Shoppers Stop Q2 Registers Sales Of Rs 1068 Crore +4%, EBITDA Rs 157 Crore

* H1FY25 Sales of Rs 2102 Cr +5%, EBITDA Rs 302 Cr (GAAP)

 Beauty outperformed +10%, led by Fragrance +17% contribution to total sales 17%

Expansion on Track; 25 New Stores, 19 INTUNE, 1 Department and 5 HomeStop Stores; INTUNE reaches Milestone of 50 Stores on October 1, 2024

First Citizen Club 10.9M contributing 81% with repeat Sales 67%

Personal Shoppers +9%, Total strength 434

Premium categories contribution continues to improve, YoY 64% Vs 60%

Capex Investments @ Rs.43 Cr

Shoppers Stop Ltd. a leading department store with premier fashion and beauty brands, has declared its results for the quarter ended 30th September 2024.

Management Comments:

Commenting on the Q2 FY25 results, Mr. Kavindra Mishra, MD and CEO of Shoppers Stop Ltd, stated, “Despite a challenging external environment, we remained resilient in our pursuit to deliver growth.  Shoppers Stop delivered notable financial results though the demand was muted in July and August, impacted by fewer wedding dates, extended rains, and overall weak discretionary spending. We kept a relentless focus on investing behind our Premium Category, with increased offerings in Premium Category this quarter. We renovated and made our Malad Store (in Mumbai) as a destination for Premium offerings.

Sales for the quarter were at Rs 1,068 Cr, +4% with EBITDA at Rs 157 Cr (GAAP). We had the first green shoot in September, with sales increasing by 12% (LTL +9%). The contribution from Premium Category increased by 4%, with an overall mix of 64% vs 60% a year ago. The Beauty category continue to outperform, Sales grew 10%, led by a fragrance +17%

In other KPIs, Items Per Transaction (IPT) increased by 2%, Average Transaction Value (ATV) rose by 9%, and Average Selling Price (ASP) grew by 7%.

Additionally, the Value Fashion Format “INTUNE” celebrated its 50th store opening during the quarter.

Performance of strategic pillars in Q2FY25:

First Citizen – Our First Citizen Members contributed 81% to overall sales, with 67% repeat and 14% new members. Our Premium Black Card members contributed 14% to the overall sales with an increase of +17% YoY. Customer engagement activities continued with 17 events across 8 Cities engaging circa 750 Black Card members. The Meet & Greet session with Bollywood actress Tripti Dimri at SSBeauty, Ambience Mall, Gurgaon had good traction.

Private Brands – Private Brands sales were at Rs 156 Cr with an overall contribution of 12% to the Sales and 18% in Apparel segment. This helped us to reduce the Inventory by Rs 40 Crs vs last year

INTUNE –We opened our 50th Store on October 1 2024 and with this we have our presence across 20 cities. The margin realizations were better than our estimates driven by higher Full Price Sales. We are confident of adding 22 stores in Q3 and 28 stores in Q4 this year.

Beauty – Beauty had Sales of Rs 218 Cr, with 10% growth, led by Fragrance 17%. Our customer engagement activities led the growth with 188,000 makeovers, 245 Master Classes and 6 beauty Soiree events.

Beauty Distribution – Global SS Beauty Brands Limited, our 100% subsidiary reported Rs 52 Cr sales with +130% YoY.

Store Expansion – We launched 25 stores in this quarter, including 19 INTUNE, 5 Home Stop and 1 Department. The total capex spend is Rs 43 Crs. We are planning to add 50 INTUNE, 7 Department, 6 Beauty and 2 HomeStop stores during Q3 and Q4 this year.

Note:

We have published a detailed Non-GAAP and GAAP Income Statement. Our non-GAAP measures are not meant to be considered in isolation or as a substitute for comparable GAAP measures and should be read only in conjunction with our consolidated financial statements prepared in accordance with GAAP.

