Latest Developments

Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

IKEA India to quadruple sales by 2030 on the back of accelerated retail expansion, says CEO Patrik Antoni

IKEA India aims to quadruple its sales by 2030 and said it is witnessing strong double-digit growth as it accelerates its retail expansion plans. Earlier this year, the Swedish furniture and home furnishings major, which has invested over ₹10,500 crore in India so far, said it plans to more than double its investments by 2030. Patrik Antoni, CEO, IKEA India told businessline, “We are witnessing a solid double-digit growth trajectory with growth in sales and store visitations. India is a key growth market for us from the long-term perspective. We are quite bullish on the market with its large base of consumers, a growing economy and rapid urbanisation.” He added that the company intends to more than double its investments in India by 2030. “At the same time, we are aiming to quadruple our sales by 2030 to about ₹8,000 crore. This will mean our focus will be both on growing our existing stores as well as adding new stores. So we have said to have at least 25 new stores by 2030 and a strengthened e-commerce presence. We also intend to double the number of co-workers to 5,000 from the current 2,500, with a focus on skill development,” Antoni added. The company said while it’s focusing on expanding through large format stores, it also aims to become more accessible to Indian consumers through small and medium-sized stores. “Previously, we were expanding with larger store formats. But there has been a shift in consumer behaviour and they want us to be closer to them. So over the past two years, we have been executing the new expansion strategy, where we will continue to add larger format stores offering the full experience. At the same time, there will be more additions of small and medium-sized format stores to become more accessible,” he added. IKEA has also been ramping up its e-commerce presence in India. “Already, 30 per cent of our sales come from the e-commerce channel, which will increase. We see good traction when we connect the offline and online experiences. In markets where we already have an established presence, we are seeing the e-commerce channel growing faster due to an increase in brand awareness and brand knowledge after consumers experience the brand at stores,” Antoni noted. Meanwhile, the company is also ramping up sourcing and exports from India. “With our rapid expansion, we expect to significantly grow sourcing from India. Harmonisation of international and Indian standards has now happened to a large extent, which is a step in the right direction, and is crucial for us to grow export volumes from India,” he added. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

IKEA India to quadruple sales by 2030 on the back of accelerated retail expansion, says CEO Patrik Antoni
North America
CNBC Finance

Ford achieves quality milestone, as CEO targets flawless new vehicle launches

DETROIT — Ford Motor regularly promotes itself as a cornerstone of American manufacturing, business and truck leadership with its best-selling F-Series pickups, but it also has led the U.S. in one area that it isn't so proud of: vehicle recalls and quality issues. They've plagued the Detroit automaker's earnings, degraded customer trust and stained Ford's reputation for much of the past decade. The automaker has issued 53 recalls for more than 12 million vehicles so far this year after an industry record of 153 recalls covering 13 million cars and trucks in 2025. But that period for Ford is coming to an end, CEO Jim Farley told CNBC during an exclusive interview, as the automaker notched a key quality milestone. He said Ford has learned from its past mistakes and will use that knowledge to attempt to flawlessly launch a litany of new products in the coming years. "Our best days are in front of us as we continue to execute this quality turnaround for our investors, for employees, for our customers," Farley said during a phone interview. "We're going to have all new vehicles across our entire North America range in a couple of years, and so that whole new lineup, we have to launch all those perfectly." Doing so will be a difficult task. New vehicle launches, especially ones with emerging technologies such as software-defined systems and electrified powertrains, are complex, and one issue can have a ripple effect on an entire product line. It's something Farley knows all too well. Such issues have cost Ford billions of dollars in losses under his nearly six-year tenure leading the company. The automaker this week added to its 2026 recall total by recalling 741,195 SUVs and F-150 pickup trucks that varied in age from the 2018 to 2021 model years. Investors have been closely watching the issues, saying unneeded warranty costs are a risk to the company's guidance and future business plans. Warranty costs are the expenses an automaker incurs to cover repairs, replacements and other costs for defective parts or workmanship under a certain period of time or miles driven after customers purchase a new vehicle. Ford said it reduced warranty and materials costs by $1.5 billion in 2025, when adjusted for volume and mix, and is targeting an additional reduction in warranty and material costs in 2026. This follows the company's warranty costs reaching a high of $4.8 billion in 2023. "While warranty costs had been a clear drag to earnings over the past several years, Ford appears to have 'turned the corner,'" Barclays analyst Dan Levy said in a May 15 investor note, citing four consecutive quarters of year-over-year warranty benefits. "We believe the 1Q warranty improvement is encouraging, yet believe further improvement will still be needed." The company last week received outside validation of its yearslong efforts to turn around its product issues as the Ford brand was named the top mass-market brand in the U.S. in J.D. Power's initial quality ranking. After the news was released on June 25, Ford stock rose 2%, making it the company's second-best trading day of the month.

