|
|
|
In 2006, Reliance Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group
(Reliance ADAG) sought to register the name ‘Reliance Big Bazar’
with India’s trademark authority. As soon as the move became
public, it was met with stiff opposition from the CEO of the
Future Group, Kishore Biyani (Biyani).
Biyani, considered by
many as India’s ‘King of Retail’, was credited with being at the
forefront of the Indian retail revolution through the creation
of successful retail formats such as Big Bazaar, Pantaloon, Food
Bazaar, etc.
|
The bone of contention between the two companies was
the ‘Big Bazar’ name. The Future Group’s flagship retail chain was also
known as Big Bazaar and Biyani was not amused at Reliance ADAG’s move to
get the name registered.
The Anil Ambani led Reliance ADAG, which ran its entertainment business
under the banner Reliance Big Entertainment Pvt Ltd. (RBEPL), used the
name ‘Big’ for its various entertainment and media channels – Big FM,
Big Flicks, Big Music, and Big Video.
In late 2006, Reliance ADAG applied for registering the ‘Reliance Big
Bazar’ trademark under Class 28 and Class 35. According to the company,
RBEPL was considering it as one of the possible names for “aggregated
retailing of our entertainment products and services under one umbrella
brand.”1
However, the problem was that Biyani had been running the hypermarket
chain with the name ‘Big Bazaar’ since 2001. The group had got the name
registered when it started the first store in Kolkata. Since then, ‘Big
Bazaar’ had grown at a sound pace and also enjoyed good brand recall in
India.
As of mid-2008, the chain had expanded throughout the country with 89
stores, and was also the biggest revenue and profit generator for the
Future Group. Biyani was reportedly considering raising an IPO for the
chain after doubling the number of stores by March 2009.
Under these circumstances, Biyani viewed the move by Reliance ADAG to
get the ‘Reliance Big Bazar’ name registered as an attempt by the
company to leverage on the high brand recall of ‘Big Bazaar’ that had
been created over the years by the Future Group.
“See, they (Reliance-ADA) have not filed for retail, but for some other
purpose. But people in India recognize Big Bazaar as something. There
will be confusion… There’s a particular process for trademark
application, with room for objections – and we have already filed our
objection,”2,
3
In its applications, Reliance ADAG reportedly claimed no right to the
exclusive use of the name ‘Big Bazar’ and wanted the trademark only for
‘Reliance Big Bazar’. However, critics viewed its move as the company’s
attempt to ride piggy-back on someone else’s brand.
The fact that Reliance ADAG spelt the word ‘Bazar’ while Future Group
spelt it with an extra ‘a’ (‘Bazaar’) did not differentiate the two
brands enough and there was room for confusion, they said, adding,
Reliance ADAG would find it hard to obtain the trademark from the Indian
authorities.
|
1] Rasul Bailay, “It’s Biyani vs Ambani over Bazar Trademark,” www.livemint.com, May 21, 2008.
2] “Future Group Files Objection against Reliance-ADA Group ,” www.mumbaimirror.com, May 22, 2008.
3] Before granting a trademark, the trade mark authority in India allows for a three to four months’ time period from the date it was made public for other companies to oppose the trademark applications. |
