Monday 28 May 2012

I Just Love the Limelight - Urvashi Sahay

We grab a glass of the finest champagne and make ourselves comfortable in the corner of what Urvashi describes as the largest catamaran on the Indian shores at the moment. And as the sight of the iconic gateway of India fades in the backdrop, we take a sip of the delicious bubbly before we indulge in a long chat. For Urvashi Sahay, founder and CEO of one of India’s premiere luxury lifestyle websites, an evening of indulgence is but a way of life.



“I do not want to wait till I retire to enjoy the finer things in life. My husband and I work really hard and believe in a bit of indulgence once in a while,” she says. But the entrepreneur hopes to share the experience with many more and hence the birth of Excluzen.com. The website is purely sinful. From private yacht parties and wine tasting sessions to a luxury spa escape, the website gives one a taste of luxury at the click of a button. Living by the motto of work hard and party harder, Urvashi has toured the world seeking fun and adventure. The vineyards of Italy, France and New Zealand are her favourites.

After working for a telecom company in London for 15 years, Urvashi is now the senior director of a similar company in Singapore. Based largely out of Singapore, Urvashi started the website with her husband Anupam Sahay. The thought, she says, struck her on her 40th birthday. “I closed my eyes and I thought to myself, what is it that I really want? I have wanted to start something of my own for the longest time and decided that this was the moment.” Describing the experience of branching out on one’s own she says, “Working for someone is like being an animal in a zoo. You’re caged, cared for and fed from time to time. But branching out is like being an animal in the jungle. You’re free, but constantly at the risk of being attacked.”



Apart from having sharp business acumen, Urvashi has her eyes on politics, much like the rest of her family. The daughter of the current Uttarakhand Chief Minister Vijay Bahuguna and grand daughter of ex-UP chief minister Hemwati Bahuguna, Urvashi does not dismiss a future in a similar realm. “I just love the limelight,” she jokes, adding, “My entire family including my grand mother and aunt have been members of the Parliament and to be honest, I have always had an inclination to follow them,” she says.

A multi-tasker herself, Urvashi believes work-family balance is a myth. “Anyone who says so is lying. One can take care of one baby at a time,” she says, referring to her work.An understanding partner can however make all the difference, she adds. But for now, Urvashi is blissfully juggling her roles as a mother, entrepreneur and a corporate.

Source - Asian Age

Friday 25 May 2012

Excluzen on The Economic Times

Indulgence, Affluence, Comfort , Opulence are some key terms that go hand in hand with luxury.  The facet of luxury or luxurious living has changed over the recent years. It is no longer confined to branded clothes, latest gadgets as the rich are now looking beyond mass marketed luxury. They thrive for transcend luxury experiences  which equip them royalty with exclusivity.


Excluzen – India’s premier luxury lifestyle website caters travel packages, concierge services, weddings, automobile-based experiences, golfing tours, yacht parties and art work from renowned artists that are unavailable elsewhere. Team Excluzen with its customer centric approach targets to create once-in-a-lifetime experiences for its clients. It exclusively organizes for its elite members special Cointreauversial cocktail experiences, Wine Tasting events equipping them to experience luxury in the comfort of home.

As per Urvashi Bahuguna Sahay, founder & CEO of Excluzen luxury cannot be compartmentalized. Excluzen thus provides offerings ranging from Rs. 970 for a Korean Nail paint set to over Rs. 10 Lakhs for a golden chain and earring set. The offline division puts together customized experiences, mostly travel related, for clients.  The verticals offered by Excluzen are diversifying day by day with the companies goal to provide ultimate uber luxury experiences to its clientele that is quite simply unavailable elsewhere on the web.



Source - The Economic times

Thursday 24 May 2012

It's Time to Pack and Go

Summer vacation is the time to feel the bliss under the sun amidst pristine backwaters, to see new sights of your favorite places and an opportunity to spend quality time with loved ones. Tour operators may be crying hoarse over the hit their business has taken because of the slide in the value of the rupee, but the summer vacation market shows no signs of a slowdown because people are snapping up special packages to off- beat destinations and taking full advantage of loyalty programmers. This summer’s footloose Indians are taking unusual breaks and splurging on packages irrespective of depreciation of Rupee against Dollar.



