Brands
Marketers today don’t know their customers: TRA Research’s N Chandramouli
MUMBAI: The recently launched India’s Most Attractive Brands 2018 report ranked brands across categories based on an elaborate model measuring which brands the consumers desire the most. The results were calculated after thorough research that involved TRA interacting with people across the country and seeking their responses over a number of ‘attractive attributes’.
Speaking on the sidelines of the launch event, TRA Research CEO N Chandramouli shared some valuable insights into the marketing culture of today as well. He said that many marketers today do not know their customers They have made stark generalisations about who likes what and what has a market where. While they, in many cases, might be successful in increasing the sales, they lose out on carving an identity for the brand. They fail in driving ‘customer loyalty’.
“When it comes to ‘loyalty’, most brands rely on the customer to be loyal. They do not think that a customer has a number of options to choose from; one is spoilt for choices. Thus, the brands will have to adapt and deliver,” said Chandramouli.
He noted that brands today employ a marketing tactic called ‘dynamite advertising’—which is similar to an old fishing technique where fishermen dropped dynamite in the sea to easily catch the dead fish after the explosion. He implied that brands today are creating a lot of noise to boost sales but this form of advertising isn’t helping them in creating a distinct identity.
Chandramouli added, “Brands need to understand that sales and identity are two completely different things. The age of selling is dead. It’s the time to help people in buying. Thus, brands must think ten years ahead and do things that attract the customer. A brand shouldn’t be speaking about itself. In fact, the consumer should be talking about it and making it popular.”
But in an age and time of cut-throat competition and each brand focusing on unique marketing trends; it might become difficult to stand out. To this, Chandramouli said that brands should look into the data and studies and find out its own identity before promoting itself. He also said that brands shouldn’t rely completely on agencies for the creatives but rather be involved in creating their own identities.
It is imperative for brands of today to cut through the noise and come up with ideas that attract consumers. Be it creating campaigns that stand out or contribute to a social cause or sponsor programmes that reach their true target audience; brands will have to act if they want to stay relevant for the longer term.
Brands
Reliance Retail FY26 revenue rises 11.8 Per Cent to Rs 3.7 lakh crore
Q4 revenue up 11.1 Per Cent, hyperlocal orders surge 4x, PAT steady
MUMBAI: Reliance Retail isn’t just ringing up sales, it’s ringing doorbells faster than ever. Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) reported a steady FY26 performance, with growth powered by store expansion, a sharp surge in hyperlocal commerce, and consistent traction across grocery, fashion and jewellery. For the full year, revenue rose 11.8 per cent year-on-year to Rs 3,70,026 crore. In the January–March quarter, revenue from operations climbed 11.1 per cent to Rs 87,344 crore, up from Rs 78,622 crore a year earlier.
Operating performance remained stable, with Q4 EBITDA inching up 3.1 per cent YoY to Rs 6,921 crore from Rs 6,711 crore. However, quarterly profit after tax held steady at Rs 3,563 crore. For the full fiscal, PAT grew 11.7 per cent to Rs 13,842 crore.
Expansion remained a key lever. RRVL added 1,564 new stores during FY26, while simultaneously scaling its digital and hyperlocal commerce play. The latter emerged as a standout, with daily orders surging more than fourfold year-on-year in Q4, underlining a clear shift towards faster, localised fulfilment.
In grocery, large-format stores maintained momentum, aided by festive demand and the expansion of Smart Bazaar, which crossed 1,000 stores. Promotional campaigns such as ‘Full Paisa Vasool’ delivered record results, with sales rising 26 per cent YoY.
Digital commerce also picked up pace. JioMart added 5.8 million new users in Q4, nearly doubling its registered base year-on-year. Hyperlocal orders grew 29 per cent sequentially and over 300 per cent annually during the quarter.
Fashion and lifestyle saw steady traction. Ajio recorded a 23 per cent YoY rise in average bill value, while fast-fashion platform Shein crossed 11 million app installs, scaling rapidly with expanding product lines.
The jewellery business added further shine, with average bill value jumping 53 per cent YoY, largely driven by rising gold prices and sustained consumer demand.
Commenting on the shift, RRVL executive director Isha Ambani said hyperlocal commerce has become a structural growth driver, with orders rising more than fourfold over the year.
Looking ahead to FY27, the company is betting on technology to deepen engagement. The focus, Ambani noted, will be on AI-led merchandising, sharper pricing strategies and disciplined execution turning scale into sustained customer value.
In short, the carts are fuller, the clicks are quicker, and the next phase looks less about reach and more about precision.
