MAM
Interpublic targets 3% organic growth in 2012
MUMBAI: US-based ad holding company Interpublic Group is targeting an organic growth of 3 per cent as its first six months are going to be impacted by client losses suffered last year.
The company‘s annual revenue in 2011 was up 7.8 per cent to about $7 billion. Net income for 2011 increased by 96 per cent to $551.5 million as compared to $281.2 in 2010.
Interpublic gained last year as it had net cash inflow of $134 million from the sale of about half of its interest in Facebook.
Interpublic CEO Michael Roth said the company faces revenue challenges in 2012 due to client losses from last year, which are expected to affect the first six months of the year. “We are targeting 3 per cent organic growth this year,” he averred.
Interpublic agency networks, McCann Erickson and DraftFCB, both saw major accounts defect in 2011. McCann Erickson lost Nescafe work and other accounts while DraftFCB lost SC Johnson and is now having to share Miller Lite work with Publicis Groupe‘s Saatchi & Saatchi.
Roth said that all of the company‘s regions grew in terms of organic growth in 2011 barring Europe due to its current debt crisis. While for the full year continental Europe was down 0.1 per cent, Latin America was up by 17.8 per cent. For the fourth quarter U.S. organic growth was up by 2.2 per cent, Latin American was up 30.4 per cent and Europe was down 3.2 per cent.
Net income in the fourth quarter of 2011 was up by 25 per cent to $278.3 million. The total revenue for the fourth quarter was $2.07 billion, which is an increase by 3.4 per cent from the corresponding quarter on the previous year.
Said Roth, “Building on a very good 2010 result we continue to show organic revenue growth that is at or near the top of our peer group. This performance keeps us on track to deliver on our goal of fully competitive profitability in 2014.”
Brands
Ekart expands IKEA partnership with EV deliveries in Chennai
3PL to handle 600 plus products with 48 hour delivery via EV fleet.
MUMBAI: Flatpacks are going electric and your sofa might now arrive with a smaller carbon footprint. Ekart has expanded its partnership with IKEA to power last-mile deliveries in Chennai, doubling down on speed, scale and sustainability in one of India’s key urban markets. Under the collaboration, Ekart will manage end-to-end large-format deliveries for IKEA across the city using a 100 per cent dedicated electric vehicle fleet. The move makes Chennai the second major market after NCR-Delhi where Ekart handles IKEA’s last-mile logistics, signalling a broader rollout of EV-led supply chains.
The mandate is no small load. Ekart will oversee deliveries for over 600 products from IKEA’s catalogue, ranging from furniture to home décor—categories that demand specialised handling and precision logistics.
Backed by its technology-driven fulfilment network, Ekart is targeting deliveries within a 48-hour window, offering real-time tracking and end-to-end visibility from warehouse to doorstep. The focus is clear: faster turnarounds without compromising on control or customer experience.
The EV-first model also aligns with both companies’ sustainability goals, as urban logistics increasingly shifts towards zero-emission solutions. For IKEA, which continues to expand its omnichannel presence in India, reliable and eco-conscious last-mile delivery is becoming central to scale.
For Ekart, the partnership reinforces its positioning as an enterprise-grade logistics player in large-format commerce. The company already supports over 1,800 retail, D2C and enterprise brands, spanning last-mile delivery, part-truckload services and warehousing.
As India’s logistics ecosystem evolves, this collaboration highlights a growing trend: delivery is no longer just about distance, it’s about efficiency, experience and increasingly, emissions.