Talking about destinations, travelers seem to be getting more adventurous by the year, moving away from conventional guided tours. Austria, Russia, Malaysia are some of the destinations that are popular among experiential travel junkies ,increasingly looking at getaways as opportunities to satisfy their thirst for adventure.  Urvashi Sahay, Founder CEO, Excluzen.com, India’s premier luxury lifestyle said “Traditional family oriented travellers, whose destination preferences were defined by the family, are now looking at travel as a way to discover unexplored destinations."

Excluzen, in fact, has found takers for packages advertised on the website, from an all- inclusive deal at the Ranthambhore Tiger Safari Lodge priced at Rs 4,950 per person per night, to a two night, three- day luxury yacht holiday in Kerala for Rs 45,000 per person. A traveler’s biggest need is to have a hassle- free holiday and it seems the travel trade is making the travel experience easier for the end user.


Source - Mail Today

The Summer Escapism - The Pioneer

Planning for a holiday abroad with family or friends requires lot of time, efforts & planning. Reports indicating price rise in air fares, hotel accommodation indicate budgeting as the prime concern to be worked on while planning for a jaunt. No one wants to pay more than planned because of rupee depreciation. But if you are travelling in India there is nothing to worry about as rail & bus fares are still under control.



Excluzen caters a complete range of Indian & overseas tour packages specially crafted for individuals & families. With the Indian market in mind Excluzen introduces summer halts for which one need not to shell out extra.  Urvashi Bahuguna Sahay, founder & CEO, Excluzen.com informed us about exclusive summer pocket-friendly deals. Like a seven-day trip to Istanbul, Ankara and Cappadocia, costing Rs 59,140. A one night stay at Ranthambhore’s Tiger Safari Lodge, 5kms from the park will cost Rs 4,950.

As per Urvashi Bahuguna Sahay –“Inflation & recession adversely affect tourism But people still opt for best destinations. It has more effect on frequency of visits, than destinations and packages. People enjoy life. They are not holding back on travel. Destinations depends on trends.” Excluzen try it’s best to keep the packages inflation-proof. Excluzen – India’s premier luxury lifestyle website is customer-oriented and Continuous efforts are in process to ensure that its customers get the best possible packages at the best possible prices.



Source - The Pioneer
Link - http://www.dailypioneer.com/vivacity/67726-summer-escapism.html

Monday 21 May 2012

Exclusive Excluzen

Imagine a trip to Spain with your loved ones? A trip that revolves around luxury and experiencing all the fine things that Spain has to offer only hand picked to suit what your family considers ‘enjoyable’. That premium, personalized and ‘exclusive’ service is offered by Excluzen. India’s premier luxury website which introduces 3 new categories namely Arts, Adventure and X-clusive offering customized and personalized experiences online, across an extensive range of verticals.

E-commerce is a very exciting medium for artists to display their creative work and also connect with their audience. Excluzen showcases exclusive art paintings from across the globe. It proudly exhibits art pieces of more than 25 artists displaying exquisite art connoisseurs like Murano pieces from Venice! Their newly introduced Adventure section offers a wide choice of sports and adventure activities like wildlife Safaris, water sports, mountain climbing, para sailingto indulge in the country as well as abroad.



Exluzen has partnered with 300 brands of which 80% are Indian and the remaining 20% are internationally based. The portal boasts of brands like Apple, Tag Heuer, Just Cavalli, Omega, Satya Paul, Bang & Olefsun, The Leela etc. They bring in designers from the West who are interested in testing Indian waters but are unaware of the market. So this is a good platform for them to test the market. Now, the brand seeks to expand further and tap in some foreign brands as per their strategy.

