Latest news with #D'Souza
Qatar Tribune
a day ago
- General
- Qatar Tribune
QF recognises ability friendly program participants, families
Tribune News Network Doha Qatar Foundation's Pre-University Education Ability Friendly Program hosted its annual Recognition Awards Ceremony to honour the achievements of its participants and acknowledge the vital role their families play in providing continuous support throughout the year. Nigel D'Souza, events coordinator at Qatar Foundation's (QF) Pre-University Education (PUE) Ability Friendly Program, emphasized that the event goes beyond simply presenting awards. It seeks to foster a sense of belonging, enhance self-confidence, and strengthen the bonds between participants and their families – reflecting the program's deeply rooted social and human-centred values. 'The annual recognition awards serve as an opportunity to celebrate the dedication, hard work, and achievements of our participants and their families throughout the year. 'More than just a formal recognition, the event highlights the essential role parents play in supporting and accompanying their children across various activities,' D'Souza explained. 'Through this recognition, we aim to ensure that every participant feels valued and understands the importance of their role within our community.' He added: 'The moment they walk onto the stage to receive their medal is a true point of pride – for them and their families. 'Beyond the awards, the ceremony helps foster a sense of belonging and offers a valuable opportunity for social interaction and connection among participants, especially those who may not regularly experience such inclusive gatherings. For many, this event is one of the most anticipated and meaningful moments of the year.' D'Souza noted that in recent years, many participants have shown remarkable positive growth. 'One inspiring example is a group of students who took part in our winter camp for the first time last year,' he said. According to the families, just one week of participation led to noticeable improvements in their energy levels, social engagement, and involvement in other after-school activities. 'Stories like these highlight that the program's impact goes far beyond sports or learning – it reaches into participants' self-confidence, social behaviour, and overall quality of life.' He added that the program also fosters a strong sense of community, with participants developing meaningful friendships that extend beyond the sessions, while families build closer relationships through shared experiences and continued engagement. He concluded by emphasising the role of families: 'Families play a fundamental role in the development of their children's abilities – whether through direct participation or moral support. 'Their consistent presence helps reinforce the behaviours and values our coaches strive to instil, ensuring the program's impact extends beyond the sessions and into the home.'
Mint
24-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Starbucks India to accelerate store expansion after ‘tempered' growth over previous 2 quarters'
New Delhi: Tata Consumer Products Ltd, the operator of Starbucks in India, will accelerate the expansion of the coffee chain following a period of 'tempered" store additions. The company opened six Starbucks outlets in India in the June quarter, bringing the total tally to 485. The store expansion was slightly "tempered," the management said. 'You would probably see a similar number or maybe slightly more this quarter. I would probably wait for one more quarter before pressing the accelerator on outlets," Sunil D'Souza, managing director and CEO of Tata Consumer Products, said in an interview with Mint on Thursday. Store openings for Starbucks moderated in the past two quarters, with the company adding six stores per quarter. This was lower than the double-digit expansion in previous quarters. Total store additions in FY25 were 58, down from a record 95 opened in FY24. Starbucks' revenue grew 6% year-on-year during the June quarter, while same-store sales growth was positive, except in May, when regional geopolitical tensions flared up and impacted store operating hours in some areas. 