S Kumars leads race to acquire Barack Obama's tailor

S Kumars and private-equity firm Emerisque Brands will acquire bankrupt Hartmarx for $119 million.

Textile major S Kumars Nationwide Ltd (SKNL) is close to acquiring the tailor of US President Barack Obama. Hartmarx, the bankrupt US suitmaker, has accepted the bid of SKNL, along with British private-equity firm Emerisque Brands, according to this report.

Emerisque Brands U.K. Limited and SKNL North America B.V will acquire the firm for a total sum of $119 million. Hartmarx, based out of Chicago, had recently come to fame when it custom made the tuxedo Obama wore on Inauguration Day and the suit Obama wore on Election Night.

The offer by Emerisque and SKNL involves paying $70.5 million cash and a secured note worth $15 million. The two have also agreed to assume $33.5 million of Hartmarx liabilities. Hartmarx's biggest debtor is Wells Fargo. There are other players also in the race, who are interested in acquiring various brands and segments of the firm. Homi Patel is the Hartmarx Chairman and CEO.

The deal, also called a "stalking horse bid", which means an attempt by a debtor to maximize the value of its assets as part of or before a bankruptcy court-approved auction process.

Hartmarx, which filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy protection in January, could come under bankruptcy auction in June. Emerisque and SKNL have signed a breakup agreement, where Hartmarx will pay a $1.65 million break-up fee plus $2 million for expenses if it goes for a rival bid. Similarly, SKNL and Emerisque have agreed to pay $4 million termination fee if they abandon the bid.

S Kumars has been expanding its footprint across the world through its aggressive inorganic strategy. Last year alone it acquired around three firms. In May last year, it acquired a controlling stake in Italian fabric manufacturer, Klopman International. Then it also acquired Italian shirt fabrics maker Leggiuno SpA later last year. Another one of its acquisitions last year was Scottish fashion chain Internacionale.

To fund its inorganic strategy and expansion , the company has also been tapping private equity on a regular basis. S Kumars raised $220 million (Rs 900 crore) from Singapore's sovereign wealth fund GIC, who picked 25.4% in its subsidiary Reid & Taylor, last year. SKNL also raised $107 million from Hong Kong-based ADM Capital for itself and its retail arm Brandhouse Retail in 2007.

Source: http://in.reuters.com/

Indian Manufacturers Suppliers Exporters Directory,Buyers and Sellers,B2b Business Directory India

Sme.in opened the doors of global access for small and medium enterprises.

We are aware of the fact that every company wants to adopt latest marketing strategies to expand their business. And in today’s internet world, internet marketing strategies are the most sought after form of marketing. But the high costs linked with them makes them beyond the reach of small and medium enterprises. So after taking overview of the entire situation, sme.in was incepted in 2004. This online business directory’s primary objective was to promote the business of SMEs up to global level. This has been a joint venture of SMEBS and MIDC, Maharashtra. This portal is multi lingual, i.e. it is published in 16 international languages. The manufacturers from 177 countries are listed here. So this directory has enhanced product promotion in 177 countries with sixteen languages, which is really impressive

Today this B2B directory celebrates 5 years of its success in providing a cost effective solution for the small and medium enterprise for expanding their business in global market. It has gained a growing recognition from the very year of its launch. It has enjoyed popularity as more and more people got aware of its advanced and unique features.

So this portal has helped the SMEs to get global vicinity and generate prospective business leads from anywhere in the world. This site has actually helped in promoting the concept of globalization of the economy. This user friendly site has brought the global buyers and sellers on a single platform to interact with each other.

Source: http://www.prminds.com/pressrelease.php?id=7301

6,000 exporters have gone bankrupt since Romania's EU accession

Approximately 6,000 exporters have gone bankrupt since Romania's accession to the European Union, the main reason being the incapacity to pay VAT to suppliers, the President of the National Association of Exporters and Importers (ANEIR), Mihai Ionescu, said Wednesday.

Number of Romanian exporters has dropped from almost 16,000 to around 9,800, said the ANEIR head.

"The exporters did not have money to pay the VAT to their suppliers, after which they could not resist until the Fisc would return them the money," Ionescu explained.

The ANEIR president also said the exporters had been affected from the accession to the European Union until now by the currency risk, being strongly disadvantaged by the appreciation of the leu, especially when the rate reached up to 3.10 lei / euro, in July 2007.