Talking about their expansion, Ms. Urvashi Bahuguna Sahay, Founder & CEO said, “Our focus at Excluzen is on delighting members with wonderful and exclusive experiences and products from India's and the worlds leading providers, accessible anywhere anytime. These are very hard to find elsewhere. We offer exceptional quality at sensible prices to an up market audience. We believe we are filling a distinct gap in the Indian marketplace”

The services range from premium travel to private charters. This is a single destination for the world’s finest brands, a thrilling experience which is tailor-made. With offers like Cash on Delivery, 14 day Return Policy, personalised gift vouchers we say that Luxury is ‘exclusive’ and that it truly begins in the comfort of our homes.


Source : stylekandy.com
Link :http://www.stylekandy.com/demosk/frmstoryview.aspx?stid=8598&stmode=nothing

The Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix – September 2012


The history of Formula One night race dates back to September 2008 when the world witnessed first ever Formula One night race, one of the greatest sporting events in the history of sports – The Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix. Since then every year it continues to enthral the spectators with nail-biting night racing, non-stop entertainment and unparalleled corporate hospitality services.

Excluzen – India’s Premier Luxury Lifestyle Website brings to you exclusively special packages for The Formula 1 SingTel Singapore Grand Prix scheduled this September. Witness the cars racing at the speed of 300Km/h on the Marina Bay Street Circuit in the heart of Singapore city. Get ready to  take a deep breath of air and prepare yourself for an unforgettable racing experience with Excluzen.



Excluzen Offer - Formula 1 Paddock Club Suite: 3 Days (21st – 23rd September 2012)

For Paddock Club Suite, Pit Lane walk are available for guests and also access to a dedicated grandstand.
  • Complimentary Open Bar.
  • Deluxe Meal Services (Arrival reception, dinner and light supper)
  • Specially-trained Singapore GP Ambassador serving your suite
  • Special Transport Arrangement for suite guests.
  • Indoor Glass fronted, fully air conditioned suite
  • Access to all entertainment zones

For any queries, please call 1800 102 7674 or email at CS@excluzen.com. This ultimate racing experience is simply quite unavailable elsewhere on the web.



Tuesday 15 May 2012

Excluzen on IBN Live

Gifting exquisite items such as the latest Tag Heur watch, a work of art by Amritraj Koban, hosting a private party on the yacht has become an easy and original idea, thanks to the initiative by Excluzen. Excluzen provides the costumers with lip-smacking deals and provides with the best that life has to offer.

The website is a result of the founders owns interests and their belief of providing only the Best to their customers. Thorough interest and hard work of the founders has resulted in spreading the website that is worth an investment of USD 1, 00,000 to 1, 50,000 like a wild fire in this cut throat competition of E-Tailing.

The portal, India’s Premium Luxury Lifestyle Website, offers luxury brands such as Apple, Omega, Tag Heur, and The Oberoi at discounted prices. Each product comes with an offer to keep the customers waiting for the best they can get without hampering their luxury.



Excluzen also offer special Tailor-made holiday trips to Hawaii, Scotland, Anywhere for that instance for their customers who give luxury and exclusiveness their top priority.

Having currently tied up with over 200 partners, Excluzen is swiftly growing in a fast paced and dynamic environment of online portals. Having a current ratio of 80:20 between Indian and Foreign Brands, Excluzen is hoping to expand further to 60:40 with highly anticipated foreign brands such as Cartier, Gucci, and Burberry coming into the frame.

Products on Excluzen display a wide range with prices starting from Rs. 970 and going up to lakhs of rupees. Payment can made through credit or debit cards, online banking and Cashon Delivery (COD). Shipping is free and delivery takes a minimum of 20 days.

If you have luxury, exclusive, tailor made once in lifetime experiences in mind, Excluzen.com is the place to be where we provide you with the best that life has to offer.


Source - IBN Live
Link - http://ibnlive.in.com/news/luxury-insider/257620-60-121.html

Monday 14 May 2012

Excluzen Offering Indulgence at a Discount

Gifting exquisite items such as the latest Tag Heur watch, a work of art by Amritraj Koban, hosting a private party on the yacht has become original and easy, thanks to Excluzen. Excluzen provides the costumers with lip-smacking deals and provides with the best that life has to offer.

