Brands
Mother Dairy launches ‘SBI-Mother Dairy SmartChange Card’
MUMBAI: Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable has strategically tied-up with State Bank of India (SBI) to launch ‘SBI – Mother Dairy SmartChange Card’ for Mother Dairy Milk Booths in Delhi & NCR.
The first-of-a-kind initiative in the dairy industry will facilitate consumers towards a more convenient mode of payment at Mother Dairy milk booths. These SmartChange Cards will allow the consumers to pay conveniently through this card instead of paying cash and particularly coins, for every purchase at the Mother Dairy booths.
Mother Dairy Fruit & Vegetable MD S Nagarajan said, “At Mother Dairy we believe in always keeping our stakeholders at the core of all our activities. We realised that we had a dual problem of tendering exact change to consumers after purchase from booths and also for cash handling hassle for concessionaire due to usage of coins. While it left the consumers peeved, it was also not always possible for retailers to tender exact change all the time. This made us realise that while consumers were looking at a solution to this problem, so are the retailers who even do not like seeing consumers returning unhappy. Hence, we decided to launch the SmartChange Cards at our booths. We are hoping this initiative will start a trend and will ease the life of consumers further in the long-run.”
Nagarajan further added, “While the solution to the problem was apparent our next step was to find the right partner for this project. The choice to tie-up with SBI was not difficult, keeping in mind its strength and capabilities to provide this initiative with the required back- end support and infrastructure.”
State Bank of India corporate strategy and new businesses deputy MD SK Mishra said, “State Bank has always been the principal Banker for Mother Dairy and has an association with them since decades. Introduction of a “SBI-Mother Dairy SmartChange Card” is a joint initiative to facilitate cashless payment across Mother Dairy Booth outlets. The Card is specifically designed to be easy to use and convenient to cater to the needs of Mother Dairy Booth consumers and is positioned as an alternative to use of small notes / coins at Mother Dairy Outlets. “
With this launch, the SmartChange Card service will now be available to 150 booths in its initial phase of three months.
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.