Ford achieves quality milestone, as CEO targets flawless new vehicle launches
Europe
BBC Business

Phone contract comparisons 'amounted to mis-selling' student loans, MPs say

Image source, Getty ImagesByHayley ClarkeEducation reporterPublished4 hours agoComparing student loan repayments to phone contracts or cinema tickets "amounted to mis-selling" by government, a group of MPs has said. In a new report, the Treasury Committee also said students were not told clearly enough loan terms could change retrospectively, and called for a U-turn on the decision to freeze the income threshold at which some graduates start repaying their loans. Last year, Chancellor Rachel Reeves said the repayment threshold for students with Plan 2 loans would be frozen at £29,385 between 2027 and 2030, instead of rising with inflation. Both the government and Student Loans Company said the committee had made "an important contribution" to the student finance debate. A spokesperson for the Student Loans Company said they "recognise the importance of ensuring that students and borrowers across all repayment plans have access to clear, accurate and timely information about student finance". A government spokesperson said ministers were "already taking decisive action" and would "continue to look for ways to make the system fairer for students, graduates and taxpayers in a financially sustainable way". Plan 2 loans were taken out by students in England between September 2012 and July 2023, and are still issued in Wales. Graduates automatically pay back what they earn above the repayment threshold at a rate of 9%. Freezing that threshold means graduates start repaying their loans sooner, or pay more as their salaries increase with inflation while the threshold remains the same. The committee's report referenced a BBC investigation which found the government compared student loan repayments to £30-a-month phone contracts in promotional presentations to teenagers a decade ago. As this was "inaccurate for higher earners", that "amounted to mis-selling", the report said. The committee noted that while the government's student loan policies were exempt from consumer protection laws, it expected the government "to comply with not only the law, but basic fairness and common decency". Oliver Gardner, founder of campaign group Rethink Repayment, said the inquiry had concluded "what we have known for years".

Phone contract comparisons 'amounted to mis-selling' student loans, MPs say
Europe
BBC Business

High-spending online gamblers to face financial risk checks

Image source, Getty ImagesByEmma SimpsonBusiness correspondentPublished12 minutes agoGamblers who spend more than £1,000 online in a 24-hour window will have to undergo a financial risk assessment, the industry regulator has announced. The Gambling Commission said this would also apply to anyone spending over £3,000 in a rolling 90-day period. Under-25s will have lower thresholds. The assessments will be based on data held by credit reference agencies, but the commission has insisted they are not "affordability checks". Operators will use the information to help them identify gamblers at risk of financial harm or in financial difficulty. The commission has not set a timeline for the changes saying they will be introduced in a "very careful, staged way". The checks will start with over-25s who gamble more than £5,000 in a rolling 24-hour period. The watchdog says this will affect less than 0.5% of customers. It will begin following engagement companies and other stakeholders over the summer. In 2023, a white paper on gambling recommended enhanced checks on customers experiencing very high losses. On Tuesday, the commission said high-spending gamblers were between two and four times more likely to have a debt management plan, and between two and five times more likely to have a default in the previous 12 months than consumers in the wider population. The commission has been looking into whether gambling companies can use credit reference data to spot customers at risk of financial harm. The acting chief executive of the Gambling Commission, Sarah Gardner, said the vast majority of customers would "never, ever" require an assessment. Those who do would have a frictionless, document-free assessment provided by credit reference agencies, with no impact on their credit score. The commission has insisted that the assessments are not the same as affordability checks, which Gardner said were "deeply unpopular" with gamblers.

