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Fifth KSA-Technopak retail seminar launched in Mumbai
MUMBAI: The fifth KSA Retail Summit, organised by KSA-Technopak, India’s leading management consulting firm specialising in the fashion and retail industries, was inaugurated in Mumbai’s Hotel Renaissance.
Retail industry leaders from India conducted a series of workshops on topics ranging from franchising; effective mall management; and private label programme to retail performance metrics; information technology for retail business; customer loyalty programs; and merchandise planning and management.
The KSA Retail Summit is being attended by senior executives and functional heads of leading Indian companies and MNCs such as L’Oreal, Pepsi, Hewlett Packard, HLL, Infosys, Reliance, BPCL, Mahindra & Mahindra and Raymond Synthetics, among others.
The annual KSA Retail Summit, one of the most well attended events in the industry, unveiled a comprehensive view of the growth of the retail sector through operational excellence and improved profitability, under the theme ‘Delivering Value- Profitably’ and the workshops held set the tone for this theme.
The workshops were jointly held by senior representatives from KSA Technopak and retail industry stalwarts including Shoppers’ Stop CE BS Nagesh; RPG Enterprises CE Raghu Pillai; McDonalds India MD-North India Vikram Bakshi; Piramyd Retail & Merchandising president and CEO Krish Iyer; Titan Industries COO Jacob Kurian; and Lifestyle International MD H Ramanathan.
“The KSA Retail Summit aims to facilitate and promote sharing of knowledge and through these workshops, we will see the participants gaining significantly as they interface with these industry leaders and tackle real issues that the players in the Indian retail industry face,” KSA Technopak chairman Arvind Singhal said while inaugurating the sessions.
“With this aim, among other innovations, we are also introducing the ‘Power Partners Program’ at the KSA Retail Summit this year, which will be aimed at companies in sectors like FMCG, consumer durables, fashion, and consumer brands. Through this program, we will see companies sharing organised retail knowledge and best practices with their channel partners and team members from across the country,” Singhal added.
Day two and three of the KSA Retail Summit saw international experts such as Foodlands Australia MD Trevor M Coates; UK’s Oxford Institute of Retail Management fellow Elizabeth Howard; Switzerland IMD professor of marketing Dr Nirmalya Kumar; Pricesmart China’s president Hansen Tian; and French INSEAD senior affialate professor of marketing Dr Charles Waldman, Senior Affiliate Professor of Marketing sharing a global view of delivering consumer value in the retail business.
Indian retail heads addressed the participants on the path to profit for Indian organised retailing.
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Network18 Q4 revenue grows 9.7 per cent, EBITDA at Rs 30 crore
PAT improves to Rs 306.6 crore, margins steady amid cost pressures.
MUMBAI: Not all news is breaking, some of it is quietly improving. Network18 Media & Investments Limited appears to be doing just that, tightening losses and stabilising margins even as costs continue to weigh on the business. For FY26, the company reported revenue from operations of Rs 1,955.1 crore, up from Rs 1,896.2 crore in FY25, signalling modest top-line growth in a challenging media environment. Total income stood at Rs 1,978.2 crore, compared to Rs 1,913 crore a year earlier.
Profit after tax came in at Rs 306.6 crore for the year, a sharp turnaround from Rs 3,225.4 crore in FY25, largely reflecting the absence of large exceptional items that had inflated the previous year’s numbers. On a more comparable basis, the company’s operating performance showed signs of gradual stabilisation.
However, the quarterly picture remained under pressure. For the March quarter, Network18 reported a loss of Rs 53.1 crore, narrower than the Rs 98.1 crore loss in the same period last year, but still indicative of ongoing cost challenges.
Expenses continued to track high. Total expenses for FY26 stood at Rs 2,235.7 crore, up from Rs 2,197.8 crore in FY25. Key cost heads included operational expenses of Rs 765.9 crore, employee benefits of Rs 475.9 crore, and marketing, distribution and promotional spends of Rs 427.1 crore, underlining the continued investment required to sustain reach and engagement.
At an operating level, margins remained under strain. Operating margin stood at 2.33 per cent for FY26, marginally higher than 1.77 per cent in FY25, while net profit margin remained negative at -13.02 per cent, though improved from -14.89 per cent.
On the balance sheet, total assets rose to Rs 8,957.6 crore as of 31 March 2026, from Rs 8,317.5 crore a year earlier. Equity strengthened to Rs 4,958.7 crore, while borrowings increased to Rs 3,112.8 crore, reflecting a higher reliance on debt to support operations.
Cash flows told a mixed story. While financing activities generated Rs 83.9 crore, operating cash flow remained negative at Rs -24 crore, highlighting ongoing pressure on core cash generation. Cash and cash equivalents, however, improved to Rs 33.9 crore from Rs 1.8 crore.
The numbers point to a company in transition growing revenues, trimming losses, but still grappling with structural cost pressures. In a sector where scale often comes at a price, Network18 seems to be inching towards balance, one quarter at a time.
