MAM
Flipkart media maestro Akash Jain climbs the corporate ladder
MUMBAI: Akash Jain has been promoted to director of marketing, head of Media at Flipkart from being just head of media – associate director earlier. The ambitious Bengaluru-based executive, who’s been turning heads at the e-commerce behemoth for nearly eight years, is now firmly in the driver’s seat of the company’s entire media strategy.
Jain, who cut his teeth at Odigma, an Infibeam.com company, before joining the Flipkart juggernaut, will now be calling the shots for both digital and ATL media operations for Flipkart’s core business and its buzzy new venture, Flipkart Minutes.
The Indian School of Business alumnus completed the prestigious Google Digital Insider Programme in 2022. His meteoric rise through the ranks at Flipkart has been nothing short of spectacular – from senior manager to associate director to director now.
Before making waves at Flipkart, Jain had quite the entrepreneurial streak, founding ContestJunction.com, a one-stop-shop for coupons and giveaways that promised punters “gadgets, giveaways, free trips, meet and greets, vouchers and much more.”
His previous role saw him heading the media strategy for some of Flipkart’s most profitable ventures, including the wildly successful Big Billion Days sale that pulled in a staggering 91 million customers during early access and day one. Not too shabby for a computer science graduate from Visvesvaraya Technological University.
Industry insiders reckon Jain’s expertise in building media playbooks and go-to-market strategies for product launches and sale events has been instrumental in Flipkart’s dominance in the cut-throat e-commerce space. His deft handling of partnerships with Meta, Google and third-party relations has clearly paid dividends.
With Jain at the helm of media operations, competitors will need to pull their socks up if they hope to keep pace with Flipkart’s aggressive marketing manoeuvres. As the digital landscape continues to evolve at breakneck speed, having a media maven like Jain controlling the purse strings could give Flipkart the edge it needs to stay ahead of the pack.
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.