Air India Express Festive Flash Sale’ With Fares Starting Rs 1606

* Bookings for the Air India Express ‘Flash Sale’ are open till 27th October 2024

Air India Express welcomes the festival of lights with its ‘Flash Sale’, offering fares starting from Rs 1606 across major booking channels on multiple routes including Guwahati-Agartala, Kochi-Bengaluru, Chennai-Bengaluru, Vijayawada-Hyderabad and more. The Air India Express Flash sale is open for bookings made till 27th October 2024 for travel between 1st November to 10th December 2024.

Air India Express also announced exclusive Xpress Lite fares with further discounts starting from Rs 1456 as well as ‘Zero Convenience Fee’ for logged-in members on its award-winning website, airindiaexpress.com. Xpress Lite fares also include the option to pre-book an additional 3 kg cabin baggage for free and discounted check-in baggage of only ?1000 for 15 kg on domestic flights and ?1300 for 20 kg on international flights.

As part of its proposition of fab deals for loyalty members on airindiaexpress.com, Air India Express is also offering 50% off for upgrades to Biz seats, the business class equivalent of the airline with an industry leading seat pitch of up to 58 inches. Biz seats are available on 35 brand new Boeing 737-8 aircraft that Air India Express has recently inducted as part of its rapid expansion, with a new aircraft joining its fleet every week. Loyalty members also get 25% off ‘Gourmair’ hot meals, seats, and Xpress Ahead priority services.

Additionally, students, senior citizens, doctors and nurses, and members of the armed forces and their dependents can book special discounted fares on the airline’s website.

Tata Motors Advances Green Mobility, Begins Delivery Of LNG-Powered Trucks To Clean Green Fuel And Logistics Pvt. Ltd

* Signs MoU to supply 350 more Tata Prima 5530.S LNG trucks

Tata Motors, India’s largest commercial vehicle manufacturer, today announced the commencement of deliveries of the Tata Prima 5530.S LNG trucks to Clean Green Fuel and Logistics Pvt. Ltd, a leading green fuel retailing and logistics company. Tata Motors had received an order to supply 150 such trucks. The first batch of vehicles was handed over today at a specially organized ceremony in the city. Deliveries of the remaining Tata Prima 5530.S LNG trucks will be subsequently carried out, in a phased manner.

A Memorandum of Understanding to supply an additional 350 units of Prima 5530.S LNG was also signed between Tata Motors and Clean Green Fuel and Logistics Pvt. Ltd.

Speaking on the occasion, Mr. Milan Donga, Director, Clean Green Fuel and Logistics Pvt. Ltd, said, “As a two-year old start-up, we have made significant strides in the logistics industry and remain committed to revolutionizing operations with green fuel solutions. The addition of Tata Motors' advanced LNG tractors to our fleet marks an important step forward in making our operations greener. Tata Motors leads the way in making mobility cleaner and more sustainable while offering the lowest total cost of operations and robust after-sales service. As these new-age vehicles come equipped with Fleet Edge, Tata Motors' state-of-the-art connected vehicle platform, we will also benefit from real-time data flows and smart analytics for optimal decision-making."

Speaking on the partnership, Mr. Rajesh Kaul, Vice President & Business Head – Trucks, Tata Motors, said, “We are delighted to deliver the first batch of Tata Prima 5530.S LNG trucks to Clean Green Fuel and Logistics Pvt. Ltd. Their mission is to make logistics greener and smarter, and we are equally committed to the goal. Our trucks deliver impressive performance, high efficiency, and low emissions that perfectly align with their operational requirements and sustainability goals.”

The Tata Prima 5530.S LNG is powered by the fuel-efficient Cummins 6.7L Gas engine, delivering 280hp of power and 1100Nm of torque for exceptional performance. Robustly engineered, the vehicle is well suited for surface transportation and long-haul commercial operations. The premium Prima cabin enhances driver comfort, while features like Gear Shift Advisor further optimize fuel usage, improve efficiency and reduce operational costs. The Tata Prima 5530.S LNG is available in both single and dual fuel cryogenic tank options to suit distinct operational needs. Offering a range of over 1000km, the dual tank option offers an extended range and improved operational efficiency, making it ideal for long-haul operations. Furthermore, the truck comes equipped with Fleet Edge, Tata Motors’ flagship connected vehicle platform for efficient fleet management, enabling operators to further increase the uptime of vehicles and reduce the total cost of ownership.

