Applications
American Swan raises Rs 400 mn from Four Cross Media
MUMBAI: American Swan Lifestyle Company, a fashion and apparel-led lifestyle company, has got an investment of Rs 400 million for its Indian business, from global digital media conglomerate Four Cross Media.
American Swan has opened its doors to the e-tailing market with its online shopping site – AmericanSwan.com.
The brand’s new shopping portal will offer customers a range of products spanning categories such as Men’s and Women’s apparel, footwear, accessories, beauty, home and living products.
The American Swan Lifestyle Company (TASLC) director and CEO Anurag Rajpal said, “As consumers in India look for global designs and standards with affordable pricing and the convenience of a click, American Swan expects to garner a significant share of the apparel and lifestyle market.”
"The American Swan brand has been conceived and developed to be aspirational, accessible and affordable. We aim for a differentiation through our brand proposition and positioning to offer affordable luxury to an aspiration-led audience that seeks international quality and fashion. Our product detailing, packaging and fulfillment is at par with the international standards,” Rajpal added.
The Fashion and Lifestyle segment in India, estimated at 17 per cent of the total retail market, is worth over $60 billion reported in a PwC research. Growing at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 15 per cent to 20 per cent, this is estimated to grow to over $90 billion in 2015.
According to the company, the Indian urban consumer is actively seeking and purchasing branded merchandise in categories like Apparels, Cosmetics, Shoes, Watches and Jewellery. Similar growth is visible in e-tailing and American Swan will be pioneering an active mix of the brick-n-click formats by opening itself to both online and retail distribution networks.
Four Cross Media co-founder and managing director Asia Puneet Johar said, “With American Swan we are focused towards building an aspirational lifestyle brand. Our focus is to build compelling consumer engagement using digital media as that is a space we understand and are confident about.”
Applications
With 57 per cent single new users, Ashley Madison rebrands as discreet dating platform
Platform says majority of new members now identify as single
INDIA: Ashley Madison is shedding the “married-dating” label that defined it for two decades, repositioning itself as a platform for discreet dating in what it calls the post-social media age.
The rebrand, unveiled in India on 27 February, 2026, marks a structural shift in business model and identity. Once synonymous with married dating, the company now describes itself as the “premier destination for discreet dating” under a new tagline: Where Desire Meets Discretion.
The pivot is data-driven. Internal figures show that 57 per cent of global sign-ups between 1 January and 31 December, 2025 identified as single: a notable departure from the platform’s married core. The company argues that its community has already evolved beyond its original positioning.
“In an age where our lives have been constantly put on public display, privacy has become the new luxury,” said Ashley Madison chief strategy officer Paul Keable. He framed the platform’s offering as “ethical discretion” for singles, separated, divorced and non-monogamous users seeking private connections.
The shift also taps into wider digital fatigue. A global survey conducted by YouGov for Ashley Madison, covering 13,071 adults across Australia, Brazil, Canada, Germany, India, Italy, Mexico, Spain, Switzerland, the UK and the US, found mounting discomfort with hyper-public online lives.
Among dating app users, 30 per cent cited constant swiping and messaging as a source of fatigue, while 24 per cent pointed to pressure to curate public-facing profiles and early personal disclosure. Some 27 per cent said fears of screenshots or information being shared contributed to exhaustion; an equal share cited unwanted attention.
The retreat from oversharing appears broader. According to the survey, 46 per cent of adults actively try to keep most aspects of their life private online. Only 8 per cent feel comfortable sharing most aspects publicly, while 35 per cent say they are becoming more selective about what they disclose.
Ashley Madison is betting that this cultural recalibration towards controlled visibility can be monetised. By doubling down on privacy infrastructure and reframing itself around discretion rather than infidelity, the company is attempting to convert reputational baggage into a premium proposition.
