Brands
Shawn Xavier joins V360 Group as group account director
MUMBAI: V360 Group has strengthened its senior leadership bench with the appointment of Shawn Xavier as group account director, marking a strategic addition to the communications and consulting firm’s growing roster. Xavier took on the role from November 2025, focusing on driving strategy, business development and insight-led client partnerships across the group.
Announcing the move, Xavier said he was pleased to join V360 Group and expressed gratitude to colleagues, mentors and journalist friends who have shaped his professional journey. He noted that their trust and collaboration had played a meaningful role in his career, and said he looked forward to building impactful work alongside V360’s teams and clients.
Xavier brings with him more than a decade of experience from MSLGROUP India, where he spent over ten years rising steadily through the ranks. Most recently, he served as group head from July 2023 to December 2025, following earlier roles as associate director, senior manager and manager. His long tenure saw him handle diverse mandates, manage complex client relationships and contribute to the firm’s leadership and growth in India’s competitive communications landscape.
With a career that began in account support roles and evolved through hands-on management to senior leadership, Xavier’s journey reflects a deep understanding of both the craft and the business of communications. At V360 Group, he is expected to play a key role in shaping strategy-driven narratives, strengthening client engagement and translating insight into measurable impact.
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.
