Monday, April 6, 2009

IPL at SA may be net gain for franchisee India Cements

CHENNAI: For IPL franchisee India cements, the need to shift the second edition of the tournament to South Africa, may be a net gain. In other words, the benefit of overseas exposure of its brand outweighs the increase in the expenses it has to incur to support its team – the Chennai super kings (CSK) – in SA.
"For the company, the whole expenditure on IPL is only a minuscule portion,’ said India cements Vice chairman and MD N Srinivasan here on Monday. "And the shift of the tournament to South Africa will not add much to it." He said that IPL organisers might bear part of the travel and other additional expenses linked to the change in venue.
India cements’ Joint President, Marketing VP Rakesh Singh said, "The shift may be a blessing in disguise for us. We have been talking about expanding our markets abroad for a long time now. IPL will give us significant exposure."
It could be the presence of two South African players in the team; or it could be the efforts being put in by the organisers of IPL. The tickets for the first match between CSK and Mumbai Indians have been sold out already. "We do not need to launch each team separately there; IPL’s overall awareness drive in SA has covered all the teams," Mr.Srinivasan said.
The team will leave for SA on the 8th of April, supported by a bevy of 13 sponsors, as opposed to last year’s six. "We have had no problem with getting sponsors this year, as IPL does seem to be recession proof," Mr. Rakesh Singh said. "For them, the venue change may not mean much as some of our sponsors like Peter England, 7 Up, and Nivea are already present in that market." Team selector V B Chandrasekhar assured that all members of the team are used to playing in different weather and pitch conditions, and the shift of venue to SA will not specifically affect the team’s prospects. "The challenge due to the change in playing conditions is formidable. But, the ten days that we get to acclimatize there will prove valuable," he said. Mr.Srinivasan said that cash flow from CSK was positive in the last IPL season, and expects it to continue this time too. The company has no plans to hive if off into an entity to attract private equity.

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