Lakme, Wills in pitched battle to reign over the ramp

After fighting a pitched battle for a market share in the FMCG space, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL) and ITC are now vying for a major share in the Rs 10,000-crore fashion industry through their brands Lakme and Wills Lifestyle.

As ITC’s Wills Lifestyle Fashion Week came to an end in Delhi on Sunday, Lakme Lever kickstarted its fashion extravaganza ‘Lakme Fashion Week’ in Mumbai from Monday.

Last week, ITC Lifestyle had tied up with 10 leading fashion designers including Ashish Soni as part of its marketing strategy, said Atul Chand, divisional chief executive, Lifestyle Retailing Business, ITC Ltd.

“In the last six months, we have grown by 25%. In fact, 15% of our sales have come from these designer wears. We are now selling the special collections created by India’s leading designers at our retail outlets across the country,” said Chand. During the previous WFW, ITC tied up with Anamika Khanna, Rajesh Pratap Singh, among others.

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McCain, Obama battle over economic prescriptions

Republican presidential nominee John McCain used his final debate with Democrat Barack Obama to attack his rival over taxes,spending and past associations, while Obama countered by stressing his approach to the economic and health- care issues that dominate voters'concerns.

McCain, 72, trailing in most polls, took the offensive almost from the first moments of the debate at Hofstra University in Hempstead, New York, last night.

He portrayed Obama as a tax and-spend Democrat whose policies would damage small businessmen -- including would be Ohio entrepreneur Joe Wurzelbacher. McCain repeatedly invoked him, calling him “Joe the plumber,'' triggering a debate within a debate over which candidate was on Joe's side.

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