Brands
Meesho clocks 87.6 lakh orders on day one of festive season sale
Mumbai: Meesho recorded 87.6 lakh orders on the first day of its festive season event, ‘Mega Blockbuster Sale.’ This is the highest number of orders recorded by the company on a single day. It reached 80 per cent from day one of the previous year’s sale.
On the first day of the ‘Mega Blockbuster Sale,’ tier two, three, and four cities accounted for 85 per cent of orders from Meesho. Reaffirming its continued commitment to underserved users with different needs around selection and affordability, the company saw consumers from deep corners of the country, such as Jamnagar, Alappuzha, Chhindwara, Davengere, Hassan, Gopalganj, Guwahati, Siwan, Thanjavur, and Ambikapur.
With a wide assortment of Rs 6.5 crore active product listings at the lowest prices, the sale exemplifies Meesho’s mission towards democratising e-commerce for everyone.
Fashion, beauty, personal care, home, kitchen, and electronic accessories were the top-selling categories on day one, while consumers bought everything from sarees to analogue watches, jewellery sets, mobile cases/covers, bluetooth headphones, choppers, and peelers in record volumes to fulfil their festive shopping aspirations.
Meesho’s industry-first initiatives like zero commission and zero penalty have been instrumental in getting India’s small businesses online. The first day of the Meesho ‘Mega Blockbuster Sale’ saw a 360 per cent increase in seller participation from the previous year, with nearly 75 per cent coming from tier two markets and beyond. Ahead of the festive season, Meesho created a robust training programme on its supplier learning hub and is educating sellers on everything from demand forecasting to order volume management.
Meesho chief experience officer of business Utkrishta Kumar said, “The ‘Mega Blockbuster Sale’ has started on a high trajectory with a very strong response on day one. This performance is a reflection of the unmatched value sellers and consumers get on our platform and a validation of our relentless efforts towards democratising internet commerce. We are humbled to have had a far-reaching impact in the deepest corners of the country, with 85 per cent of orders and 75 per cent of sellers coming from tier two or higher cities. We will continue to fuel the discoverability of hyperlocal businesses and products, empower MSMEs, and further boost accessibility and affordability for our heterogenous base of consumers.”
Brands
Adobe CEO Shantanu Narayen to step down after 18 years in role
Board begins CEO search as Narayen prepares to move to chair role
SAN JOSE: After nearly two decades at the helm, Adobe’s long-serving chief executive Shantanu Narayen is preparing to pass the baton.
The company announced that Narayen will transition from his role as chief executive officer once a successor is appointed, ending an 18-year run that reshaped Adobe from a boxed software seller into a global cloud and AI powerhouse. He will remain chair of the board following the leadership transition.
Adobe’s board has formed a special committee to oversee the succession process, led by lead independent director Frank Calderoni. The committee will evaluate both internal and external candidates.
“Shantanu’s leadership has been instrumental in Adobe’s transformation and in positioning the company for the AI-driven era,” Calderoni said in a statement. “As we begin the next phase of succession planning, our focus is on identifying the right leader for the company’s next chapter while ensuring a smooth transition.”
In a note to employees, Narayen described the moment not as a farewell but as a pause for reflection after a long journey with the company.
“I love Adobe and the privilege of leading it has been the greatest honour of my career,” he wrote, adding that he will continue to work closely with the board over the coming months to ensure a seamless leadership change.
Tributes from the technology industry quickly followed the announcement. Microsoft chairman and chief executive officer Satya Nadella congratulated Narayen on what he described as a “legendary run” at Adobe.
“Congrats Shantanu, on a legendary run at Adobe! You’ve built one of the most important software companies in the world, and expanded what’s possible for creators, entrepreneurs, and brands everywhere,” Nadella wrote on LinkedIn.
“What has always stood out to me is the empathy you’ve brought to the creative process and the example you’ve set as a leader. Grateful for your friendship, mentorship, and for all you’ve done for Adobe and for our industry.”
Narayen’s career at Adobe spans nearly three decades. He joined the company in 1998 as vice president and rose steadily through the ranks before becoming chief executive officer in December 2007.
During that time, he orchestrated one of the most significant reinventions in the software industry. In 2013, Adobe made the bold decision to abandon traditional boxed software sales and move its flagship creative tools such as Photoshop to a subscription-based Creative Cloud model. The shift initially rattled investors but ultimately transformed Adobe into a predictable recurring revenue business and a case study in digital reinvention.
Narayen also pushed Adobe beyond creative tools into the world of marketing technology and data-driven customer experience, spearheading acquisitions such as Omniture and Marketo. Those moves helped build Adobe’s digital experience division and broaden its reach far beyond designers and photographers.
The numbers tell the story of that transformation. When Narayen took over in 2007, Adobe generated roughly $3 billion in annual revenue. Today the company reports more than $25 billion. Over the same period, its workforce expanded from around 3,000 employees to more than 30,000.
In recent years, Narayen has steered Adobe into the generative AI era with the launch of Adobe Firefly, aiming to keep the company ahead in a rapidly evolving creative technology landscape.
Born in Hyderabad in 1963, Narayen studied electronics and communication engineering at Osmania University before moving to the United States for a master’s degree in computer science from Bowling Green State University. He later earned an MBA from the Haas School of Business at the University of California, Berkeley.
Widely regarded as one of Silicon Valley’s most steady and effective leaders, Narayen has earned multiple honours during his career, including India’s Padma Shri in 2019.
For Adobe, the upcoming leadership change marks the end of a defining chapter. For Narayen, however, the story is far from finished. As he told employees, the company’s next era of creativity, powered by AI and new digital workflows, is only just beginning.
