Sales of electronic goods almost reached Dh 14 million (U.S. $ 3.9 million) and showed a 35 per cent increase over sales in July last year. Perfume sales reached Dh 13.4 million (U.S. $ 3.7 million) and showed the same percentage increase of 35 per cent over last July. Colm McLoughlin, Managing Director of Dubai Duty Free, said: "Our first half year sales figures were up 16 per cent on the previous year and we are absolutely delighted that this trend is continuing into the second half. We are aiming to close the year with sales of Dh 1.3 billion (U.S. $ 360 million) and with monthly figures like this, we are very much on track. This is a great reflection of the commitment from everyone at Dubai Duty Free."

There have been reports in a section of the media indicating that the company would introduce a new model next year, which would replace the Esteem.

While Maruti will continue to work on new models, there is no plan to replace the Esteem with any new model next year.

The reports on the replacement of the Esteem originated out of Japan and quoted a senior official in Suzuki Motor Corporation (SMC), the parent company of Maruti Udyog.

Maruti has been in touch with SMC. It is learnt that SMC has also denied the report. In a written rejoinder, SMC has said: "We wish to clarify that we had not made any statement to indicate that the Esteem would be replaced next year".

"No time lines for launch of a new model were given nor did we make any mention of replacing the Esteem next year", the statement by SMC said.

Hyundai Motor India, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Hyundai Motor Company, has put the creative duties of its luxury sedan Sonata on the block. Among the agencies vying for the Rs. 2 crore-business are Leo Burnett, McCann-Erickson and Ambience. The incumbent is SSC & B, which helped launch the brand in the country in 2001.

Executives close to the event say that Hyundai wants to retain a third agency on the roster, which is why its two other panel agencies—Grey Worldwide India and Saatchi & Saatchi—have not been asked to make presentations for the current business. Besides the Sonata, HMI has two other brands on the Indian roads —Santro and Accent—with the launch of a third brand just round the corner. For the record, Grey handles the Accent (Rs. 8 crore account) and Terracan (account size between Rs. 3 and 5 crore) accounts, and Saatchi & Saatchi is the custodian of Santro (Rs. 12-15 crore). The AOR remains with Zenith Media.

Sonata would be a clear coup for any agency, given the potential of the business as well as the prestige factor. No wonder the hush-hush nature of the pitch. After much persuasion, some members of the Chennai advertising fraternity did confirm the move, though company executives could not be reached for comment. Sources say, the company brass is busy in Chennai putting finishing touches to the launch plan of the Teraccan. HMI’s sports utility vehicle is ready to hit Indian roads next week.

General Motors has planned a slew of launches in every price segment and class in the Indian market to reach the targeted 50,000 units by 2005. The 2499 cc Tavera will be similar to the latest version of the Isuzu Panther which competes with Toyota’s Kijang in South-East Asian countries. Panther which was developed under the code-name "the 160 Project" was designed for developing countries in Asia by Isuzu Motors Ltd. in association with General Motors Corporation.

The Panther is positioned as a low-priced, reliable, multi-purpose entry-level vehicle. As per the agreement, Isuzu and GM will introduce these vehicles in various countries under their respective brand names wherever they are already present. Both companies will use the same parts and components for making these vehicles.

The transmission and engine will be sourced from Hindustan Motors’ plant. Hindustan Motors has been awarded a letter of intent by General Motors for supply of power units for their new model of utility vehicles.

In spite of a slow start, General Motors has been able to make inroads into the Indian market with the recent successes of Corsa Sail and Optra.

"In the next year, we’ll launch all the dairy products that we believe have a large market," Mother Dairy Foods Ltd. Head—Marketing & Sales Paul Thachil stated and added "in the next six months, we will be retailing these products beyond Delhi."

Mother Dairy’s new product offerings are expected to be in categories such as paneer, ghee and milk powder. "The co-operative sector has not been able to market paneer well and that is why the market has remained unorganised or unbranded so far," Thachil said. Mother Dairy was marketing the Vita brand of paneer from its retail outlets but has stopped stocking it now. Mother Dairy plans to price its paneer at Rs. 20 for a 200 gm-pack compared to Britannia’s Rs. 22 for the same size.

While Thachil is tight-lipped about where and how it will source paneer or other dairy products from, industry sources said that MDFL is close to signing a joint venture with the Uttar Pradesh Pradeshik Co-operative Dairy Federation (UPCDF) and may source these new products from the co-operative. "The sourcing location will have to be closer to Delhi, may be Haryana and U. P.," is all that Thachil said.

MDFL was formed last year to offer its services to various State co-operatives to enhance their marketing efforts through the formation of joint ventures. Till now MDFL has signed one joint venture with the Kerala Co-operative Milk Marketing Federation Ltd (MILMA) to market the MILMA brand of milk products in Kerala.

"The focus of Mother Dairy in the past was not on marketing at all but on a single product—milk. But if we have a strong brand, we can unleash the strength of the brand and use the equity to launch a host of dairy products," Thachil said.