MAM
TracyLocke India brings on board Mehta & Ramakrishnan
MUMBAI: DDB Mudra Group’s shopper marketing wing, TracyLocke India, has appointed Samir Mehta to the post of head- business and operations.
Pradeep Ramakrishnan will serve as TracyLocke India head – strategy & insights along with his current duties as DDB MudraMax Media VP.
Founded in 1913, TracyLocke is a creative agency and is a part of the DDB Worldwide Network. Its client list includes brands such as HP, T-Mobile, Starbucks, Johnson & Johnson, Gatorade, Tropicana, PepsiCo, Sony and Unilever’s Lipton.
DDB Mudra Group COO Pratap Bose said, “Tracy Locke India will help build the B2R (Business to Retail) practice for clients and will create strategies for converting consumers into shoppers. With the appointments of Samir Mehta and Pradeep Ramakrishnan we now have the momentum to aggressively push the Tracy Locke India agenda, and build a great shopper marketing and retail capability for our clients.”
Mehta said, “Evolution of retail in India calls for a better understanding of how the shoppers, shop at the last mile in India. This becomes imperative for brands. For this, brands need to develop shopper insights. With TracyLocke, who have a commendable record with working on some of the best global brands, and with the Indian retail environment being unique in its own way, TracyLocke India will be customizing the requisites of each of our clients to suit this market, which currently comprises of 95% being unorganized and the remaining 5% organized.”
Ramakrishnan said, “Shopper Marketing in India is not just about marrying the interests of the brand, retailer and shopper. It is more complex than that. The role of insights in this scenario would therefore be about ‘Bringing a Method to the Madness’. TracyLocke India with its proprietary tool, processes and measurement systems will lead the creation of new ways of understanding, analyzing and influencing the shopper in India.”
Brands
Domino’s Q1 profit falls 6.6 per cent, announces $1 billion buyback
Sales rise 3.4 per cent as pizza giant balances growth and shareholder returns
NEW YORK: Domino’s reported a mixed start to 2026, with first-quarter net income slipping even as global sales and store expansion held steady. The company also announced a fresh $1 billion share buyback, underlining its continued focus on shareholder returns.
Global retail sales rose 3.4 per cent on a constant-currency basis to $4.74 billion. The US remained a key growth engine, with same-store sales inching up 0.9 per cent, supported by a 1.5 per cent rise at company-owned outlets.
International markets, however, painted a more uneven picture. While Domino’s added 161 net new stores overseas during the quarter, international same-store sales declined 0.4 per cent. Overall revenues still climbed 3.5 per cent to $1.15 billion, driven by higher supply chain revenues and a 2.6 per cent increase in food basket pricing for franchisees.
On the profitability front, net income fell 6.6 per cent to $139.8 million, compared to $149.7 million a year earlier. Diluted earnings per share dropped to $4.13 from $4.33. The decline was largely attributed to a $30 million unfavourable swing in unrealised gains linked to its investment in DPC Dash Ltd.
Despite this, operational performance showed resilience. Income from operations rose 9.6 per cent to $230.4 million, supported in part by a $7.8 million pre-tax gain from the sale of a corporate aircraft.
Domino’s footprint continued to expand, with the company ending the quarter at 22,322 stores across more than 90 markets. In the US, digital orders remained dominant, accounting for over 85 per cent of retail sales in 2025.
The company also maintained its dividend payout, declaring $1.99 per share, payable on 30 June 2026. After repurchasing $75.1 million worth of stock during the quarter, the new authorisation lifts the total available for buybacks to $1.29 billion.
Domino’s chief executive officer Russell Weiner said the company’s scale and store-level economics position it well to capture further market share in 2026, even as competition intensifies.
As Domino’s leans into expansion and capital returns, the latest results show a business managing short-term pressures while keeping its long-term growth strategy firmly in play.