Mihai Ionescu said that exports fell by 63% in the first decade of this month compared to the same period last year, which signals the worsening of the situation because of the financial crisis. The only exception was the automotive sector, where Romanian exporters were helped by the "Rabla (scrap cars)" programme in Germany, according to the ANEIR head.

The German government has recently introduced a 2,500-euro scrap incentive for owners of cars older than nine years, when buying a new model. Some consequences of the measure were not anticipated by the government. Thus, the German consumers would not give up their cars older than nine years for a new Mercedes, BMW or Audi, which remain expensive even with the bonus of 2,500 euro, and go for Dacia's 7,500-euro Logan model, where the reduction is 33% on the car's list price.

Dacia Logan sales in Germany increased six/fold in February, and the model has received the status of "ironic symbol of the crisis" on this market.

Source: http://www.curierulnational.ro/

Zinc, Lead futures trade down

Base metals futures such as Zinc and Lead have traded in the negative zone at the MCX today as traders preferred to take short position eyeing slowing demand for base metals form consuming industry following global economic recession.

MCX Zinc May contract declined 0.88% at Rs 67.90 per kg as against its previous closing at Rs 68.50. It opened at Rs 68.25 and touched a low of Rs 67.40. (2.13 p.m., Thursday).

Zinc June contract opened at Rs 69.65 per kg as against its previous closing at Rs 69.50. It touched the lowest level of Rs 68.25 and last traded price for the same was Rs 68.65, down 1.22%. Zinc July contract shed 1.43%, at Rs 69.15 a kg. It opened at Rs 70.15 per kg and touched the lowest level of Rs 69.10.

Similarly, Lead June contract traded marginally lower at Rs 68.80 per kg as against its previous close of Rs 68.90 per kg. It tossed in the range of Rs 69.10-68.30 after opening at Rs 69.05. The open interest of the same was 1,446. Lead July contract slipped by 1.07% to Rs 69.30 per kg. It opened at Rs 69.75 as compared to its earlier close of Rs 70.05.

Source: http://www.myiris.com/

India copper futures edge lower on rupee

MUMBAI, May 20 (Reuters) - India's copper futures edged lower on Wednesday pressured by a strong rupee locally, which makes the dollar-quoted asset cheaper, analysts said. The most active June copper contract MCCM9 was 0.25 percent lower at 219.45 rupees per kg at 5:51 p.m..

The Indian rupee trimmed its early fall and rose as a large corporate and exporters sold dollars, but further gains were capped due to the drop in domestic shares. See [ID:nBOM424647]

A weak dollar against other currencies and higher equity markets limited the downside, they added.

The dollar hit its lowest level against a basket of currencies in more than four months as slight gains in U.S. stock futures prompted some investors toward perceived riskier assets. See [ID:nLK960296]

World stocks rose for the fourth session in a row on Wednesday and Wall Street looked set to open higher. See [ID:nLK465622]

"It is trading in a narrow range since three days," said Navneet Damani, an analyst with Anand Rathi Commodities. Copper may trade in the range of 218-224 rupees on Wednesday, said Damani. May zinc MZIK9 was 2.92 percent lower at 69.80 rupees per kg, while lead for May delivery MLDK9 was 2.67 percent lower at 69.15 rupees per kg at 5:53 p.m..

Source: http://in.reuters.com/

Japanese textile major & Vardhman Group sign JV

Nisshinbo Textile Inc, Japan and the Indian textiles major, Vardhman Group will set up a joint venture company to manufacture shirts in Ludhiana in Punjab, India, which will be exported as well as sold in the domestic markets, with Nisshinbo looking after export markets and Vardhman, local markets.

Nisshinbo is a world-class textile manufacturer, with comprehensive operations including spinning, weaving, knitting, finishing and sewing and the Vardhman Group is one of the largest textile conglomerates in India having footprints in specialized yarns, fabrics, sewing threads and acrylic fibre.

Fibre2fashion spoke to a senior company official at Nisshinbo Textile Inc in Japan, who confirmed the news of the joint venture with the Vardhman Group. The JV will install 250 stitching machines and will have an output of 1.2 million shirts per annum, which will be gradually increased to 1.8 million units per year.

Source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/

Cotton imports may shoot up by 60%

Thanks to the increase of nearly 25-40 percent in the Minimum Support Price (MSP) of cotton, implemented by the government of India, the country could end up importing a higher number of bales in the current cotton season.