High-spending online gamblers to face financial risk checks
North America
CNBC Economy

Europe wants to rebalance trade with Beijing, but can't quit Chinese air conditioners

Europe wants to narrow its record trade deficit with China by October, but the bloc's worst-ever heat wave is driving unprecedented demand for imports of Chinese-made air conditioners, a telling tale illustrating how hard it will be for Brussels to address the trade imbalance. The European Union and China released a rare joint statement on Monday aimed at balancing trade between the two economies and addressing market access issues. Disputes over trade imbalances, export controls and intellectual property must deliver "tangible results" by October, European trade chief Maros Sefcovic told reporters after meeting with China's Commerce Minister Wang Wentao. The two sides agreed to set up a bilateral working group to monitor trade flows, with "reassurance" from Beijing that existing export controls on rare earths and permanent magnets will not disrupt EU supply chains. "Not everything will be solved, not everything will be fixed, but we think that between now and October, our teams have sufficient time to deliver the tangible results," Sefcovic said. Chinese exports to the EU "keep rising, while our market share in China keeps shrinking," he said, calling the trend "not sustainable." Beijing has made it clear that it would not hesitate to retaliate against any new trade curbs designed to tackle the overcapacity issue. But the timing is awkward. The pair met in Brussels just as an historic heat wave has Europeans rushing to buy air conditioners — mostly made in China. Europe has long resisted air conditioning as noisy, an eyesore on architectural facades and unnecessary, as brutal summer heat has been relatively short-lived. It also fears widespread adoption of the energy-hungry technology risks undermining the fight against climate change. The bloc's goods deficit with China grew 15% to €360 billion ($410 billion) last year, with all 27 member states experiencing a shortfall, and expanded to €98 billion in the first quarter, the highest since 2022. Electrical equipment and machines are among the most imported goods. "The sense of urgency over [China's] threat to European industry appears to have reached a tipping point," said Gabriel Wildau, managing director at consultancy Teneo, while China's leadership has shown "little appetite for placating Europe." "There is no sign of policy action forceful enough to materially reduce the trade surplus with Europe," Wildau noted. Midea Group reportedly said orders for its PortaSplit unit — a portable split system engineered for Western Europe's fragmented building rules — have topped 200,000 this year as of Monday, double 2025's pace. A website built by German software developer Adrian Kübel to track real-time inventory of Midea units across the country went viral on social media and showed the air conditioners were mostly out of stock. Air-conditioning ownership in Europe stands at around 20% of households, far below the nearly 90% penetration rate in the U.S., according to the International Energy Agency, a gap Midea and Asian home appliance makers Samsung and Mitsubishi Electric are all racing to close.

Europe wants to rebalance trade with Beijing, but can't quit Chinese air conditioners
North America
CNBC Finance

American Express and Chase move luxury lounge wars beyond the airport

Credit card companies American Express and Chase are increasingly waging their luxury lounge wars outside the airport. From an air-conditioned retreat in the middle of the desert at Coachella to an exclusive athlete meet-and-greet at the Paris Olympics, these companies are investing big in premium hospitality spaces to win over affluent cardholders. "It's very expensive, but I think what's happening is that the issuers are finding that this is a premium differentiator," said Donald Fandetti, managing director of consumer finance equity research at Wells Fargo. "It's all about providing these services and experiences that make it worth it to the cardholder to pay those annual fees." American Express' Platinum and Chase's Sapphire Reserve cards — the leading premium cards in the market — both upped their annual fees last year. The Amex Platinum now carries a fee of $895 a year, and the Sapphire Reserve has a fee of $795. The perks associated with these cards, like dining credits, hotel upgrades and digital partnerships, help offset the cost. It's all an effort to capture and retain the highest spenders. Amex and Chase have jockeyed for years to be the preferred card for the American elite. "Credit cards [with] higher fees, it's going to send a certain signal. But what we really need to be making sure is that we're understanding the psychology of exclusivity" said Dan Bennett, head of behavioral science at Ogilvy Consulting. "It's easy to say, 'I have lots of resources.' It's harder to say, 'I have enough social capital to earn my way into spaces.'" Some of the events that American Express Platinum cardholders had lounge access to in 2025 include the US Open tennis tournament; Stagecoach music festival in California; and multiple Formula 1 races worldwide. Meanwhile, lounges for Chase Sapphire Reserve customers were present at Chicago music festival Lollapalooza; Miami Art Week; Sundance Film Festival; and the PGA Tour. While some lounges and brand activations are open to all customers or even all attendees at an event, many of these spaces are exclusively reserved for premium cardholders. "We find this customer to be very engaged," said Laura Picciano, general manager of Chase Sapphire. "Once you get their business, there's a lot of loyalty there. And so they're an important segment to continue to nurture." While temporary credit card lounges are popping up at festivals and sporting events, they have also become popular, permanent fixtures inside stadiums and arenas. American Express has partnerships with more than 20 venues around the world. Eight of them currently have lounges, including Hard Rock Stadium in Miami and the O2 arena in London, with a new location set to open in New York City's Barclays Center this year. Bess Spaeth, executive vice president of global brand management and experiences at American Express, said factors like footprint, ability to provide food and beverage and viewing capabilities are all considerations in the decision for which venues get lounges.

