Godrej & Boyce Wins Trademark for Unique Retail Format – 1st Indian Company to Set Benchmark

 

Godrej & Boyce, the flagship company of the Godrej group announced that its brand - U&US - had become the first Indian company to have its specialised retail store format - U&Us Home Design Studio - registered as a trademark for its distinct character and concept with additional trademarks for its innovative layout, format as well as appearance and ambience.

Part of G&B’s business unit, Godrej Interio, U&Us delivers a world-class co-creation experience for with an end-to-end solution for designing and building home interiors. Present in Mumbai, Thane, Pune, Bangalore and Hyderabad, U&Us Home Design Studios are equipped with state-of-the-art digital technologies and dedicated Design Experts.  Using design thinking at the core of its customer-centric framework, U&Us Home Design Studios creates a seamless journey for consumers using collaborative design choices, high quality materials and project management tools, backed by innovative and patented technologies.

Anil S Mathur, Chief Operating Officer, Godrej Interio, a key business unit of Godrej & Boyce said, “Today’s top global retailers have seamlessly harmonised their physical and digital presence to render a distinctive personality to their retail operations through similar trade dress registrations. U&Us’ retail store design trademarks is a first in India and it not only sets the benchmark for specialised retail formats and puts us at par with leading global blue-chip peers but also is another milestone in our customer-centric journey.”

Manoj Rathi, Head, U&Us Home Design Studio added, “The U&Us trademark will help set new standards in collaborative and personalised retail in India. At our studios or through virtual consultations, consumers can work with Design Experts to convert their dream homes into a customised reality and remain engaged through virtual renditions of their final designs with detailed space layouts, décor and furnishings with help of technology.”

The U&US home design studio brings together a team of Design Exerts and local skills to collaborate with the consumer and co-create personalised spaces that are agile, contemporary and fit for the customer’s purpose.

About U&Us Design Studio

Godrej Interio brings to you a novel concept in furniture designing through its U&US Design Studio. Our product innovations, expertise and valuable customer insights have helped identify furniture ‘Co-creation’ as the need for the hour. At U&Us, we offer our customers an opportunity to create their own furniture designs by combining their ideas and our expertise at a state-of-the-art Design Studio. We employ an innovative and socially responsible business model to train and provide a perennial source of income for the carpenters, leading them towards a sustainable means of livelihood.

U&Us Design studio is aimed at using state-of-the art technology to create lasting customer experience in retail. Resultant was a retail space that uses augmented reality to its best, offering customers a real-life experience of spaces they configure and create.

Sun Microsystems begins laying off 6,000 across all ranks

Sun had earlier last year announced a series of changes designed to align its cost model with the global economy and accelerate the introduction of compelling open source innovations. As part of that effort Sun announced a global workforce reduction of approximately 5,000 to 6,000 employees, representing approximately 15% to 18% of the Company’s global workforce. Sun can confirm that today layoff notifications were given to approximately 1,300 employees as part of that action. Reductions were made across all levels, including vice presidents and directors.

Sun continues to make choices to align strategically, geographically and operationally with its plan for long term growth. We believe the restructuring will result in a more efficient coverage model with resources aligned to growth opportunities. We believe the number of positions that will be eliminated, when combined with the other cost cutting measures and organizational changes being implemented, will put the Company on track for improved financial performance.

Last November, Sun Microsystems said it would be laying off up to 6,000 employees — or around 18 percent of its workforce — after a weak first quarter performance. The cuts are happening today, we’re hearing from a well-placed source, ahead of the company’s second-quarter earnings report next Tuesday.

The server and software company is facing hard times as the market has shifted from closed-source to open-source software technologies, like Linux, and it is facing stiff competition from larger rivals like IBM and HP. To boot, a significant portion of the company’s business is in the financial sector — clients that aren’t in a position to make large purchases these days. Sun has been experimenting with software-as-a-service and other models to help it gain market share, and most prominently purchased open-source database company for MySQL for $1 billion last year. Here’s some more from the strategy announcement it released in November:

As part of this effort, Sun is announcing a global workforce reduction and alignment of its Software organization into new business groups - Application Platform Software, Systems Platforms, and Cloud Computing & Developer Platforms - with a focus on boosting open source momentum and growing new sectors of the market who view technology as a competitive weapon.

Agencies