International cotton prices are quoting at a discount ever since the government owned agency Cotton Corporation of India (CCI) started its procurement, forcing eligible importers to import cotton which is available at a lower rate.

Fibre2fashion spoke to Mr DK Nair, Secretary General of the Confederation of Indian Textile Industry (CITI) was very forthcoming when he said, “About 500,000 bales (1 bale = 170 kg) of cotton has arrived in the country so far and another 500,000 bales may be imported in the remaining part of the current cotton year, since ours is the costliest cotton in the world today and mills are looking for cheaper options abroad”.

He added by saying, “An unprecedented increase in imports may lead to decline in prices for the new crop and if this happens, it would be the result of reckless government intervention in the cotton economy during this year. The Government needs to separate populism from policy and to recognise the interdependence of cotton farmers and textile mills”.

Mr KF Jhunjhunwala, Chairman of Cotton Textiles and Allied Products Research Foundation, and Past President of Cotton Association of India, said, “This year import of cotton till September will touch 800,000 bales out of which 500,000 will be extra long fibres and 300,000 bales would be medium and small staple fiber”.

“Every year we import approximately 600,000 bales of cotton so this year it will exceed by only 200,000 bales which is not a matter of concern, though it is tough to predict about the future because it depends on the behaviour of the weather and if it rains well situation will be good”.

Source: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/

BtoB Technology PR, Marketing Firm Arketi Group Offers Tips On Attaining Thought Leadership

Learn how to create killer content, promote it and use it to generate leads for your business-to-business organization

05.26.2009 – Arketi Group ( www.arketi.com), a high-tech BtoB public relations and marketing firm consistently recognized as one of the nation's “Top BtoB Agencies”, offers tip to technology PR and marketing pros on how they can position their organization as thought leaders.

Business-to-business technology companies often face two combined hurdles: how to generate content for public relations and marketing campaigns, and how to increase leads for the sales team.

“In order to keep prospects energized and interested in your products or services, public relations and marketing teams must have relevant and compelling content to deliver,” said Mike Neumeier, APR, principal at Arketi Group. “Often companies struggle in developing original content to use for PR and marketing efforts because, simply put, they are focused on delivering their core business. This puts B2B marketers in a bind.”

1) Create killer content

One way to break out of this uncomfortable situation is to commit to a thought leadership strategy grounded in unique industry research. Architecting and executing focused survey campaigns is one of the strongest ways to deliver a unique form of thought leadership that generates persuasive content, and that can be leveraged across multiple marketing avenues.

Creating content your company can own also permits you to highlight your company’s expertise and differentiate it from the competition with fact-based data. By elevating the conversation to trends and issues – and away from features and benefits – you can stake a claim to a true thought leadership position. (For an example, click the Underwriter Survey on Xerox Mortgage Services’ homepage .)

2) Publish and promote your content

Now that the marketing team has content, how can they harness it?

From a PR perspective, news releases, bylined articles or interviews with subject matter experts rank high on the list for using your content. A series of presentations and panel events at trade shows are easy extensions and can be coupled with distributing the survey findings at the event.

In addition, thought leadership-based content also provides the information necessary to drive a series of webinars, whitepapers or direct mail efforts that extend beyond the usual product- or service-based marketing programs. These marketing efforts raise your organization above the expected marketplace messages and position you as a true industry discussion leader with new thinking and ideas. (See this in action for Sprint .)

3) Arm Sales with your content

Every industry has a unique sales cycle, but the common thread for most B2B companies is that the sales force always wants more leads. Today more marketers are using thought leadership-based content to generate leads.

Start by merchandising thought leadership content online. Create a sales sheet highlighting new industry insights and “fast facts” with professionally designed graphics and charts. This becomes a unique collateral piece for the sales team, as well as an effective website download offer that can attract site visitors, increase traffic and grow your leads database.

Survey findings can also be leveraged in customer and prospect e-marketing efforts. For example, pay-per-click campaigns can be constructed to help disseminate the information and also attract prospects to your website.

Thought leadership-based surveys support and complement other marketing tools such as whitepapers, presentations and media coverage. When using these calls-to-action on your website, don’t forget to employ the “give-to-get” model by adding a registration page for to capture the lead, before users can download the item. (Check out StatCom’s 2008 National Survey on Patient Flow Challenges and Technologies.)

With a smart thought leadership program, B2B companies of all sizes can create compelling and insightful content, repurpose it for multiple marketing efforts, and use it to support the lead generation efforts.

Source: http://www.pitchengine.com/