The website is a result of the founders owns interests and they believe in providing only the Best to their customers. The founders have taken deep pain and have indulged themselves into the details of website for the betterment of their customers. The website that is worth an investment of  USD 1, 00,000 to 1, 50,000has spreadlike wild fire amongst the luxury seekers.



The portal offers luxury brands such as Apple, Omega, Tag Heur, and The Oberoi at a discount ranging from 20 to 40% on the usual price. Each product comes with an offer to keep the customers waiting for the best they can get.Excluzen also offer special Tailor-made holidays to Hawaii, Scotland, Anywhere for that instance for their customers who give luxury and exclusiveness their priority.

Having tied up with over 200 partners, Excluzen is swiftly growing. Having a current ratio of 80:20 between Indian and Foreign Brands, Excluzen is hoping to expand further by having the ratio to 60:40 with highly anticipated foreign brands such as Cartier, Gucci, and Burberry coming into the frame.


Keeping in mind the fast paced life of people in a metro like Chennai, people need to party and relax, Excluzen is setting up a team that’ll cover top night clubs, bars and restaurants in the city and will come up with new and exclusive deals for the Chennai crowd.

Source - New Indian Express


Sunday 13 May 2012

Kimaya presents Pret collection on Excluzen.com

Aiming to provide the best that life has to offer, Excluzen.com, India’s premier luxury lifestyle website, has tied up with the leading global clothing and accessories brand – Kimaya, featuring a wide collection of clothes and accessories.

Being a leader in the Indian Fashion Industry, Kimaya delivers uber-luxurious fashion experiences. Having choicest of labels from all over the globe, Kimaya boasts of strong designer label collection of over 150 designers. Kimaya feature in the “X‐clusive” category on the website for the month of May.


On this affiliation, Ms. Urvashi Bahuguna Sahay, Founder & CEO, Excluzen.com said,“We are very happy to tie up with Kimaya as it is a dominant international fashion brand forwomen. We have featured wide range of costumes which will surely give women more varietyto choose from. Our team is continuously striving hard to provide the best that the world has tooffer to our customers and satiate their shopping pulse by just 1 click”

Wednesday 9 May 2012

Kimaya Ties Up With Excluzen.com


Excluzen.com - India's premier luxury lifestyle website has tied up with luxury clothing and accessories brand, Kimaya, to feature a wide collection of clothes and accessories like kurtas, lehengas, neck pieces, dresses, earrings, clutches and more on its website.


Kimaya is known to deliver uber‐luxurious fashion experiences, with its choicest of labels and designs, boasting a strong designer label collection of over 150 designers from all over the world, including India, Italia, France, Americ, Pakistan, Malaysia, Dubai, Brazil, and Sri Lanka. Kimaya’s collection will be displayed on Excluzen.com for the month of May, under a new category, X‐clusive. This category will then go on to showcase many other different designer labels and brands every month for a period of one month.




Speaking on the partnership, Urvashi Bahuguna Sahay, Founder & CEO, Excluzen.com said, “We are very happy to tie up with Kimaya as it is a dominant international fashion brand for women. We have featured wide range of costumes which will surely give women more variety to choose from. Our team is continuously striving hard to provide the best that the world has to offer to our customers and satiate their shopping pulse by just one click”.



Source - www.imagesfahion.com
Link - http://www.imagesfashion.com/content/kimaya-presents-pr%C3%AAt-collection-on-excluzen-com-1565.aspx

Adventure Sports @ Excluzen


Excluzen – India’s premier luxury lifestyle website delights the adventurers with unforgettable  experiences  equipping them with an opportunity to indulge in exciting adventure sports. Excluzen is quite simply the home of adventure tours that are unavailable elsewhere on the web. Just Get ready for Platinum adventure sports experiences at Lonavala, outskirts of Mumbai specially crafted by Excluzen.

