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Economic slowdown impacted ad spend in H2 2019

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MUMBAI: Economic slowdown in 2019 brought the country, as well as the media industry, to a standstill. It visibly impacted advertising spends. This view was shared by advertisers present during the sixteenth edition of the Video and Broadband Summit 2019 that took place on 11 December in Mumbai.

The panel was moderated by indiantelevision.com founder, CEO and editor-in-chief Anil Wanvari, with panellists ITC Ltd head media and PR Jaikishin Chhaproo, Havas Media Group managing partner west and south Kunal Jamuar, Godrej Consumers Pvt Ltd VP and head of media services Subha Sreenivasan Iyer and Madison Media vice president Vandana Ramkrishna.

Chhaproo, in his opening statement, said, “There has been a yo-yo syndrome since January 2019 and the only two media-mela events (Indian Premier League and World Cup) in the first half of the financial year saw some advertisement growth.”

He further added that since June people have been quite cautious about advertisement spend.

Agreeing to Chhaproo’s perspective, Jamuar said, “2019 has been something like that of 2008 double dip. And, with respect to advertisement spend on television is as similar as of last year.” Many of Havas Media Group’s clients are from the auto and finance sectors.

All of the four panellists were of the view that along with other sectors, the advertisement spends on television has also been slow and has hardly seen any growth this year.

Accepting the slowdown in the market, Iyer said, “This year had made us re-look at all our advertising plans due to lack of resources and we have been far more prudent in terms of evaluating the need for further spend with quantifiable ROI."

Meanwhile, Ramkrishna believes that one of the reasons for the slowdown could be because of the poor performance of world economies.

According to Ramkrishna, her agency being associated with retail brands, the festive season has not turned up to be a happening one. Adding further, she said people are very cautious on spends and there’s a fear that the economy is going to crash.

However, despite facing a slowdown, Iyer said that in terms of volume, the company’s growth is very strong, which is a positive sign. This goes with competitors as well, especially, in the FMCG sector.

She added, “Consumers are not completely cutting down on their basic essentials, especially in segments where value for money is core.”

In the same context, ITC’s PR head said, “Consumers seek value for money and this is what is happening in the current economic situation. Moreover, there have been steady volumes all over.”

Ramkrishna, talking about NTO’s impact on advertising spend, said, “GEC and movie channels continue to be there and the new order has hardly affected the brands' television spends.” However, she pointed out that the smaller set of channels will certainly have an adverse effect.

GPCL’s media head said there has been a vast difference between DTH and cable networks in data capturing granularity and that helps brands to decide on advertising spends on television.

Havas Media’s managing partner questioned the importance of a proper measurement of audiences’ rating that has seen improvement after DTH’s existence. He said, “Today, niche channels are offering niche content, making the existing eco-system a bit difficult.”

Iyer said that companies are ready to test any medium, just that accurate third party data is needed.

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Delhivery chairman Deepak Kapoor, independent director Saugata Gupta quit board

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Gurugram: Delhivery’s boardroom is being reset. Deepak Kapoor, chairman and independent director, has resigned with effect from April 1 as part of a planned board reconstitution, the logistics company said in an exchange filing. Saugata Gupta, managing director and chief executive of FMCG major Marico and an independent director on Delhivery’s board, has also stepped down.

Kapoor exits after an eight-year stint that included steering the company through its 2022 stock-market debut, a period that saw Delhivery transform from a venture-backed upstart into one of India’s most visible logistics platforms. Gupta, who joined the board in 2021, departs alongside him, marking a simultaneous clearing of two senior independent seats.

“Deepak and Saugata have been instrumental in our process of recognising the need for and enabling the reconstitution of the board of directors in line with our ambitious next phase of growth,” said Sahil Barua, managing director and chief executive, Delhivery. The statement frames the exits less as departures and more as deliberate succession, a boardroom shuffle timed to the company’s evolving scale and strategy.

