MAM
HUL slashes ad spend by 15.74% in Q1
MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever, the Indian unit of Anglo-Dutch Unilever Plc, has slashed its advertising spend for the first quarter by 15.74 per cent, signalling a possible slowdown in the economy.
The largest Indian household products and consumer goods maker has spent Rs 6.33 billion in the quarter ended 30 June 2011, down from Rs 7.51 billion a year ago.
For the full-fiscal ended March 2011, the company had spent Rs 27.64 billion on advertising and promotions.
HUL said that advertising spends were stepped up in the personal products and packaged foods segments, while spending on soaps and detergents was calibrated in line with industry trends.
“Advertising and promotion spends at 11.5 per cent of sales remained competitive,” the company said.
Return on marketing investments (ROMI) is an area where the company has stepped up focus in recent times.
HUL‘s first-quarter net profit at Rs. 6.27 billion grew by 17.62 per cent.
MUMBAI: In India’s fast-moving payments race, Visa has just swiped in a new leader. The company has named Suresh Sethi as its India country head, marking a key leadership shift as it sharpens its focus on digital payments growth in the market. Sethi steps into the role following his recent exit from Protean eGov Technologies, where he served as chief executive officer. He succeeds Sandeep Ghosh, who has moved on after more than four years at Visa to pursue an external opportunity.
The appointment comes at a time when Visa is doubling down on its expansion strategy across India and the wider region, deepening partnerships and accelerating adoption in an increasingly competitive digital payments ecosystem.
Sethi brings with him a broad, cross-market perspective shaped by decades of experience across corporate banking, retail financial services, mobile money and large-scale government technology initiatives. He began his career at Citigroup, where he spent 14 years working across India, Africa, South America and the United States, focusing on transaction banking services within the corporate bank.
His appointment signals a blend of institutional experience and market familiarity qualities that could prove critical as Visa navigates a landscape where fintech innovation, regulatory evolution and consumer adoption are all accelerating at once.
As digital payments in India continue to scale rapidly, the leadership change underscores a simple reality, in a market where every tap, scan and swipe counts, who leads the charge can matter just as much as the technology itself.