American Express and Chase move luxury lounge wars beyond the airport
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Aprecomm acquires Airties to widen reach, provide better service

Digital connectivity solutions company Airties has signed a definitive agreement to acquire Aprecomm for an undisclosed amount. The acquisition will accelerate Airties’ geographic expansion, serve broadband operators in high-growth regions and enable it to leverage synergies across product portfolios, research and development. Pramod Gummaraj, CEO and Co-Founder of Aprecomm, said the company was built with the belief that every service provider should be able to deliver a far more intelligent and reliable broadband experience to its customers. This combination with the newly acquired asset gives the company a broader platform to take that vision further and extend impact across more markets globally, he added. Metin Taskin, CEO and Co-Founder of Airties, said Aprecomm is well positioned in growth markets such as India and Southeast Asia and the combined company now has an unmatched foundation to further accelerate expansion across Asia-Pacific and into South America, two markets where demand for intelligent connectivity is growing at an extraordinary pace. Headquartered in Bengaluru, Aprecomm has built a strong reputation for its intuitive, self-healing Wi-Fi and broadband network solutions for internet service providers. Through its AI-driven software services, Aprecomm helps internet service providers improve connectivity by delivering real-time insights and network optimisations, helping reduce operational costs and increase customer satisfaction. Aprecomm manages more than seven million homes and business locations and serves over 50 internet service providers worldwide. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

Aprecomm acquires Airties to widen reach, provide better service
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

30 tonnes of pineapples sold at Meghalaya Festival in Delhi

Over 30 tonnes of fresh Meghalaya pineapples were sold during the fourth Meghalaya Pineapple Festival in New Delhi last week. A media statement said that this quantity was almost double the 15.4 tonnes sold in 2025 and nearly four times the 7.7 tonnes recorded during the festival’s inaugural edition in 2023. The first edition in 2023 introduced Meghalaya’s premium pineapples to consumers in the national capital. By 2024, the festival had begun facilitating institutional partnerships. The 2025 edition expanded further with collaborations involving Reliance Fresh, Amazon Karigar and Blue Tokai Coffee Roasters, while also serving as the platform for launching the Meghalaya Agriculture Strategy 2028. Meghalaya produces over 1.4 lakh tonnes of pineapples annually across nearly 12,600 hectares, largely concentrated in Ri-Bhoi, Garo Hills and parts of the Khasi and Jaintia Hills. Cultivated under rain-fed conditions, the fruit is recognised for its exceptional sweetness, rich aroma, low acidity and a Brix value of 16-18, significantly higher than the national average. The statement said that Meghalaya adopted an integrated approach centred on farmer collectivisation, processing, branding and market development. Initiatives, including CM FARM+, MLAMP, the Meghalaya State Organic Mission, and interventions led by the Meghalaya State Agricultural Marketing Board (MSAMB) have worked in tandem to build an ecosystem that extends well beyond cultivation. This ecosystem now includes 40 PRIME (Promotion and Incubation of Market-Driven Enterprises) hubs, of which 12 are operational, supported by over 650 spoke facilities for aggregation, storage and primary processing. Community public-private partnership models have further strengthened local processing infrastructure, reducing post-harvest losses while creating opportunities for higher value realisation. Fresh pineapples sold through organised retail fetch approximately ₹22 per kilogram. Once processed into premium retail packs, churrasco pineapple, and export-grade frozen cubes, the same fruit can command prices of up to ₹1,500 per kg. According to the Government, farmers integrated into these value chains have recorded income gains of up to 80 per cent, it said. The Jirang Organic Agro Farmer Producer Company (FPC) in Ri-Bhoi district, which was established in 2017, brings together 433 farmers across 18 villages, nearly 75 per cent of whom are women. It supplies organised buyers including Lulu Group, Reliance Retail, Safal-Mother Dairy and Blinkit. The statement said its revenues have increased from ₹1.5 lakh during 2017-21 to over ₹1.17 crore in 2025, demonstrating how collective marketing and value addition can transform rural enterprises. Through initiatives led by MSAMB, more than 100 tonnes of Meghalaya pineapples have already been marketed through organised domestic and international channels. In June 2026, a 2-tonne consignment was flagged off for Lulu Retail in Dubai, it said. Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments. We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.