'We started seeing traffic increase as well as same-store sales growth starting to pick up into the positive territory after four to five quarters of pressure, except for the month of May when we had store closures and reduced timings with Operation Sindoor, especially in north and northwestern India. Other than that, we can see that trajectory starting to shift and growth starting to come back. I'm cautiously optimistic," he said. The coffee chain started operating in India in 2012 through a 50:50 joint venture between Starbucks Coffee Company and Tata Consumer Products. In early 2024, Tata Starbucks Pvt Ltd stated its ambition of operating 1,000 stores in India by 2028, effectively opening one store every three days. Discretionary spending stress Store openings in the coming quarters could more than double from levels in the June quarter, D'Souza said. The chain had added 16 stores in the December quarter, with expansion dialed up in east India. In the September quarter, 19 stores were added and in the June quarter of FY25, it opened 17 outlets. High food inflation has tempered consumer demand across the board, leading many companies to report sluggish sales. D'Souza acknowledged that this "stress on discretionary spends" had impacted the quick service restaurant (QSR) space, including Starbucks. However, recent initiatives like new menu items are showing results, he said. A December report by Motilal Oswal highlighted significant demand challenges, weak unit economics, and increased competition impacting QSR financial performance in the September quarter, leading to contracted margins across major brands. The chain is 'exploring" more Starbucks Reserve stores following the 2022 opening of the first such outlet in Mumbai's Fort area. Reserve stores are premium outlets that offer small-lot, single-origin coffees from around the world. 'We are exploring 'Reserve' in one or two cities nationally, but it depends. We've still not pressed the trigger on anything. We opened Starbucks Reserve after converting the existing Starbucks store in Mumbai to a Reserve store, and that is doing very well for us. So, we've been thinking about expanding," D'Souza said. Shares of Tata Consumer Products rose 1.06% on the BSE at 1:12 PM on Thursday, a day after the company's earnings announcement.
Mint
24-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
RBI ban behind, Kotak banks on new affluent programme to grow cards portfolio
Mumbai: Kotak Mahindra Bank is betting on its new, invite-only 'Solitaire' programme aimed at affluent customers to grow its credit cards portfolio, five months after the Reserve Bank of India lifted the ban on the private lender from onboarding new credit cards customers. 'An affluent product like the Solitaire card would be very material to the customer spends compared to say an average customer in the portfolio," said Frederick D'Souza, business head—credit cards, Kotak Mahindra Bank. 'It is going to be our play in getting that customer spend share and in making sure that our customers find the product interesting to keep spending on a card and therefore build and strengthen the relationship with the bank," D'Souza told Mint. The RBI had in April 2024 asked Kotak Mahindra Bank to stop issuing new credit cards and onboarding new credit card customers through its website and mobile application, citing deficiencies in the bank's information technology systems and data security. The ban was lifted nearly 10 months later in February 2025. The bank's credit card portfolio fell to ₹13,420 crore as of March 2025, down 7% year-on-year and 5% sequentially due to the RBI ban. Despite the ban on adding new customers, Kotak's spends per cards for existing cards kept growing through the period. D'Souza attributed this to a range of customer engagement practices in terms of both monetary value propositions such as rewards, miles and credit limit enhancements, and through exclusive brand partnerships and experience curation. 'We ran a lot of quick commerce offers and portfolio campaigns. We were in fact pioneers in this in the event space, where we actually partnered with the best concerts. That was very targeted at this customer segment and was lapped up quite well," D'Souza said, adding that the focus is not as much on the number of cards but in 'cards that drive spends". 'Our focus is more around spend market share than the card market share only." At the time of the ban in April 2024, Kotak bank had 6 million credit cards-in-force, recording monthly spends of ₹7,046 crore, as per RBI data. Before the ban was lifted in February 2025, the number of cards outstanding fell significantly to 5 million in January 2025, but spends remained largely steady at ₹7,031 crore. Even after the ban was lifted, cards-in-force have continued to fall to around 4.6 million as of June 2025, when the bank saw card spends worth ₹5,996 crore, as per latest RBI data. Solitaire programme for affluent segment The Solitaire programme, launched on Wednesday, is an exclusive, invite-only affluent banking plan, reserved for individuals and families with high-value, multi-dimensional relationship with the bank. The programme looks to track Total Relationship Value across deposits, credit cards, investments, loans, insurance and demat holdings offered by the bank and it is calculated at a family level. The eligibility criteria for salaried customers is ₹75 lakh and for self-employed customers is ₹1 crore in relationship value. The affluent customer segment currently accounts for upwards of 21% of the bank's credit cards spends. Over the past year, the bank has tied up for early access for its card holders for concerts such as Ed Sheeran, Peppa Pig, Maroon 5 and Guns N' Roses. 