Learning to fly is on everyone’s wish list and Excluzen equips the adventurers with an unforgettable flying experience. For those of you looking for clearer waters, we organize dive expeditions to Netrani Island (also known as Pigeon Island) in Karnataka, which has 15 to 20m visibility. Feel the adrenaline rush with adventure activities like:



Flying Fox (550 ft)
Zorbing (Max. weight 80 kgs.)
Paint ball - 35 shots (min. 4 pax)
Rocket Ejector- 4% floors high (min wt - 40 kgs, Max wt 90kg)
ATV - 90CC (below 70 kgs) ATV -2OOCC (above 90 kgs)
Mountain Cycling (30 mins)
Artificial Rock Climbing (any 1)
Rappelling
High Rope Challenge Course (Burma Loop, Horizontal Net, Burma Bridge, Tarzan Swing, Vertical Net Crossing, Wooden Obstacles)
Low Rope Challenge Course (Balancing plank, Tyre Swing, Fire
Cracker bridge, Monkey tail/ Rope obstacle, Broken Bridge,
Swinging beam)
Vertical Rope Challenge Course (Zummer Station, Giant Ladder,
Cargo Net, Inclined Log, Cargo Tube, Cable Ladder, Santi Pitt)
Ground Challenge Course (Tyre wall/Tyre Cross, Balancing Log
V-Log, Gate Vault Zig Zag Log Tarzan Swing, Barrel Crawl, Net & log Ladder)
Archery-5 shots
Hardball Net Cricket (2 overs)
Golf (6 hole putting range) (30 mins)
Virtual Games (any 2)

All the adventure packages available at Excluzen can be tailor-made to individual’s need and desires. Just get started on Excluzen & explore an ultimate experience specially crafted for you and your family. 

Monday 7 May 2012

The Importance of Who bought it & Why


Web Analytics has gained immense importance in the recent years  with companies now understanding its importance in the overall effectiveness & success of the e-commerce industry. Tweaking the marketing budget for best ROI, Customer Experience Personalization, Website Revamping for better user experience, product merchandising decisions  are implemented with the help of the Science of Analytics.

Excluzen.com – India’s Premier Luxury Lifestyle Website is betting big on analytics to know their customers better and understand their buying and spending trends. It is trying to emulate the international model to suggest relevant products to shoppers and providing them with an ultimate shopping experience. It is planning to develop an analytical team.  Urvashi Sahay, founder & CEO told Business Standard:  “ Customer Profiling & Analytics is a Science & Excluzen is already exploring new innovations in this space, mostly In the Silicon Valley in the US.” The company is looking at technology to capture in-depth analytics, as well as people who can scientifically and logically interpret these for differentiation.

On investment in this space, Sahay said Excluzen was “definitely looking into developing an analytical team in the coming years.” Management is open to engaging with investors and will do whatever is needed to ensure the e-commerce company is a success, she said. Adding, “ The future of e-commerce is accurate personalization and recommendation capability.”  The answer to the question “Who bought & why” is going to help the e-commerce industry boom facilitating the  company to grow and serve better to its customers.



Source - Business Standard

Friday 4 May 2012

Excluzen brings to you Exotic Lion Safari Camp at Gir National Park


Lion Safari camp at Gir forest is a distinguished campsite stretched along the beautiful river Hiran. A large tract of dry deciduous in the semi-arid western part of India is the last remaining bastion of the Asiatic lions. It is only place in the world where the Asiatic lions can be seen in the natural habitat. It  also  has the highest population of Leopards compared to any other national park is making it one of the best places in India to see the Big Cats. The Kamleshwar dam in the middle of the sanctuary is home to a record population of marsh crocodiles. Other wildlife includes Chital (spotted dear), Nilgai (blue bull), Wild boar, Jackals, Hyenas, etc. The unique ecosystem of Gir harbors about 300 species of birds, 37 species of reptiles, 38 species of mammals &  300 species of birds.



The LION SAFARI CAMP at Gir National Park is owned and managed by Camps of India, location presently has around 900 Mango Trees with only 2% of the entire land area being built so that the natural setting is maintained. This eco-friendly camp has 21 AC Luxury Tents each with large well furnished bedrooms and an attached en-suite bathrooms. All the tents are beautifully furnished with natural materials and open out to an extended deck - An ideal place to sit and relax amongst nature.

