MAM
Big Bazaar’s ‘Asli Dukaan’ locks horns with Amazon’s ‘Apni Dukaan’
MUMBAI: Big Bazaar has crossed swords with Amazon India by taking a dig at the e-commerce giant’s flagship campaign India ki Apni Dukaan (India’s own shop). The Future Group-owned chain of hypermarkets on Thursday released full front page ads in major newspapers across cities calling itself India’s Asli Dukaan (real/ original store). The ad promises to make deliveries of grocery to customers’ doorsteps in under two hours.
Apart from the Asli Dukaan moniker, it has played on the word ‘Amazing’ by using terms such as “amazing” service, deals, and products at “amazing” prices. The harping on the word “amazing” is hard to miss! The south India editions of leading print publications had a largely English tagline with only Asli in Hindi, and dukaan changed to ‘store’.
Amazon has been running an advertising campaign since 2016 with the tagline ‘India ki Apni Dukaan’(India’s own shop), and it is no coincidence that the superstore chain led by Kishore Biyani is now marketing itself as ‘India ki Asli Dukaan’.
The brick-and-mortar superstore chain Big Bazaar has been entangled in a fierce legal battle with Jeff Bezos’ Amazon for its deal with Reliance Retail. RIL had announced in August last year that it was buying out the retail and wholesale business of Future Group, but Amazon — with a minority stake in an unlisted Future Group company — subsequently dragged the Mumbai-headquartered retailer to court, alleging that the proposed deal violated contractual agreements. The case is currently sub-judice.
Meanwhile, the debt-laden Future Group is looking at ways to put its assets to better use. Big Bazaar has launched a marketing blitzkrieg taking a dig at the US e-tailer and is ramping up its two-hour home delivery across India to get more customer orders amid the pandemic that has largely confined people to their homes restricting outdoor movement. The company has tied up with hyperlocal delivery companies with employees at their stores doubling up as delivery executives, to drive its Store2Door program and double its online business in the span of a month.
MAM
Beacon Group appoints Dr Rajesh Patel as Group CEO
36-year healthcare veteran to lead Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek, Biogeny.
MUMBAI: A new chief, a fresh diagnosis and a sharper prescription for growth. Beacon Group has appointed Dr Rajesh Patel as its Group Chief Executive Officer, effective April 1, 2026, signalling a decisive push to scale its presence in the diagnostics and IVD space. Patel steps into the role with 36 years of experience across the healthcare and diagnostics industry, bringing a career shaped by leadership roles spanning sales, marketing, business development and operational strategy. His mandate is both expansive and precise: to steer the group’s overall strategic direction while tightening coordination across its three core entities Beacon Diagnostics, Vector Biotek and Biogeny Diagnostics.
In practical terms, that means driving cross-company synergies, accelerating market expansion and strengthening organisational capability areas increasingly critical as diagnostic players compete for scale in a fragmented yet rapidly evolving healthcare ecosystem. The group is positioning itself to capture unmet demand across chain laboratories, key accounts and standalone labs, segments that remain underserved despite growing diagnostic needs.
The appointment comes at a time when the In Vitro Diagnostics (IVD) sector in India is entering a more competitive and innovation-led phase, with companies focusing not just on product pipelines but also on service delivery, integration and customer-centric models. Beacon’s leadership appears to be betting that Patel’s execution-focused approach can help translate ambition into operational momentum.
Welcoming the appointment, Chairman Dr D K Joshi described Patel’s induction as a strategic move aligned with the group’s long-term vision, emphasising the role of leadership depth in navigating the next phase of growth.
For Beacon Group, the message is clear, in a sector where precision matters, leadership is the new differentiator—and this appointment is intended to set the tone for what comes next.
