From Hindustan Unilever's plans for the next decade to Audi A4's status as the go-to luxury sedan, here are our top read stories of the week
1) Eyes on the prize
Sanjiv Mehta is known in the industry as someone who, while managing the quarter-on-quarter numbers, is always on the lookout for the next big idea. In every job, Mehta left signature victories as he moved on to bigger roles. Under the leadership of their MD and CEO Mehta, Hindustan Unilever registered margins at 23 to 24.5 percent higher than Unilever’s 18 percent (Ebit) and has expanded by 100 bps every year. While the US remains the top Unilever market from a revenue perspective, India is the largest on the volume front. So how is rainmaker Sanjiv Mehta building up HUL for the next decade? Find out in this long read.
2) Smart moves
For some, initial lockdowns of the pandemic were about Dalgona coffees, banana bread, dividing household chores, and playing online Ludo with friends and family who were also following the same ritual. But it was a rather busy time for Afsar Ahmad and Govind Agarwal, the cofounders at Gameberry Labs. They had rolled the dice in 2017 with Ludo Star, in 2020, they were reaping the benefits. Five years since its inception, Gameberry Labs now boasts over 200 million downloads for its offerings and more than 5 million daily active users. The makers of Ludo Star crossed $100 million in lifetime revenue last November and this is just the beginning for the duo. Read more
3) Admission, acceptance, adoption