Author: Kanhaiya Suthar

Spotify is doubling down on its long-term growth thesis of prioritising scale over immediate ad monetisation yield, reporting a disaggregated but purposeful quarterly performance; 761 million MAUs, 8% revenue growth and a 5% decline in its ad-supported business. The report highlights the structural nature of the company’s transformation, with Spotify increasingly relying on its subscription business to smooth out the swings in the digital advertising market, and organically growing its global user base. User growth remains strong Spotify added 10 million net new users in the quarter, underscoring continuing momentum in user acquisition, especially in emerging markets. Growth was fueled…

In 2016, the global enterprise environment has shifted from the defensive stance of digital transformation to the offensive, autonomous stance of agentic intelligence. This transformation is characterised by the emergence of systems that not only support human activity but have agency, intelligence and the capacity to perform complex workflows across siloed environments. The conceptual gap between human intention and machine action has been strengthened by the creation of “Hybrid Pods” – integrated teams of human planners and AI agents that blend the computational rigour of machines with the contextual understanding of humans. At the heart of this evolution is a…

The US Iran war has evolved from a regional geopolitical event to a global crisis for the textile and apparel industries. As global data collectors monitor the kinetic aspects of the Iran war, the war’s spillovers are paralysing South Asian manufacturing centres. The Strait of Hormuz has become an active operational risk and the economic basis of man-made fibers (MMF) is being recalibrated. This report explores the impact of the war on Asia’s polyester producers, the downstream effects on garment manufacturers in India and Bangladesh and the downstream ramifications to retailers such as Inditex (Zara), H&M and Nike. The Petrochemical…

The closing of Strait of Hormuz already caused a global energy and crude oil disruption. That resulted in bigger holes in pockets, longer queues at fuel stations, and careful combustion in kitchens. One or two ships pass, but the strait is still not operational. At least, not in the way it should be. A stitch in time saves nine. And looking at the rising tensions over the US and Iran war, one must say, a ceasefire on time can save billions. In general circumstances, one-fifth of the global oil passes through the Strait of Hormuz, as per the data, the…