Three agencies in the final race for Bharti Retail

There were five agencies – O&M, McCann, Lowe, JWT and Leo Burnett – in the fray for this business, out of which McCann, Lowe and JWT have been invited for the second round of presentations

Out of the five agencies that participated in the creative pitch for the Bharti Retail account, three have been short-listed for the final presentation. These agencies are McCann-Erickson, Lowe and JWT. Besides these three, O&M and Leo Burnett were part of the first round of presentations.

agencyfaqs! had reported earlier that Bharti Retail, a 100 per cent subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises, which is planning to enter the retail space in association with US-based retail major Wal-Mart, had called for a creative pitch in mid-March. However, the pitch was called for its front-end retail plans, and not for the wholesale venture with Wal-Mart.

The first round of presentations was held in the last week of March, and the agencies were asked to focus on two key aspects, low pricing and the range of products that Bharti wishes to offer. The agencies will now be asked to suggest a suitable brand name and develop a positioning strategy for the brand.

Three agencies in the final race for Bharti Retail

It is learnt that the first round of presentations were made to the senior management team of the Bharti Group, which included Hemant Sachdev, corporate director, marketing, Bharti Enterprises, and Vinod Sawhny, head, Bharti Retail. The second round of presentations, which will also be a creative one, will be made to top management including Rajan Bharti Mittal, managing director, Bharti Enterprises. It is not known whether Wal-Mart executives will be present for the second round of presentations, but it is learnt that that they were absent from the first round.

The short-listed agencies are likely to make their presentations in the next 10 days. Considering the company’s plans for the launch of its retail outlets, the final decision on this can be expected by the end of this month.

Have news to share? Write to us atnewsteam@afaqs.com

Bharti Bharti Retail