Brands
#BoycottTanishq trends on Twitter for the second time
MUMBAI: After a big controversy over its Ekatvam (oneness) ad about an interfaith marriage, netizens have once again raised calls to 'Boycott Tanishq' on Twitter following the release of a 'no-firecracker Diwali' film by the jewellery brand. The latest ad features actors Neena Gupta, Alaya Furniturewala, Nimrat Kaur and Sayani Gupta.
In the video, the ladies are seen talking about the importance of being together with family, mithai, food and celebrating the festival of lights without any firecrackers. What did not go down well with netizens is the definition of Diwali by Sayani Gupta. She says in the ad, "I am hoping to be able to meet my mum after really long. Definitely no firecrackers, I don't think anyone should light any firecrackers. But a lot of diyas, lot of laughter hopefully and lot of positivity."
Teach a lesson to @TanishqJewelry
Majority Indians are thinking to take @TanishqJewelry head on & #ThisDiwali_BoycottTanishq
Many'll refrain themselves from buying anything from them.
They termed Hindus as violent in their apology last month
Let's show them our legal might pic.twitter.com/qXPVQQEOGG
— SantySingh6791 (@singh6791) November 10, 2020
On this, certain sections of social media criticized the brand for advising Hindus on how to celebrate the festival. BJP national general secretary from Karnataka CT Ravi lashed out at the jewellery brand and said, "Why should anyone advise Hindus how to celebrate our festivals? Companies must focus on selling their products, not lecture us to refrain from bursting crackers. We will light lamps, distribute sweets and burst green crackers. Please join us. You will understand Ekatvam," taking a dig at Tanishq's eponymous campaign.
Sayani Gupta took to Twitter to react to the controversy and the #BoycottTanishq trend and said, "Just witnessing how a universal issue of Air Pollution (at a terrible level right now especially in Delhi and NCR), getting politicised and bigotted in the name of religion!! Unbelievable!! What have they done to our country! This is what systemic hate does to people. #astounded."
Amid this widespread backlash, Tanishq withdrew the ad partially. The 50-second commercial has been withdrawn from Twitter and YouTube, but continues to be on the company's Instagram page.
Last month, the outrage brigade had accused the jewellery brand of promoting what they called 'love jihad' through an ad campaign.
The Tanishq 'Love Jihad' ad that has now been taken down. Disgusting! pic.twitter.com/QuS1XBTVIO
— Kashyap B (@YearOfTheKraken) October 12, 2020
Tanishq crafted a digital film that depicted the story of a Hindu woman, married into a Muslim family. In the advert, the young woman, expecting her first child, is escorted to the garden by her gracious mother-in-law for a baby shower ceremony. The young woman is surprised to see that the ceremony has been organised as per Hindu rituals. She asks her mother-in-law, "Par yeh rasam toh aapke ghar mein nahi hoti hai na? (But this ceremony is not celebrated at your place, isn't it?)," and is told, "Bitiya ko khush karne ki rasam toh har ghar mein hoti hai na? (The ceremony to make the daughter happy is held in every house, isn't it?)."
Brands
Reliance Retail FY26 revenue rises 11.8 Per Cent to Rs 3.7 lakh crore
Q4 revenue up 11.1 Per Cent, hyperlocal orders surge 4x, PAT steady
MUMBAI: Reliance Retail isn’t just ringing up sales, it’s ringing doorbells faster than ever. Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) reported a steady FY26 performance, with growth powered by store expansion, a sharp surge in hyperlocal commerce, and consistent traction across grocery, fashion and jewellery. For the full year, revenue rose 11.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,70,026 crore. In the January–March quarter, revenue from operations climbed 11.1 per cent to Rs 87,344 crore, up from Rs 78,622 crore a year earlier.
Operating performance remained stable, with Q4 EBITDA inching up 3.1 per cent YoY to Rs 6,921 crore from Rs 6,711 crore. However, quarterly profit after tax held steady at Rs 3,563 crore. For the full fiscal, PAT grew 11.7 per cent to Rs 13,842 crore.
Expansion remained a key lever. RRVL added 1,564 new stores during FY26, while simultaneously scaling its digital and hyperlocal commerce play. The latter emerged as a standout, with daily orders surging more than fourfold year-on-year in Q4, underlining a clear shift towards faster, localised fulfilment.
In grocery, large-format stores maintained momentum, aided by festive demand and the expansion of Smart Bazaar, which crossed 1,000 stores. Promotional campaigns such as ‘Full Paisa Vasool’ delivered record results, with sales rising 26 per cent YoY.
Digital commerce also picked up pace. JioMart added 5.8 million new users in Q4, nearly doubling its registered base year-on-year. Hyperlocal orders grew 29 per cent sequentially and over 300 per cent annually during the quarter.
Fashion and lifestyle saw steady traction. Ajio recorded a 23 per cent YoY rise in average bill value, while fast-fashion platform Shein crossed 11 million app installs, scaling rapidly with expanding product lines.
The jewellery business added further shine, with average bill value jumping 53 per cent YoY, largely driven by rising gold prices and sustained consumer demand.
Commenting on the shift, RRVL executive director Isha Ambani said hyperlocal commerce has become a structural growth driver, with orders rising more than fourfold over the year.
Looking ahead to FY27, the company is betting on technology to deepen engagement. The focus, Ambani noted, will be on AI-led merchandising, sharper pricing strategies and disciplined execution turning scale into sustained customer value.
In short, the carts are fuller, the clicks are quicker, and the next phase looks less about reach and more about precision.