Tata Motors is at the forefront of developing innovative mobility solutions powered by alternative fuel technologies such as battery electric, CNG, LNG, hydrogen internal combustion, and hydrogen fuel cell. The company offers a robust portfolio of alternate-fuel powered commercial vehicles across various segments, including small commercial vehicles, trucks, buses and vans.

About Tata Motors

Part of the USD 165 billion Tata group, Tata Motors Limited (BSE: 500570 and 570001; NSE: TATAMOTORS and TATAMTRDVR), a USD 44 billion organization, is a leading global automobile manufacturer of cars, utility vehicles, pick-ups,  trucks, and buses, offering an extensive range of integrated, smart, and e-mobility solutions. With ‘Connecting Aspirations’ at the core of its brand promise, Tata Motors is India’s market leader in commercial vehicles and ranks among the top three in the passenger vehicles market.

Tata Motors strives to bring new products that captivate the imagination of GenNext customers, fuelled by state-of-the-art design and R&D centres located in India, the UK, the US, Italy, and South Korea. By focusing on engineering and tech- enabled automotive solutions catering to the future of mobility, the company’s innovation efforts are focused on developing pioneering technologies that are both sustainable and suited to the evolving market and customer aspirations. The company is pioneering India's Electric Vehicle (EV) transition and driving the shift towards sustainable mobility solutions by developing a tailored product strategy, leveraging the synergy between Group companies and playing an active role in liaising with the Government of India in developing the policy framework.

With operations in India, UK, South Korea, Thailand and Indonesia, Tata Motors markets its vehicles in Africa, the Middle East, Latin America, Southeast Asia, and the SAARC countries. As of March 31, 2024, Tata Motors’ operations include 90 consolidated subsidiaries, two joint operations, five joint ventures, and numerous equity-accounted associates, including their subsidiaries, over which the company exercises significant influence.

Meghalaya All Set To Celebrate “Year Of Legends”, As Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival Kicks Off On 15th November

Meghalaya is all set to celebrate the “Year of Legends” as the highly awaited Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival 2024 returns with a spectacular edition on November 15-16, at the RBDSA Sports Complex in Shillong. The festival has become one of India’s most exciting cultural events, with a fusion of culture, music and nature. This year, it an unforgettable experience as it is going to offer not only the beauty of cherry blossoms but also, an extraordinary lineup of international musical sensations and homegrown stars.

Day-1 of the festival will set the stage with a legendary musical experience. Festival Goers will be treated to performances by BONEY M as part of their Farewell Tour. This definitely, is once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to witness the iconic band live. Joining them will be the soulful Jasleen Royal and international sensation Lucas.

Day- 2 promises even more excitement, with Akon headlining on his Superfan Tour. Following which, DJ R3HAB is all set to bring the energy to the dance floor, and the dynamic Kanika Kapoor lighting up the stage. Local talents like Rito Riba, Queen Sensation, Khasi Bloodz, and various artists from the Meghalaya Grassroots Music Project (MGMP), will also be performing in the festival, thereby ensuring a perfect blend of international and regional music.

Beyond music, the Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival carries a special significance with the announcement of Japan as the partner country. This collaboration was sparked by the striking resemblance of Cherry Blossoms in Meghalaya and Japan. This was noted by the Japanese Ambassador during his visit to the Meghalaya in 2023. The visitors will have the chance to explore Japan’s culture and heritage through a dedicated stall at the venue.

The tradition of celebrating ‘Hanami,’ (Cherry Blossom) dates back over a thousand years in Japan. And, Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival, first launched in 2016, is the first autumn Cherry Blossom Festival in the world.

Since its inception, this unique festival has drawn tourists from all over India and beyond. The Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival 2023 edition saw record participation, with visitors all across the country and even international travellers. And, this year, it is expected to be even grander.

With the ‘Year of Legends’ theme bringing together iconic artists and cultural exchanges, Shillong Cherry Blossom Festival 2024 promises to be a spectacular experience for all attendees.

