Brands
KWIL to list on 16 Feb after HUL ice cream demerger
Rs 1800 to 2000 crore business spun off at Rs 10000 to 12000 crore value.
MUMBAI: Hindustan Unilever Ltd has decided it is time to serve its ice cream separately. On February 16, Kwality Walls India Ltd will make its stock market debut, marking the formal listing of HUL’s demerged ice cream business as an independent entity. The move completes a strategic separation that began when HUL turned ex ice cream on December 5 as part of its approved scheme of arrangement.
Under the demerger structure, shareholders received one equity share of KWIL for every one share held in HUL, ensuring proportional ownership in the carved out company. The exercise effectively unlocked the ice cream vertical from HUL’s broader home and personal care portfolio, where it contributed roughly 3 per cent of total revenue.
In absolute terms, the Kwality Walls business was estimated at around Rs 1800 to 2000 crore in annual revenue. However, unlike HUL’s higher margin core categories, the ice cream division operated at low single digit margins, reflecting the capital intensive, cold chain dependent and seasonally volatile nature of the segment in India.
The separation is widely viewed as a strategic realignment. Ice cream runs on a different supply chain logic, distinct distribution demands and sharper seasonal swings compared to soaps, detergents and personal care products. As a standalone entity, KWIL is expected to pursue sharper category specific growth and margin management strategies without being structurally tied to the broader FMCG playbook.
Financially, the demerger triggered a visible stock adjustment. On the ex date, HUL’s share price was marked down by Rs 44 to reflect the value of the spun off business. Market assessments at the time pegged the ice cream arm’s valuation in the range of Rs 10000 to 12000 crore.
The February 16 listing will now test that estimate in real time, as investors assign a market discovered value to KWIL as a pure play ice cream company. For HUL, it marks a cleaner portfolio. For KWIL, it is the first day as a standalone brand on Dalal Street.
Either way, the freezer has been opened and the market is about to take a taste.
Brands
Lululemon picks former Nike executive to be its next chief
Heidi O’Neill, who helped grow Nike into a $45 billion giant, will take the top job in September
CANADA: Lululemon has found its next chief executive, and she comes with serious credentials. The athleisure giant named Heidi O’Neill as its new CEO on Wednesday, ending a search that has left the company running on interim leadership since earlier this year. O’Neill will take charge on September 8, 2026, based out of Vancouver, and will join the board on the same day.
O’Neill brings more than three decades of experience across performance apparel, footwear and sport. The bulk of that time was spent at Nike, where she was a central figure in one of corporate sport’s great growth stories, helping take the company from a $9 billion business to a $45 billion global powerhouse. She oversaw product pipelines, brand strategy and consumer connections, and played a significant role in shaping how Nike spoke to athletes around the world. Earlier in her career, she worked in marketing for the Dockers brand at Levi Strauss. She also brings boardroom experience from Spotify Technology, Hyatt Hotels and Lithia and Driveway.
The board was unequivocal in its enthusiasm. “We selected Heidi because of the breadth of her experience, her demonstrated success delivering breakthrough ideas and initiatives at scale, and her ability to be a knowledgeable change and growth agent,” said Marti Morfitt, executive chair of Lululemon’s board.
O’Neill, for her part, was bullish. “Lululemon is an iconic brand with something rare: genuine guest love, a product ethos rooted in innovation, and a global platform still in the early stages of its potential,” she said. “My job will be to accelerate product breakthroughs, deepen the brand’s cultural relevance, and unlock growth in markets around the world.”
Until she arrives, Meghan Frank and André Maestrini will continue as interim co-CEOs, before returning to their previous senior leadership roles once O’Neill steps in.
Lululemon is betting that a Nike veteran who helped build one of the world’s most powerful sports brands can do something similar for an athleisure label that has genuine love from its customers but is still chasing its full global potential. O’Neill has done it before at scale. The question now is whether she can do it again.
