Brands
Versace appoints Pieter Mulier as chief creative officer
MILAN: Versace has chosen Pieter Mulier to chart its next creative chapter, handing the Alaïa designer the role of chief creative officer as the Italian luxury house reshapes itself under Prada Group ownership.
The appointment, announced jointly by Prada Group and Versace, puts Mulier at the creative helm of one of fashion’s most recognisable brands, with a brief to honour its bold heritage while sharpening its future edge. Mulier will report to executive chairman Lorenzo Bertelli.
“When we considered the Versace acquisition, we identified Pieter Mulier as the right person for the brand. We believe that he can truly unlock Versace’s full potential and that he will be able to engage in a fruitful dialogue with the brand’s strong legacy. We are excited to begin this journey together,” Bertelli said.
Mulier arrives with decades of experience shaping distinctive aesthetics at some of the world’s leading fashion houses. Over his career, he has worked closely with Raf Simons and contributed to the success of brands such as Jil Sander, Dior and Calvin Klein.
After studying design and architecture, he was selected by Simons to join Jil Sander, serving as head of accessories, shoes and bags. He later became design director at Christian Dior, then global creative director at Calvin Klein, before taking on the creative director role at Maison Alaïa, where his work drew critical acclaim for modernising couture codes.
His move to Versace comes soon after Prada Group completed its acquisition of the label in December 2025. The deal, first announced in April 2025, saw Prada agree to buy 100 per cent of Versace from US-based Capri Holdings for about $1.38 billion. The transaction, one of the largest in Italy’s luxury sector in recent years, returned the Medusa-emblazoned house to Italian ownership.
For Versace, the message is clear: heritage will be protected, but the tempo will quicken. With Mulier in charge, the house is betting that disciplined design and fresh energy can turn legacy into momentum — and momentum into growth.
Brands
Dunkin’ Donuts to exit India as Jubilant FoodWorks ends 15-year franchise deal
The quick service restaurant giant is ending a 15-year franchise partnership with the American doughnut chain, even as it renews its Domino’s agreement for another 15 years
NOIDA: Dunkin’ is done in India. Jubilant FoodWorks Ltd, the country’s leading quick service restaurant operator, has decided not to renew its franchise agreement with the American coffee and doughnut chain, and will wind down its Indian stores in a phased manner before December 31, 2026, bringing a 15-year partnership to a quiet, loss-laden close.
The decision, approved by JFL’s board on March 30, 2026, ends a relationship that began with a Multiple Unit Development Franchise Agreement signed on February 24, 2011. JFL will now evaluate and undertake what it described in a regulatory filing as the “rationalisation and/or cessation of certain operations and/or sale, transfer or disposal of assets and/or assignment or transfer of franchise rights,” all in consultation with Dunkin’s brand owners and strictly within the terms of the original agreement.
The numbers tell the story bluntly. In the financial year 2024-25, Dunkin’ India posted a revenue of Rs 37 crore against a loss of Rs 19 crore — a haemorrhage that was always going to test the patience of a parent company recording revenues of Rs 6,104 crore and a profit of Rs 194 crore in the same period. Doughnuts, it turns out, were never going to move the needle.
The contrast with JFL’s handling of its other marquee franchise could hardly be sharper. Even as it walks away from Dunkin’, the company has just doubled down on Domino’s, signing a fresh Master Franchise Agreement on March 31, 2026, granting it exclusive rights to develop and operate Domino’s Pizza stores in India for 15 years, with an option to renew for a further 10.
JFL, incorporated in 1995 and promoted by the Bharatia family, operates a network of more than 3,500 stores across six markets — India, Turkey, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Azerbaijan and Georgia. Its portfolio includes Domino’s and Popeyes on the global side, and two home-grown brands: Hong’s Kitchen and COFFY, a café brand in Turkey.
For Dunkin’, India was always a stretch. The brand never quite cracked the cultural code in a market where filter coffee and chai command fierce loyalty and where the doughnut remains, at best, an occasional indulgence rather than a daily habit. Fifteen years, mounting losses and a parent with better things to spend its capital on was always going to be a difficult equation to solve.
The doughnut has had its last day. The pizza, however, is staying.
