Brands
Collective minds as Collective Artists Network sets stage for media power play
MUMBAI: When content meets culture and creators meet code, you get a media revolution in the making. Collective Artists Network, long known for its fingerprints across India’s pop-cultural pulse, has officially put a name to what it’s already been quietly building: a full-blown media network that spans platforms, talent, tech, and taste.
But don’t call it a pivot. This is less a launch than a loud confirmation of Collective’s growing dominance across original storytelling, social influence, and digital-first innovation.
From viral storytelling brands like Terribly Tiny Tales and campus connector Under 25, to creator engine Big Bang Social and AI-optimised visual platform Galleri5, the Collective universe is already humming. Add to that new launches like Rashmika & Ru (with TTT), Marathi Minded (with Neel Salekar), and Not Funny (a creator-led comedy brand with Funcho), and you’ve got a content slate that’s part Netflix, part Reddit, part desi dopamine machine.
And speaking of machines, meet Kavya Mehra and Radhika Subramaniam, Collective’s two AI-powered creators. They don’t blink, but they do reflect. Kavya’s all about modern parenting and daily life dilemmas, while Radhika decodes digital youth culture. Far from novelty avatars, they’re a peek into the company’s ambitions in synthetic storytelling and culturally responsive AI.
Adding another layer to its expanding digital dharma is the launch of Sanatani Dharma, a bold new channel that dives deep into Indic tradition, mythology, rituals, and spiritual modernity. It’s Collective’s play to own a space where very few digital-first brands have dared to venture where the Ramayana meets reels, and Vedic wisdom meets algorithmic discovery.
As Collective scales, it has brought in seasoned content veteran Sudeep Lahiri as head of channels and distribution to steer the ship across creator and platform ecosystems. With Collective’s stronghold on distribution spanning owned platforms, newsletters, and creator networks the move marks a serious upgrade in operational firepower.
Meanwhile, Galleri5, the group’s creative tech arm, is busy building tools that can sniff out trends, benchmark creative performance, and test drive synthetic content helping creators and marketers stay two scrolls ahead of the curve.
“In today’s world, new media is about owning eyeballs and through our content, distribution, and influence, we intend to become the media network that defines attention. We have always understood the pulse of pop culture, reflecting it when needed, and influencing it when it matters most,” said Collective Artists Network founder and group CEO Vijay Subramaniam.
With thousands of creators, millions of impressions a month, and a content strategy that swirls together storytelling, software, and spirituality, Collective Artists Network is sketching out a new blueprint for Indian media, one where every like, loop, and live session is just another piece of a much bigger cultural puzzle.
Brands
Domino’s Q1 profit falls 6.6 per cent, announces $1 billion buyback
Sales rise 3.4 per cent as pizza giant balances growth and shareholder returns
NEW YORK: Domino’s reported a mixed start to 2026, with first-quarter net income slipping even as global sales and store expansion held steady. The company also announced a fresh $1 billion share buyback, underlining its continued focus on shareholder returns.
Global retail sales rose 3.4 per cent on a constant-currency basis to $4.74 billion. The US remained a key growth engine, with same-store sales inching up 0.9 per cent, supported by a 1.5 per cent rise at company-owned outlets.
International markets, however, painted a more uneven picture. While Domino’s added 161 net new stores overseas during the quarter, international same-store sales declined 0.4 per cent. Overall revenues still climbed 3.5 per cent to $1.15 billion, driven by higher supply chain revenues and a 2.6 per cent increase in food basket pricing for franchisees.
On the profitability front, net income fell 6.6 per cent to $139.8 million, compared to $149.7 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share dropped to $4.13 from $4.33. The decline was largely attributed to a $30 million unfavourable swing in unrealised gains linked to its investment in DPC Dash Ltd.
Despite this, operational performance showed resilience. Income from operations rose 9.6 per cent to $230.4 million, supported in part by a $7.8 million pre-tax gain from the sale of a corporate aircraft.
Domino’s footprint continued to expand, with the company ending the quarter at 22,322 stores across more than 90 markets. In the US, digital orders remained dominant, accounting for over 85 per cent of retail sales in 2025.
The company also maintained its dividend payout, declaring $1.99 per share, payable on 30 June 2026. After repurchasing $75.1 million worth of stock during the quarter, the new authorisation lifts the total available for buybacks to $1.29 billion.
Domino’s chief executive officer Russell Weiner said the company’s scale and store-level economics position it well to capture further market share in 2026, even as competition intensifies.
As Domino’s leans into expansion and capital returns, the latest results show a business managing short-term pressures while keeping its long-term growth strategy firmly in play.
