Retail brands shine in stars glory

Hyderabad: T-town superstars are laughing all the way to the bank, thanks to the leading retail brand stores, which are reportedly paying the stars in crores for endorsing the malls.

According to a source, superstar Mahesh Babu leads the pack by reportedly pocketing Rs 3 crore to endorse a retail brand, followed by seasoned star Nagarjuna who is charging Rs 1.5 crore and his sons and hotshot stars Naga Chaitanya and Akhil pocketing Rs 1 crore-plus and last but not the least is teen sensation Vijay Devarakonda who has pocketed Rs 50 lakh.

“Popular stars surely bring in a lot of mileage to a brand. Their visit to the showrooms will make it more popular around the area since fans of stars turn up in huge number on the occasion and showroom gets instant recognition,” says Siva Reddy, who manages events for top brands.

Leading retail brands like South India Shopping Mall, Chennai Silks, KLM and others constantly monitor the popularity ratings of the stars to rope them in to promote their brand.

According to manager of superstars, Giridhar, “Apart from stars expanding their brand equity, they need to allot just three to four days as a brand ambassador. One day for a photo shoot and another day for video shoot to be screened in various medias. Finally, one or two days to visit a swanky showroom chosen by the brand.

Nonetheless, it’s a win-win situation for both the stars and brands.” Earlier, corporate and national brands from Mumbai used to pay crores to Telugu superstars for brand endorsements, but now retail brands are flush with money and doling out big sums.

“With growing rivalry among retailers, retail brands have become big pay masters. All they do is to rope in a big name and the star will do the rest. In fact, after a brief lull post-demonetisation, local brands are back with a bang and stars are fattening their bank balances,” concludes Siva Reddy.