Amit Sanyal

𝐂𝐌𝐎 𝐨𝐧 𝐂𝐚𝐥𝐥: 𝐇𝐨𝐰 𝐀𝐫𝐮𝐧𝐚 𝐉𝐚𝐭𝐡𝐚𝐫 𝐈𝐬 𝐑𝐞𝐢𝐦𝐚𝐠𝐢𝐧𝐢𝐧𝐠 𝐌𝐚𝐫𝐤𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐧𝐠 Aruna Jathar, a seasoned marketing strategist and retail transformation leader, brings over two decades of experience across iconic brands like Dell Technologies, Titan, airtel, and Ogilvy. Today, as Fractional CMO at Vir Tech Consulting, she partners with CXOs and founders to bridge brand thinking and business execution—across industries, growth stages, and platforms.  “Each stint was a crash course in consumer psychology. Airtel taught me scale, Titan taught me aspirational marketing, Dell was youth-tech energy. But TenderCuts? That was my MBA in agile, real-time brand building.” As CMO at TenderCuts, Aruna led one of the most lauded full-funnel campaigns in the fresh meats category—balancing regional insights with digital-first thinking. The 360-degree initiative spanned TV, GEC, in-app, BTL, PR, and performance marketing. The campaign not only won awards but shifted perceptions in a trust-deficit category. But after years of steering large ships, Aruna pivoted. “After years steering corporate liners, I wanted to pilot both speedboats and spacecraft.” That pivot led to Vir Tech Consulting—a platform where Aruna now helps established brands, legacy family run firms , scaling D2C brands and startups drive marketing excellence—without the full-time CMO overhead. She draws a clear distinction between working with startups and legacy businesses. “Startups need scrappy, scalable marketing—duct tape meets dashboard. Larger firms need orchestration—think symphony, not solo.” She adds that the key lies in three areas: 1. Guidance vs. Governance: Startups often need help figuring out how to market. Established players need help deciding when and how much. 2. Mindset: Startups chase ROAS. Legacy brands fear chaos. Both must stay strategic. 3. Lifecycle Thinking: “AI, automation, personalization—they’re not just for campaigns. They must serve the entire customer lifecycle.” Aruna’s entrepreneurial stint with Eersha – Creations that Spark Envy deepened her empathy for founders. “Every customer mattered. Every review counted. It taught me branding from the inside out.” As AI revolutionizes marketing, Aruna is both pragmatic and optimistic. “CRM without AI will soon be like driving without GPS. AI predicts churn, personalizes at scale, and now even creates video ads. But it still needs the human touch to feel like marketing—not just math.” To aspiring marketers, Aruna offers five truths: “Be a storyteller and a scientist. Adapt constantly. Own the full funnel. Be bold enough to experiment—rigorous enough to iterate. Serve first—sell second.” In a world chasing metrics and automation, Aruna Jathar stands out as a leader rooted in insight, empathy, and narrative precision. Her playbook is part logic, part intuition—and fully human. #cxolanes

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Apna Mart, a franchise-driven omnichannel grocery and FMCG retail chain in India, has raised Rs 214.5 crore (approximately $25 million) through equity and debt funding. The round was led by Fundamentum Partnership Fund and Accel, with participation from existing investors. Read more: https://lnkd.in/gMsaPgTR #retail #business #market #news #update #funding #ApnaMart #expansion #omnichannelgrocery Abhishek Singh| Chetan Garg| Rahul Soni| Ashok Kumar Yadav| Gourav Chopra| Vineet Choudhary| Rajesh Singh| Srinivas M| Radhika Maheshwari| BISHAL SINHA| SANJAY RANA

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Chirag Chadha (Partner, Elevation Capital) recently participated in a panel discussion on customer retention strategies for consumer brands at ETRetail's E-Commerce & Digital Natives Summit 2025 in Bengaluru. He discussed the importance of retention in consumer brands, consumer loyalty in BPC categories and emerging D2C categories like sneakers and wellness. Key takeaways: > Obsess Over LTV Expansion The real leverage lies in improving the retention side of the LTV:CAC equation. Small retention improvements create massive value. Retention improvement comes from your product, category, and sourcing teams. Eg: The Souled Store expanded from licensed merchandise to broader casual wear based on customer appreciation for their quality/fit/fabric, significantly improving customer retention and their lifetime value potential. > Build for "Destination Status" Rather than picking the "right" category, focus on becoming the definitive destination within your broader lifestyle space to grab higher customer mindshare. Eg: Wakefit evolved from a mattress company to a home destination, where customers return for wall clocks, mattress protectors, pillows, and more - driving better retention than single-category focus. > Niche is the New Mainstream Thanks to Meta and Google's hyper-targeting capabilities, founders can now build profitable, large-scale businesses by targeting even "small, micro behaviors". This democratization of customer acquisition means niche isn't necessarily small anymore. > Omnichannel Breaks Traditional Retention Measurement Frameworks More third-party channel share makes traditional retention measurement becomes nearly impossible to track accurately. For omnichannel founders, this means developing first-principles approaches to understanding customer loyalty beyond simple repeat purchase metrics. > In Commoditized Categories Like BPC, Distribution Muscle Becomes Your Moat Easy contract manufacturing plus digital distribution enablers create brand proliferation, but make product differentiation harder to sustain. Winners must stay ahead on product innovation while building stronger distribution muscle (especially offline) and community engagement. > One-Size-Fits-All Solutions Are Ineffective In Wellness In categories like wellness (eg. hairfall), the complexity of individual problems makes traditional FMCG shelf solutions ineffective. They require digital touchpoints for assessment, consultation, and personalized solutions. Founders in complex problem-solving categories should build diagnostic capabilities and human interaction into their customer acquisition process. Charu Lamba