'Our thought process is to continue doing that, because it's all also customer feedback driven and the data that we see," D'Souza said, adding that the bank will continue to scale up these opportunities. These 'opportunities" will include exclusive propositions to customers under the new affluent programme, such as early access, premium access, access to better seats, lounge partnerships and designated parking at events. 'A combination of premium events and premium dining experiences, to start off with, is what we want to really provide to this customer under the Solitaire umbrella," said Rohit Bhasin, president—head of affluent, NRI and business banking and chief marketing officer, Kotak bank. As such, the experience is just one part of the Solitaire umbrella, Bhasin said, adding that the Solitaire card will also offer other benefits such as lounge access, accelerated miles, zero mark-up on foreign exchange transactions and fuel surcharge waivers that have been curated for the affluent customers and are 'better than any other card" in the Kotak family as of today. Currently, less than 1% of the bank's 53 million customers are from the affluent segment, but contribute over 35% of the overall business, Bhasin said at the launch of the Solitaire programme. The bank has a 4% market share in the affluent market segment, higher than its 2% market share in the overall banking space, and is looking to grow this share further through offerings such as Solitaire, he added. '96% of the market is not with us but with other banks. That's the affluent ecosystem that exists, and it is growing at twice the rate of the non-affluent segment. Over the next five years, we see a huge number of affluent customers being created," Bhasin said, adding that under the programme, the bank will also offer pre-approved credit lines of up to ₹8 crore across home loans, personal loans, and credit cards. Kotak's affluent banking programme will compete with similar schemes offered by larger private lenders such as Axis Bank's Burgundy Banking for high net worth customers and HDFC Bank's invite-only Diner's Club Black Credit Card for ultra-rich customers in November 2023. Salaried customers are expected to avail personal banking services whereas the self-employed customers will be offered both personal and business banking services. As a result, the self-employed segment will be more profitable but the bank does not have a preference and will look to garner both customer segments, Bhasin told Mint, adding that within the corporate segment, the focus will be on MSME and SMEs with a turnover of up to ₹50 crore. 'The way we have created it helps us offer more products that can meet the needs of the customer more holistically, and we hope that by doing this we will be able to increase the product holding," he said, adding that the affluent card segment is a profitable business for the bank and he expects it to grow faster than the overall business.
Mint
23-07-2025
- Business
- Mint
Tata Consumer Reports Coffee Prices Decline Amid Ongoing Volatility
Packaged food and beverage maker Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) on Wednesday said that coffee prices are currently on a downward trajectory, though ongoing volatility necessitates close monitoring following a period of significant surge. In the March quarter, TCPL had noted that prices of Arabica coffee were 97% higher year-on-year, while Robusta coffee prices were up 56%. Prices of Arabica and Robusta— types of coffee beans—have moderated significantly, yet remain volatile, according to the company's investor presentation released Wednesday. 'The issue with falling coffee prices is your trailing inventory, that is the whole catch, because you're sitting with inventory and selling it at a lower price. It will stabilize at a point in time. We are probably close to the bottom on the margins front. We are fairly well hedged in coffee, we've taken a small charge this quarter on the mark to market. We'll have to see one more quarter, and of course it largely depends on where the coffee prices finally settle. If they are roundabout where they are currently, we'll see probably one more quarter of pain, and then we should get back to the historical margins that we had in business,' Sunil D'Souza, Managing Director and chief executive officer of Tata Consumer Products said during the company's post-earnings call on Wednesday evening. Despite the global price drop impacting profitability, TCPL's India coffee business reported revenue growth of 67% on the back of a 33% increase in volumes. The company sells coffee under brands such as Tata Coffee Grand, Eight O'Clock Coffee, Sonnets by Tata Coffee and Tata Coffee Gold, competing with players like Nestle India and Hindustan Unilever in the packaged coffee market. The maker of Tata Salt and Tata Tea reported a 15% jump in quarterly net profit, reaching ₹ 332 crore, up from ₹ 289.25 crore in the corresponding period last year. Consolidated revenue for the three months ended 30 June grew 10% year-on-year to ₹ 4,779 crore. The India branded business recorded a 6.8% volume growth, with the core India business, encompassing both tea and salt, reporting double-digit growth. 