Brands
Hindustan Pencils names Aishwarya Shinod head of marketing
MUMBAI: Hindustan Pencils has appointed Aishwarya Shinod as head of marketing, tapping a seasoned FMCG leader to steer brand transformation across its flagship stationery labels, Apsara and Nataraj.
Shinod will lead brand, marketing and consumer strategy for the company’s portfolio, with a brief to sharpen cultural relevance and deepen emotional connect with younger consumers while preserving the brands’ legacy appeal.
She brings nearly two decades of experience in building consumer brands, with senior roles at Unilever, Nestlé, Kellogg’s and Freudenberg Gala Household Products. Her expertise spans brand strategy, integrated marketing, innovation and purpose-led storytelling, underpinned by a strong consumer-first approach.
In previous roles, Shinod led several high-profile brand transformations, including the repositioning of Pepsodent across South Asia at Unilever and the ”Why Just Clean Home’ campaign at Gala, which helped double the brand’s topline over four years. She has also served on industry juries such as the Effies, Emvies and Indian Content Marketing Awards.
Commenting on her appointment, Shinod said joining Hindustan Pencils was an opportunity to reimagine brands that are deeply embedded in Indian school memories and make them relevant for the next generation through insight-led marketing.
Founded in 1958, Hindustan Pencils is India’s largest primary school stationery manufacturer, producing about 8.5 million pencils a day alongside sharpeners, erasers, scales and pens from its manufacturing units. The company said the appointment underlines its focus on building future-ready brands anchored in nostalgia but aligned with changing consumer expectations.
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.
