections, and Surat-based Asim Plast Pvt. Ltd challenged one, when India's Controller General of Patents, Designs and Trademarks opened the applications for public scrutiny in October 2007. So the Anil Ambani group secured registration for the other two applications Incidentally, the Future group can't sue the group for trademark infringement in the event the Anil Ambani group opens stores selling apparels . According t othe 1999 amendment act for Patents, Trademarks and Copyrights moving a rectification application is the only way to remove a registration once granted.