Brands
Samsung Mobile leads in TRA’S Most Attractive Brands’ list
MUMBAI: India’s Most Attractive Brands Report 2018 (MAB 2018), in its fifth edition, has listed the country’s most attractive 1000 brands, based on TRA’s proprietary model of brand attractiveness. The study is an annual syndicated primary research conducted with 2500 consumer-influencers across 16 Indian cities. Leading the pack, India’s most attractive brand is Samsung, the Korean mobile phone manufacturer, which also inaugurated the world’s largest mobile phone factory in Noida earlier this year.
Tata Motors, which has shown very good market performance recently, is ranked 2nd all-India, with a phenomenal jump from 181 rank last year. Apple iPhone, ranked 3rd this year, having jumped up from the 92nd rank in 2017. Reliance Jio, the three-year-old disrupter telecom brand and already the third largest mobile phone network in India, ranks 3rd among India’s most attractive brands and tops the mobile telephony category unseating last year’s leader, Airtel. Maruti Suzuki is ranked the 5th most attractive brand in India, up two ranks over last year. The next five ranks among the top ten are Samsung (consumer electronics) at 6th, Dell (laptops) at 7th, SBI (Bank – PSU) at 8th, Nike (sportswear) at 9th and Honda (four-wheeler) at 10th.
“Attractiveness or desire can be defined as the response to a sense of longing for anything – a product, brand, person or an outcome. When brands score high on TRA’s brand attractiveness research, they have successfully created similar subconscious pull. Such brands have intense magnetic power over the consumers. It is extremely gratifying to see that Indian brands have the maximum presence among the top 100,” said TRA Research CEO N Chandramouli, on the launch of the report. He expanded that 49 Indian, 18 American, six South Korean, six Japanese & two Chinese brands made it to the top 100.
Chandramouli further added, “Categories of gadgetry, mobile services, automobiles, and consumer electronics have the largest average attractiveness index this year. All these categories are highly driven by individual personalities and this shows a rise in the self-awareness – a growing sense of purpose and social-worth of the Indian consumer.”
The report lists 286 categories under 34 super-categories. The other category leaders in this report are Levi’s (casualwear), Biba (ethnicwear-women), Siyaram (fabrics), Allen Solly (formalwear), MRF (tyres), ICICI Bank (bank-private), SBI (bank-PSU), HSBC (bank-Foreign), Visa (credit /debit card), Fastrack (branded fashion), Gucci (luxury fashion), Kenstar (consumer appliances), Samsung (consumer electronics), Symphony (air coolers), LG ((refrigerator), Samsung (washing machines), Philips (lighting), Odonil (air fresheners), Himalaya (baby products), Nippo (batteries), Coca-Cola (aerated beverages), Kit Kat (chocolate bar), Canon (cameras), Patanjali (ayurvedic products), Moov (pain balm), Prestige (cookware), Roca (bath fixtures/sanitaryware), Taj Hotels (hotels –premium), Google (internet search), Amazon (online retail), Ola (taxi aggregation), ACC (cement), Hero (cycles), Nike (sportswear), Titan (watches), DLF (real estate), FBB (fashion retail), Nataraj (writing accessories), Dell (laptops), Hewlett Packard (personal technology) and Jet Airways (airline – private).
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.