30 tonnes of pineapples sold at Meghalaya Festival in Delhi
Asia
The Hindu BusinessLine

Cochin Shipyard bids for Bharat Container Shipping Line orders; eyes surge in domestic shipbuilding

Pinning its hopes on the Union Shipping Ministry’s demand aggregation initiative to centralise India’s shipbuilding requirements, Cochin Shipyard Limited (CSL) has submitted bids under the newly floated Bharat Container Shipping Line (BCSL) consortium to build various types of vessels, including tankers. Jose V.J., Director (Finance) of CSL, told businessline that the consortium was formed to reduce India’s dependence on foreign shipping lines and cut freight outgo, which currently stands at around $75 billion annually, largely paid to foreign-flagged vessels for crude oil imports. It is estimated that India would require around 430 ships over the next 10 years, involving an estimated investment of ₹2 lakh crore, he said. Against this backdrop, the Centre has launched the demand aggregation initiative to consolidate shipbuilding requirements of the four major PSU oil marketing companies, ONGC and SCI, with these ships to be built in India. The initiative is expected to benefit shipyards across the country. Jose, who is also holding additional charge as Chairman and Managing Director, said CSL is well positioned to capitalise on the opportunity with a ₹6,000-crore capex plan and its newly commissioned large dry dock facility. The Ministry’s initiative would strengthen the domestic shipbuilding ecosystem as also envisioned under the Maritime India Vision 2030 and the Maritime Amrit Kaal Vision 2047, which aim to elevate India from its current global shipbuilding market share of less than 1 per cent to the 10th position by 2030 and fifth by 2047. “We already have export orders worth ₹7,300 crore. With shipbuilding/repair facilities in Malpe, Mumbai, Kolkata, the Andaman and Nicobar Islands, and an upcoming facility at Vadinar, we are strategically positioned to undertake commercial shipbuilding and ship repair orders for both domestic and export markets,” he said. CSL also plans to establish a steel block fabrication facility near International Container Transshipment Terminal, Vallarpadam in Kochi with an investment of around ₹4,000 crore. The company is also investing in a 72-year-old European ship design firm –Conoship -- specialising in short-sea vessels, a move expected to strengthen CSL’s position as a preferred shipyard for overseas clients. In addition, CSL has formed a joint venture with HBL Engineering Limited, Hyderabad to develop marine battery systems. The venture aims to localise marine battery solutions and energy management systems for ships, which are currently imported. With an order book of ₹22,300 crore, CSL posted its highest-ever turnover of ₹5,022 crore in FY26 and a profit after tax of ₹717 crore. Backed by strong demand, the shipyard is targeting 12-15 per cent growth in the next fiscal. Jose added that the ongoing West Asia crisis has disrupted supply chains and increased logistics costs, as the shipbuilding industry relies heavily on imported components, including propulsion systems and engines.

Cochin Shipyard bids for Bharat Container Shipping Line orders; eyes surge in domestic shipbuilding