The resignations arrive amid broader governance recalibration. In 2025, Delhivery appointed Emcure Pharmaceuticals whole-time director Namita Thapar, PB Fintech founder and chairman Yashish Dahiya, and IIM Bangalore faculty member Padmini Srinivasan as independent directors, signalling a tilt towards consumer, fintech and academic expertise at the board level.

Kapoor’s tenure spanned Delhivery’s most defining years, rapid network expansion, public listing and the push towards profitability in a bruising logistics market. Gupta’s presence brought FMCG and brand-scale perspective during a period when ecommerce volumes and last-mile delivery economics were being rewritten.

The twin exits, effective from the new financial year, underscore a familiar corporate rhythm: founders consolidate, veterans rotate out, and fresh voices are ushered in to script the next chapter. In India’s hyper-competitive logistics race, even the boardroom does not stand still.

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Brnd.me enters Europe as haircare brands power global expansion

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Bengaluru:  Brnd.me, the global consumer brands company formerly known as Mensa Brands, has entered the European market following strong momentum across the Middle East, the United States and Canada.

The company has launched across the UK, Germany, France and Spain, with plans to expand into Italy, the Netherlands and Poland over the next year. The push is being led by its haircare and aromatherapy brands, Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure, marking Brnd.me’s first structured expansion into Europe.

The European beauty market represents a total addressable opportunity of over $4 billion across haircare and aromatherapy, supported by high digital adoption and demand for accessible, performance-led products.

Brnd.me’s hair care and aromatherapy business currently operates at an annual run rate of around $6 million, with Botanic Hearth and Majestic Pure delivering roughly 10 per cent month-on-month growth, driven by expansion and rising repeat demand.

To support regional growth, the company has appointed a general manager based in Germany and is evaluating investments in warehousing and local team expansion.

Early traction has been strong. Within weeks of launch, Botanic Hearth’s rosemary hair oil ranked among the top five hair oils in Germany, signalling strong consumer pull in a competitive market.

Brnd.me founder and chief executive officer Ananth Narayanan, said Europe represents the next phase of the company’s international strategy. He added that the European business is expected to scale to a $10 million annual run rate by the end of 2026, with long-term ambitions to reach $60 million over the next six years.

The company’s Europe strategy centres on digital-first distribution, repeat demand and TikTok-led discovery, alongside direct-to-consumer expansion to strengthen brand equity and margins.

The move also aligns with growing EU–India trade engagement, supporting long-term sourcing and cross-border supply chains.

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TechnoSport taps quick commerce with launch on Slikk’s 60-minute platform

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NATIONAL: TechnoSport has launched on Slikk, the ultra-fast fashion app offering 60-minute delivery, as the activewear brand accelerates its push into quick commerce to capture Gen Z and young millennial shoppers.

The debut brings more than 150 high-performance styles to Slikk’s platform, with an average selling price of Rs 450, expanding TechnoSport’s reach across over 80 pin codes.

The partnership follows strong momentum for TechnoSport across Q-commerce channels, where the brand has recorded around 60 per cent volume growth over the past six months. The company expects quick commerce to contribute nearly 20 per cent of its revenue in the coming years as hyperlocal delivery gains scale.

Slikk, which recently raised $3.2 million in seed funding led by Lightspeed, has rapidly gained popularity among youth consumers seeking speed, trend relevance and impulse-led shopping experiences.

Activewear remains one of Slikk’s fastest-growing categories, driven by shoppers increasingly treating fitness-led fashion as an everyday essential. The platform has reported a 30-fold year-on-year increase in items sold, reflecting rising demand for performance wear that blends comfort with style.

TechnoSport chief executive officer Puspen Maity, said the collaboration would help the brand engage more closely with young consumers whose fashion choices are shaped by instant needs and lifestyle aspirations. He added that rapid delivery bridges the gap between intent and purchase, allowing shoppers to access activewear exactly when they want it.

 

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