The Hindu Business Line : Marketers hardsell the Valentine Day's spirit

WITH Valentine's Day less than a week away, love and romance are very much in the air. Walk into any gift store or a lifestyle store, one just can't miss the red hearts, flowers and the Valentine greetings. As everyone looks out for a special gift for their Valentine, the market is brimming with offers. Valentine's discount sales, Valentine contests with attractive prizes such as a cruise holiday for two, special Valentine watches and jewellery are just some of them.

Says Mr V. Muralidharan, Vice-President (Operations), LifeStyle International Ltd, "After Diwali and New Year, Valentine's is the biggest festival which draws a large number of customers to the store, therefore, we capitalise on it by holding a variety of exciting promos." In agreement with him is Mr S. Sathish, Customer Care Associate and Department Manager, Shoppers' Stop, Chennai, who says, "Valentine's Day has cut across caste, language, religion and even age. It is no longer a youth festival meant just for lovers. Even older people across relationships have begun to celebrate Valentine's Day. Therefore, this occasion is a good platform for us to reach our target audience."

While almost all the lifestyle retail stores such as LifeStyle, Shoppers' Stop and Globus are running discount sales, they are also running special Valentine's contests. Shoppers' Stop, for instance, has a series of contests lined up for the period between February 7 and February 14. One of them being the Kaun Banega Pati contest for couples, which will be on the lines of the Star Plus gameshow Kaun Banega Crorepati. Similarly, LifeStyle, in Bangalore, has a contest for all its customers who have spent more than Rs 1,000 between February 7 and 14. "The customer, along with his or her companion, has to pick up two parts of a Valentine card. If they get the right card with the right Valentine message, they will win a dinner at one of the five-star hotels in the city. Apart from this contest, there will also be a number of on-the-spot contests, for which the prizes will be sponsored by Gili," says Mr Muralidharan. Westside, the Tatas' lifestyle store, has unveiled a Valentine gifts collection which includes coffee mugs, table lamps, scented candles and T-shirts.

In the week before Valentine's, say these retailers, the number of walk-ins to the stores almost doubles. However, Mr Muralidharan of LifeStyle also adds that the rise in walk-ins also depends on which day of the week is Valentine's Day. "If it is on a weekend, the walk-ins are phenomenally high," he says.

Another sector that's eyeing the eternal romantics is the watches segment. There are special Valentine's watches from Titan and Swatch for the watch buffs. Titan has launched a limited edition of Titan's Fastrack Valentine's Collection. These watches are designed in steel, with leather straps in black, red and silver. "The dials match the strap and have heart patterns, making the collection a true blend of fashion and romance," remarks Bijou Kurien, Vice-President (Sales and Marketing), Titan Industries. Similarly, Swatch has also launched a special Valentine's watch called Cupid's Bow. It is also running a special promo called `Paint Your Love' at all its leading outlets, in which couples will be asked to paint `love tattoos' on each other. "Those couples who are able to paint the exact replica of each other's tattoos will walk away with fabulous prizes from Swatch," says Deepa Chathrath, Brand Manager, Swatch.

The other product category which capitalises heavily on Valentine's Day sales and promos is the jewellery segment. Though Mahesh Rao, Director, Carbon sees only a marginal rise in Valentine's sales compared to last year due to the recession he still has series of promos lined up. "We are having a contest titled `How well you know your partner' on Rediff.com, in which a man has to mention an attribute which describes his woman appropriately. Rediff will then check with the woman, and if the attribute is okay with her, the couple win an attractive gift from Carbon," says Rao.

On the other hand, Tanishq is having the FQ Break-a-Heart promo, in which every person who buys FQ jewellery worth Rs 500 is entitled to break a cardboard heart and get a token which entitles the winner to gifts such as mouse pads, T-shirts and even FQ jewellery. The Tanishq spokesperson is confident that this promo will definitely boost sales. "The FQ collection fills the gap between haute couture and junk jewellery, and young people are always on the lookout for jewellery that is not only trendy but also affordable. Therefore, this Valentine's Day promo will definitely attract young hearts," he says.

Mohamed Hanif of Hasbro, which markets two menswear brands, Genesis and Basics, has decided to launch an aggressive marketing campaign from this year onwards, and Valentine's Day is the first event that has come his way. The promo, titled Dil Chahta Hai, says Hanif, is restricted to all exclusive Genesis and Basic outlets in Chennai. "This being our first-ever promo, we didn't want to go in for a discount sale. We wanted to add value to our customers. Therefore, the Dil Chahta Hai promo offers all our customers who buy more than Rs 1,500 worth of products a dinner for two at Pizza Hut, a bouquet of flowers and a box of chocolates," says Hanif. "Since this is our maiden promo, we really hope it is a hit," he adds. Apparel brand Benetton has launched an entirely new Valentine's collection for men and women.

The other major brand which is having a mega V-Day promo is TVS Scooty. Titled the `TVS Scooty Forever Young Contest', it invites participants of the contest to send their parents' most romantic photograph along with a caption. The contestant with the best photograph and caption will be able to win for his parents a cruise holiday on Star Cruise. "TVS Scooty has been specially designed for the youth. This campaign will enable us to interact with our customers directly. Moreover, through this contest, our customers can also experience the brand values that TVS Scooty stands for - friendship, love and togetherness," says Venkat Subramaniam, General Manager, Marketing, TVS Motor Ltd.

Marketers are going overboard with V-Day promos, but will the recession not affect Valentine's Day sales? Says Sathish of Shoppers' Stop, Chennai, "The recession may to a certain extent affect sales, but it will never lead to a considerable dip. Valentine's Day is a festival to gift someone you care for, and when it comes to such occasions, I don't think recession will actually have an impact." On the hand, Subramaniam of TVS says, "Despite the recession, TVS-Scooty has registered a profit this year. I am sure the Valentine's Day promo will definitely boost our sales."

Online retailer Fabmart has a scheme whereby shoppers spending more than Rs 2,000 at their store can enter a slogan-writing contest and win a vacation to Mauritius. Also, the Fabmart Create Your Own CD contest will make shoppers famous by naming the mushiest collection (made up from the music available at Fabmart's music store) after them and selling it on the store.

With myriad shopping options and a host of exciting promos, V-Day shoppers can not only shop to their heart's content, but also try their luck in the various contests. They just might be lucky!

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Marketers hardsell the Valentine Day's spirit

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