Rediffusion and Contract in the final shootout for Louis Philippe

The seven-agency race for the Rs 7-crore Louis Philippe account in Bangalore is headed for an exciting finish. Rumblings in the agency circle seem to indicate that Madura Garment has identified two agencies - Rediffusion and Contract - for a final shootout. Which means incumbent O&M is out for all practical purposes. Even until yesterday, McCann-Erickson was being touted as the third suitor on the final shortlist, but now it seems the agency is out of the running leaving just the two agencies to slug it out for the final deal.

agencyfaqs! diehards would recall the report last month Louis Philippe account is up for grabs which had said that among the agencies in the contention for this highly prestigious account are JWT, McCann, Contract, Enterprise Nexus, Mudra and incumbent O&M.

When contacted, a company spokesperson told agencyfaqs! that no decision had been taken and that the agencies have been asked "to come up with some more details". However, sources close to this development confirmed that "for the company the choice has now boiled down to one of the two (Rediffusion and Contract)". When contacted, Prateek Srivastava, vice-president, O&M, merely said, "We have not been told anything officially."

Incidentally, O&M handles Madura Garment's Allen Solly, a brand that has been extremely aggressive in the market in recent times. The other Madura Garment brands are aligned in the following manner. While JWT (Bangalore) handles Van Heusen, and Madura Garment's retail brands Planet Fashion and Trouser Town, Mudra manages Peter England and Byford.

Clearly, the company is looking at ‘a complete 360-degree solution package'. "It needs inputs on business strategy, communication and below-the-line strategy to help it rejuvenate the brand, which seems to have fallen into an auto-sleep mode," according to trade watchers. © 2003 agencyfaqs!