'During the quarter, we recorded double-digit growth in the core India business across both tea and salt, backed by volume growth. Tata Sampann continued its strong trajectory, with new launches & innovations performing well. However, unfavourable weather impacted volume growth in the ready-to-drink business. While transitory issues impacted growth in Capital Foods and Organic India, our focus now turns to delivering on our aspirations in these businesses through ramping up advertising, innovation and distribution expansion,' D'Souza said. On the tea front, where the company sells brands like Tata Tea and Tetley, TCPL stated that prices remain favourable, though the outlook is cautiously optimistic. According to the company's investor presentation, North India tea prices are moderately lower compared to the same period last year due to robust crop supply in the region, while South India tea prices continued to soften. Consolidated Ebitda (earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation and amortization) for the June quarter declined by 8%, primarily attributed to higher tea costs in India and coffee price corrections in the non-branded segment. TCPL also has a large overseas business. It also sells staples and breakfast cereals. 'If you look at the crop itself, I think we are already ahead in North India compared to last year... Now, we do expect this year to be normal, even the IMD forecast a normal rainfall season, and if that happens, there's no reason for us not to go back to the tea cropping levels of 2023, and therefore the pricing to start unwinding,' he said. Meanwhile, the company's cafe chain business under Starbucks reported positive same-store sales growth during the quarter, with overall revenue for the segment growing 6%. Same-store sales growth was positive, except during May when regional geopolitical tensions flared up and impacted store operating hours in specific geographies. Starbucks operates 485 stores in India. 'We tempered store opening for the quarter adding only six new stores. We are focusing on footprint growth across metros as well as smaller cities,' he said.
Economic Times
23-07-2025
- Business
- Economic Times
Tata Consumer Products posts 10% jump in Q1 PAT driven by tea, salt sales
Tata Consumer Products Ltd (TCPL) on Wednesday reported a 9.8% year-on-year (yoy) jump in its consolidated revenue from operations at Rs 4778.91 crore for the first quarter ending June, while net profit grew by 10.2% yoy at Rs 346.44 crore in the period under review. ADVERTISEMENT The manufacturer of Tata Tea and Tata Salt said the India business recorded double digit growth in the quarter driven by the tea and salt categories, while the ready to drink business volume growth was impacted by unseasonal rains. The company's international business grew 5% at constant currency revenue growth. TCPL's standalone revenue from operations increased by 10% yoy during the quarter to Rs 3529 crore, while net profit after taxes grew by 285.9% to Rs 713.9 crore. The company said the significantly high growth in net profit is due to dividend income of Rs 464 crore received from its overseas subsidiaries. The company's managing director Sunil D'Souza told analysts on Wednesday that tea price right now is 13-15% below last year and he does not expect it to trend lower. 'Coffee, while trending downwards, is not a uniform trend, there is still a bit of volatility there that we need to manage,' he said. D'Souza further said while TCPL is still a relatively small player in coffee, there was 33% growth in terms of volume and 67% in terms of value during the Wednesday, TCPL closed at Rs 1064 per share at the NSE, down 1.92% from the previous closing company's joint venture with international coffee chain Starbucks added six net new stores during the quarter taking the total Starbucks store count to 485 across 80 cities. ADVERTISEMENT TCPL said there was a 6% revenue growth for Tata Starbucks during the quarter and positive same store sales growth except in May when 'the regional geopolitical tensions flared up and impacted store operating hours in specific geographies'. (You can now subscribe to our ETMarkets WhatsApp channel)