Excluzen Offer Includes:
  • Luxury Accomodation & Breakfast, Lunch, Dinner
  • One wildlife safari tour in a shared Jeep ( National Park entrance fees extra )
  • Includes all applicable taxes
  • 2 night stay available upon request, please email cs@excluzen.com

Source - Indianinfoline

Wednesday 2 May 2012

Online Retail In India – How Long before the Boom goes Bust?


This year India has seen a large number of new online retail brands entering in the market with new brands coming up every month. While some brands focuses on the niche verticals, there are others who are catering product portfolio from a wide array of verticals targetting upper-middle class and rich sections of society through premium products and affordable luxury. Recently launched Excluzen, India’s premier lifestyle destination is one among those catering to a highly targeted audience.

Being named after two principles that even Steve Jobs would have appreciated, Exclusivity + Zen, it adheres to it completely delivering the best that life has to offer to its customers. World’s finest brands such as Apple, Bang & Olufsen, Tag Heuer, Omega, Just Cavalli etc in addition to the special tailor made experiences for it’s customers. Excluzen aims to give a new twist to online retail in India with a business model that has high barriers to entry and caters to a highly targeted audience.

Delhi Planet caught up with Urvashi to ask her a few questions about Excluzen and how she plans to make it stand out from the clutter of online retail start-ups in India.

DelhiPlanet: What’s the inspiration behind Excluzen? How does it set itself apart from the plethora of e-commerce sites that are springing up in India making the market hyper-competitive?

Urvashi: The concept behind Excluzen is based on the fact that we weren’t able to find good answers to simple questions such as; Why aren’t Indians able to easily access the world’s best brands? Why can’t one enjoy the same quality in Delhi or Chandigarh as in Singapore or London? Why can’t the young and successful emerging India enjoy new experiences and live life to the fullest?



Our focus at Excluzen is on delighting members with wonderful, exclusive experiences and products from India’s and the world’s leading providers. We offer superior quality at sensible prices to an upmarket audience – across 12 categories that include travel, gadgets, parties, fashion, adventure, and more. We believe we are filling a distinct gap in the Indian marketplace.

This is a wholly different proposition from the mass-market or coupon space, which is where the bulk of competitors in India are slugging it out. Our simple goal is to bring luxuries and premium experiences within the reach of the aspirational Indian.

DelhiPlanet: Who is your target audience and how you do plan to make the Excluzen brand resonate with them, given the massive advertising spends that some of the other players in the market are currently doing?

Urvashi: Anyone with an eye for the finer experiences in life will enjoy Excluzen. Our focus is on differentiation – to bring wonderful and exclusive experiences and products to our members.

We watch the advertising spend of some players with amusement. It reminds us of the dot-com boom in 2000, when a lot of money chased some questionable business models.

DelhiPlanet: Excluzen set up shop in India only in January 2012, what are some of the major challenges that the business has faced so far?



Urvashi: The infrastructure for doing business in India is still very difficult remains relative to many other countries. For example, it takes 24 hours to incorporate a company in Singapore, in India that process can take months. Similarly, banks can activate accounts within days elsewhere, while here it takes weeks. Many forms of payment – such as Paypal or card-not-present transactions are not permitted. So these basic infrastructural things take more time and attention than they deserve.

At the outset it does seem that business models such as those of Excluzen have a higher chance of success, than non-differentiated clones. However, there is one important factor that e-tail brands in India should remember; “Brand Matters”. Consumers who spend money to purchase goods online only do so with brands and sites that they trust, which not only offer great products but also great customer service. In the US people don’t think twice before making a purchase online at Amazon, the Apple Store, Zappos and other reputed brands. These e-tail giants pay great attention to detail and have spent years trying to perfect their supply-chain and CRM processes. Any new enterprises in e-tail in India and elsewhere should always keep this in mind before deciding to join the bandwagon for the sake of it.


Source - www.delhiplanet.com
Link - http://www.delhiplanet.com/index.php/2012/05/02/online-retail-in-india-jabong-flipkart-amazon-will-the-boom-go-bust/