MAM
Haresh Nayak moves on from dentsu International
Mumbai: Posterscope India MD and Posterscope president APAC Haresh Nayak has quit dentsu International. Along with Nayak, dentsu India SVP & Indeed CSR head Sahil Arora has also announced his departure from the agency. The news of the latest exits from dentsu was confirmed by the network.
It further issued clarity on the OOH businesses being aligned into Amplifi, dentsu’s supply-side management platform, under the leadership of Media India, CEO, Divya Karani, following Nayak’s departure.
In a statement to IndianTelevision.com, the company said, “To stay ahead of the growth opportunities and potential we see for our clients and our teams we are accelerating into dentsu India 2.0. This is crucial to realising our global ambition of becoming the most integrated network in the world, simplifying and transforming our business to deliver greater agility, speed to market, and increased value to our clients.”
Dentsu further added, “As part of this transformation, our OOH businesses will be aligned into Amplifi, our supply-side management platform, under the leadership of Divya Karani, CEO, Media India following the departure of Haresh Nayak. Out of Home advertising is an incredibly important part of the Media environment for dentsu and our clients, and we will continue to grow our market-leading expertise and results in outdoor advertising with a strong and continued focus on innovation, locally relevant solutions, and integration to deliver competitive advantage to our clients.”
The two resignations are the latest in a slew of top-level exits at the network that have shocked the advertising fraternity.
Several senior-level executives have moved out of the network in the last few days, including Isobar COO Gopa Menon, iProspect CEO Rubeena Singh, DAN Performance Group CEO Vivek Bhargava, Isobar’s South Asia Group MD Shams Jasani, DAN Programmatic chief data and product officer, APAC, and CEO Gautam Mehra, Taproot Dentsu CCO Agnello Dias, dentsu India CEO, formerly CFO Anand Bhadkamkar, and Taproot Dentsu co-founder and CCO Santosh Padhi.
There have also been a couple of high-profile hires at the network simultaneously. Recently Mindshare’s Vinod Thadani joined as dentsu Media Group chief digital growth officer, and iProspect CEO. Ajay Gahlaut was also onboarded as dentsu Creative India group CCO last week.
Nayak had recently completed thirteen years at the network, having joined Posterscope India in 2008 as managing director. He was elevated to the position of Posterscope’s APAC president last year. Prior to joining Posterscope, Nayak was business director and national buying head at Lintas India (IPG India) for six years.
Brands
Kwality Wall’s reports standalone losses following strategic HUL demerger
Ice cream major faces Rs 64 crore Ebitda loss amid commodity inflation and muted Q3 sales
MUMBAI: Kwality Wall’s (India) Limited (KWIL) has released its first set of financial results as a standalone entity, revealing a challenging start to its independent journey. Following its successful demerger from Hindustan Unilever Limited (HUL) on 1st December 2025 and its subsequent listing on 16th February 2026, the company is navigating a transition period marked by structural changes and high input costs.
For the quarter ended 31st December 2025, the company reported revenue of Rs 222 crores. Despite the revenue base, the bottom line was impacted by several factors, resulting in an Ebitda loss of Rs 64.2 crores. When calculated on a Pre-IND AS 116 basis, the Ebitda loss stood at Rs 83.8 crores.
Organic Sales Growth (OSG) declined by 6.5 per cent year-on-year during the quarter. Volume growth, however, saw a marginal increase of 1.2 per cent. The company reported a gross margin of 41.5 per cent. Additionally, exceptional expenses amounting to Rs 94 crores were recorded, primarily linked to non-recurring costs during the transition phase.
Performance across portfolios and channels was mixed. Within the impulse portfolio, brands such as Magnum and Cornetto recorded mid-single digit volume growth, indicating steady demand in on-the-go consumption. However, the in-home portfolio, which includes take-home packs, experienced muted consumption. The company is planning a relaunch of this category with improved offerings ahead of the 2026 season.
Quick commerce (Q-Com) continued to emerge as a strong growth driver, delivering robust double-digit growth during the quarter. Meanwhile, the company also expanded its physical distribution network by increasing the number of company-owned cabinets across markets.
Margin pressure during the quarter was driven by a combination of one-off factors and broader cost inflation. Gross margins were impacted by around 600 basis points due to trade investments made for stock liquidation. Additionally, cocoa price inflation contributed to another 400 basis points of pressure on margins.
Deputy managing director Chitrank Goel attributed the muted performance partly to prolonged monsoons and transitional challenges linked to the GST framework. Operating expenses also increased as the company invested in establishing its standalone supply chain, operational systems and corporate infrastructure following the demerger.
Looking ahead, the management remains focused on a volume-driven growth strategy. To restore profitability, the company has initiated a cost productivity programme aimed at reducing non-consumer-facing costs. It is also working on building regional manufacturing networks to optimise logistics expenses and improve operational efficiency.
The commodity outlook for the near term remains mixed. Dairy prices are expected to remain firm due to tight supply conditions and rising fodder costs. Sugar prices may also move higher following increases in the Minimum Selling Price (MSP). While cocoa prices have moderated recently, currency depreciation has offset some of the potential cost relief for the company.