Travellers can look forward to not only music but also a host of activities. This ranges from fashion shows, cosplay competitions to art installations, food and wine stalls, and much more. With tickets now available on BookMyShow.com and RockskiTickets.com, the countdown to one of India’s most unique festivals has begun. Whether you’re a music lover, nature enthusiast, or culture seeker, Shillong awaits to celebrate the 'Year of Legends' in grand style.

New SUSE Capabilities Equip Telecom Companies To Modernize Their Networks With Increased Efficiency And Innovation

* Aligned with the recommendations of Project Sylva, new offerings address the increased pressure facing telcos

SUSE®, a global leader in innovative, open and secure enterprise-grade solutions, today announced the general availability of Adaptive Telco Infrastructure Platform (ATIP) 3.1. ATIP 3.1 offers improved manageability, flexibility, and long-term support while remaining reliably high-performing. 

Telecom companies are under tremendous pressure to contain costs and shorten time to revenue as they enable edge applications to host 5G workloads, broadband access network functions, and more. However, they are facing significant technical obstacles to fully realizing the benefits of the edge.

ATIP 3.1 improves operational efficiency and reduces costs incurred by telecom by providing an open-source, lightweight common telco cloud layer to host virtualized and container-based network functions. ATIP 3.1 also helps telcos to shorten innovation cycles and expand their customer base by providing a common CaaS platform to deliver telco and edge services to new customer segments, across various industries, with guaranteed performance and quality of service.

As an early and contributing member to Project Sylva, a cross-telco-industry effort to enable edge interoperability with a common open-source container-as-a-service (CaaS) layer, SUSE ATIP 3.1 is tightly aligned with the project’s specifications and architectural recommendations.

“SUSE ATIP 3.1 is a telco-optimized edge computing platform designed to help Communication Service Providers realize the benefits of cloud migration by adopting a single unified core stack, single toolchain and single skillset approach,” said Keith Basil, general manager of the SUSE Edge business unit. “ATIP is an open and flexible platform that supports the stringent performance requirements of telco workloads and allows CSPs to freely choose the best of breed vendors to deliver cloud-native telco networks of the future.”

Benefits of the SUSE ATIP 3.1 solution include:

Tailored validated designs: SUSE’s ATIP solution provides a flexible, telco-optimized platform with validated designs for CSPs and their ecosystem of vendors. ATIP supports both ARM and Intel platforms. The validated designs dramatically improve customer ramp-up time and ensure the performance of telecom networks.

Easily scaled and deployed: ATIP provides a management solution that is designed to easily deploy the full Telco cloud stack, from OS to network functions, and handle operations in a fully automated manner. ATIP 3.1 provides 24 months of long-term support.

Best-in-class security and compliance: ATIP builds on the accelerated and integrated risk management capabilities and certifications of SUSE’s underlying platforms. Compliance and security features within ATIP extend the value, applying best practices in configuration, delivery, and governance utilizing these capabilities.

Built for the edge: More than a decade of working as a supplier to tier-1 network equipment providers means a mature high-performance edge runtime and a small-footprint edge stack with components purposely built for edge computing.

Better protection of customer investments: Using industry standard and vendor-neutral API for GitOps-based infrastructure and configuration management provides higher return on customer investment.

SUSE was recently named a leader in an ABI Research Competitive Ranking report on 5G cloud-native platforms: Kubernetes, Containers and CaaS Layer. The research recognizes SUSE as a top implementer and innovator for incorporating innovations into its Kubernetes platform with an appreciation for the current needs of the telco industry. The report states SUSE's combination of automated workloads, user-friendliness and extensibility of the platform suggests an overall innovative solution for CSPs.

The Adaptive Telco Infrastructure Platform 3.1 became generally available as of October 1. To learn more, visit the SUSE for telco website.