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In an exclusive conversation with BW Marketing World, Mr. Sunil Narula, Sr. VP, Marketing and Alternate Channel Sales, PEWIN, Panasonic Life Solutions India, shares his expertise on evolving consumer behavior, the rise of AI, and the future of personalised marketing. With over 20 years in the industry, he highlights the shift towards brand agnosticism- consumers are now exploring new-age brands and technologies. As a result, brands must stay agile to keep up with this change. Panasonic’s focus on localisation and AI-driven personalisation is helping them stay connected with diverse audiences and deliver tailored experiences. Read the detailed article here: https://bit.ly/40y0xxw

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InMobi stated that Gaurav Jain’s appointment represents a key move in its strategy to bring together monetisation efforts across InMobi Exchange, DSP, SSP, and Glance under one unified, integrated go-to-market approach. Read More: https://lnkd.in/gCYq3653 InMobi Advertising | Kunal Nagpal #MarketingMind #NewAppointment #InMobi #PeopleSpotting

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Panel Discussion on Turning Insights into Action With Advanced Analytics Moderator: Dr. Hitesh Bhatt, Director - Marketing & Communications, Retailers Association of India, Editorial Director, STORai 1. Balaji Huskur, Head of E-commerce, Ample Technologies 2. Akash Rambaboo, Head - Ecommerce Solutions & Loyalty, Apparel Group India Pvt. Ltd. 3. JP Mishra, Country Head, Newland AIDC 4. Manoj Patel, Head - IT, Safari Industries India Ltd. 5. Rishabh Jain, AVP - IT, Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd. 6. Sameer Dhingra, Director, Global Strategic Industries- Retail & Consumer, JAPAC, Google 🔹 Balaji Huskur, Head of Ecommerce, Ample Technologies, discussed the role of analytics in reducing abandoned cart rates and improving ROI in digital transformation, highlighting its impact on pricing, inventory, and discounts in e-commerce. 🔹 Akash Rambaboo, Head – Ecommerce Solutions & Loyalty, Apparel Group India Pvt. Ltd. emphasised how data guides both short and long-term priorities. He noted that while omni-channel strategies are essential, the offline experience remains critical, with analytics directly influencing conversions and profitability. 🔹 JP Mishra, Country Head, Newland AIDC stressed that authentic and accurate data capture is the foundation of advanced analytics. He explained how analytics powers not just pricing, but every aspect of e-commerce and quick commerce, from inventory management to operational efficiency. 🔹 Manoj Patel, Head – IT, Safari Industries India Ltd. highlighted that analytics helps retailers sell the right product, at the right time, to the right customer—creating more precise and impactful retail journeys. 🔹 Rishabh Jain, AVP – IT, Siyaram Silk Mills Ltd. shared that analytics enables businesses to predict future trends and track footfall effectively, making it a crucial tool for both planning and customer engagement. 🔹 Sameer Dhingra, Director, Global Strategic Industries – Retail & Consumer, JAPAC, Google underlined that real-time, unified data is key. He noted that tools must be intuitive and adoption-driven, with leadership sponsorship and cultural alignment being just as important as technology itself. Moderated by Dr. Hitesh Bhatt, Director – Marketing & Communications, Retailers Association of India & Editorial Director, STORai, the session concluded that advanced analytics is most powerful when organisations integrate accurate data, actionable insights, and a culture of adoption—turning information into measurable impact. We look forward to continuing these conversations at the Retail Leadership Summit 2026 on 16–17 February at Jio World Convention Centre, BKC. #RetailTechnologyConclave2025 #RetailTech #AdvancedAnalytics #DataDrivenRetail #FutureOfRetail

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Hindustan Unilever Ltd’s (HUL) newly appointed Chief Executive Officer, Priya Nair, has outlined a four-pillar strategy to drive volume-led profitable growth and build future-ready categories. Nair said the first priority for HUL is sharper consumer segmentation, with the company identifying three distinct cohorts—Power Spenders (60–80 million consumers), Premiumisers, and Democratisers. Read More: https://lnkd.in/gsPJT95v Get all the latest news and updates on our WhatsApp channel: https://lnkd.in/d97Gdr_7 Subscribe to our Daily Brief Newsletter: https://lnkd.in/dVHZk_WF #brandmakers #fmcg

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Xiaomi India has appointed Sandeep Singh Arora as its chief business officer, a move the company says will strengthen its leadership team and boost business development initiatives. In this role, Arora will focus on driving revenue growth, forging new strategic partnerships, and expanding the brand’s market presence. With more than three decades of experience managing and growing consumer brands, he brings expertise in product marketing, category management, retail operations and brand strategy. Read the full story here:👇 https://lnkd.in/dkbGP8TT #electronics #smartphones #manufacture #leadership #management #company #startup #indianstartupnews

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How Mokobara is taking on Samsonite. In this episode, Shantanu Deshpande chats with Sangeet Agrawal (Founder, Mokobara), Navin Parwal (Co-Founder & CMO, Mokobara), and Manu Chandra (Founder & Managing Partner, Sauce.vc) about building a global travel brand from India. From competing head-to-head with Samsonite in malls to launching stores in Dubai and across Asia, they share why travel is having its moment and how Mokobara is seizing it. Watch the full episode now! https://lnkd.in/dQ8ek8UQ

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"India is a diverse market with varying palates, lifestyles, and consumption drivers. They give us a powerful lens to innovate with intent." In a conversation with Geetika Srivastava, Nitin Bhandari, VP & GM – Beverages, PepsiCo India & South Asia, dives deep into the evolving beverage industry landscape. From culturally timed, insight-led campaigns to a sharper focus on digital-first formats, he highlights how the industry is transforming to keep up with the culture-driven, digital-first youth. Read the full article, here: https://lnkd.in/gRkwHeUb

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