Brands
Nykaa gets board approval to buy digital lifestyle platform Little Black Book
Mumbai: Nykaa has confirmed its board’s approval for the acquisition of Iluminar Media’s Little Black Book (LBB), a millennial-focused lifestyle discovery platform. This is in line with Nykaa’s fundamental, content-first strategy for connecting with its devoted customer base.
LBB is a popular content hub thanks to its sizable, discerning user base, content creation ability, curation mindset, and connections to up-and-coming brands. Nykaa believes that LBB’s emphasis on the fashion, home, and beauty categories will complement Nykaa’s strong points.
Nykaa spokesperson Nihir Parikh said, “At Nykaa, we are committed to offering the best to our consumers and making their shopping experience delightful. We are excited about the strong synergies we share with LBB, much like Nykaa, they have sharply focused on driving discovery and spotlighting promising homegrown brands across their channels since day one.”
“We welcome their like-minded leadership into the Nykaa family and look forward to helping them scale, as together we better serve our audience base,” added Parikh.
According to Nykaa, its market leadership in beauty and lifestyle is a result of its core strengths, which include a content-first approach, curated offerings, and a discovery-led shopping experience. LBB’s strengths in these areas will complement Nykaa and Nykaa Fashion’s vision of constantly enriching their customers’ shopping experiences.
LBB co-founder and CEO Suchita Salwan said, “Through this partnership with Nykaa, we’re excited to scale to even greater heights. Together, we want to drive value to Nykaa and LBB’s shared goals to build discovery for India’s emerging brands through content, community, and a discovery-first approach.”
She further added, “LBB’s robust content creation capabilities and creator network will be leveraged within Nykaa’s platforms to drive consumer engagement and retention, further scaling reach and engagement for our brand partners.”
Suchita Salwan and Dhruv Mathur co-founded LBB (Little Black Book) in 2015, and it has grown from a Tumblr blog to a popular online marketplace. LBB has established a brand and an audience among India’s urban millennials, reaching over 70 million users through various channels. Their emphasis on audience engagement through content and discovery has made them a brand beloved by both users and brand partners.
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.