About SUSE

SUSE is a global leader in innovative, reliable and secure enterprise open source solutions, including SUSE Linux Enterprise, Rancher and NeuVector. More than 60% of the Fortune 500 rely on SUSE to power their mission-critical workloads, enabling them to innovate everywhere – from the data center to the cloud, to the edge and beyond. SUSE puts the “open” back in open source, collaborating with partners and communities to give customers the agility to tackle innovation challenges today and the freedom to evolve their strategy and solutions tomorrow. For more information, visit www.suse.com.

Sify Technologies Ltd. Regains Compliance With Nasdaq Minimum Bid Price Requirement

Sify Technologies Ltd. (Nasdaq: Sify) (the “Company”), a leading integrated information communications technology (or ICT) Solutions and Services provider in India, received a letter (the “Notification Letter”) from the Listing Qualifications Department of the Nasdaq Stock Market (“Nasdaq”) on October 18, 2024, informing the Company that it has regained compliance with the minimum bid price requirement for continued listing set forth in Nasdaq Listing Rule 5550(a)(2) (the “Minimum Bid Price Requirement”) and the matter is closed.

As announced in July 2024, the Company was notified by Nasdaq that it was not in compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement, as the closing bid price of the Company's American Depositary Shares ("ADSs") had been below $1.00 for 30 consecutive business days. Effective October 4, 2024, the Company effected a 1-for-6 ratio change of its ADSs.

The Notification Letter confirmed that the Company evidenced a closing bid price of the Company’s ADSs on Nasdaq at or greater than the $1.00 per ADS minimum requirement for 10 consecutive business days from October 4, 2024 to October 17, 2024 and that the Company has regained compliance with the Minimum Bid Price Requirement.

About Sify Technologies Limited

A multiple years winner of the Institute of Director’s Golden Peacock award for Corporate Governance, Sify Technologies Limited is a comprehensive ICT service & solution provider. With cloud at the core of its solutions portfolio, the Company is focused on the changing ICT requirements of the emerging digital economy and the resultant demands from large, mid and small-sized businesses. 

The Company’s infrastructure comprises state-of-the-art data centers, the largest MPLS network, partnership with global technology majors and deep expertise in business transformation solutions modelled on the cloud, making it an ideal partner for start-ups, SMEs and even large enterprises on the verge of a revamp.

More than 10,000 businesses across multiple verticals have taken advantage of our data centers, networks and digital services to help conduct their business from more than 1,700 cities in India. Internationally, the Company has presence across North America, the United Kingdom and Singapore.

Ecoworld HABBA - A Community & Creativity Celebration Festival At Ecoworld, Bangalore

Brookfield Properties is excited to announce the launch of the inaugural Ecoworld Habba on Friday, October 25, 2024. This vibrant festival celebrates art, craft, food, and music while fostering creativity and community spirit. Attendees can participate in 10 hands-on art workshops, explore a unique flea market showcasing over 50 local artists, and witness the unveiling of Ecoworld’s new Logo, positioning and Identity. This exciting new event by Brookfield Properties is poised to become an annual soiree, offering the people of Bengaluru a unique opportunity to experience the city’s rich art, culture and heritage, all gathered in one vibrant space.

The event will feature a variety of entertainment options, including carnival stalls, a dedicated kid and pet zone, Stand up comedy from Jordinindian and live music concert by Project Malabaricus. There are 3 large art installations curated by artist, Urjitah Sharma—known for her work in prestigious global art festivals—will emphasize sustainability through recycled materials which pay a tribute to Bangalore’s flora and fauna.

Families can enjoy activities with jugglers, clowns, puppet shows, mascots, and magicians. The food zone will offer delicious selections from both in-house and external brands, along with a dedicated company zone for job seekers. There is a dedicated children’s zone and pet zone.

Join us to celebrate creativity and community in an engaging, eco-friendly atmosphere!

Date: Friday, 25th Oct, 2024

Address: The Ecodeck at the Bay, Ecoworld, Sarjapur Outer Ring Road, Devarabeesanahalli, Varthur Hobli., Bengaluru - 560103

Timing: 12 noon onwards

Venue link: (https://g.co/kgs/WpZQryS)

For More Info: https://www.brookfieldproperties.com/en/our-presence/india/