BENGALURU: Culture-first sneaker label Comet has entered Indian e-commerce with its debut on Myntra, bringing over 40 footwear styles to the fashion platform’s 75 million monthly active users. The move marks Comet’s first online retail partnership as it looks to scale beyond its direct-to-consumer roots.

The launch features the brand’s popular ranges including X Lows, Aeon V2 and Alter, alongside an exclusive new design, X Lows Polaris, available only on Myntra. The collaboration strengthens Myntra’s growing sneaker portfolio aimed at Gen Z and millennial consumers drawn to streetwear culture and design-led brands.

Myntra head of category and revenue Ritesh Mishra, said Comet’s sharp design language and community-driven approach aligned with the platform’s focus on trend-forward labels shaping India’s contemporary sneaker culture.

Comet co-founders Utkarsh Gupta and Dishant Daryani said the partnership would help the brand reach a wider audience while staying rooted in its product-first philosophy and close customer engagement.

Built on the ethos “Never shy, never sorry”, Comet has gained traction for bold silhouettes, vibrant colourways and limited-edition drops inspired by cultural nostalgia and storytelling. The Myntra debut signals the brand’s next phase of growth in India’s fast-evolving sneaker and streetwear market.

SEATTLE: Amazon has closed 2025 with robust fourth-quarter growth across its core businesses, even as spending on sales, marketing and infrastructure continued to climb. The company reported a 14 per cent rise in Q4 net sales to $213.4 billion, driven by solid momentum in North America, International markets and a sharp acceleration at AWS.

Sales and marketing expenses rose 8.7 per cent year on year to $14.3 billion in the quarter, reflecting sustained investment in customer acquisition and brand reach. For the full year, the bill climbed 7.3 per cent to $47.1 billion.

AWS remained the standout performer, with revenue jumping 24 per cent to $35.6 billion in the quarter, its fastest pace in more than three years. North America sales grew 10 per cent to $127.1 billion, while International revenues climbed 17 per cent to $50.7 billion, aided partly by favourable currency movements.

Operating income rose to $25.0 billion in Q4, up from $21.2 billion a year earlier, though the figure was weighed down by special charges linked to tax settlements in Italy, severance costs and asset impairments tied largely to physical stores. Excluding these, operating profit would have reached $27.4 billion.

Net income increased to $21.2 billion, or $1.95 per share, compared with $20.0 billion a year ago.

For the full year 2025, Amazon posted 12 per cent growth in net sales to $716.9 billion. AWS revenues climbed 20 per cent to $128.7 billion, while North America and International segments grew 10 per cent and 13 per cent respectively. Operating income expanded to $80.0 billion, with AWS contributing more than half of the total.

Cash generation strengthened, with operating cash flow rising 20 per cent to $139.5 billion. Free cash flow, however, fell sharply to $11.2 billion as capital spending surged, largely reflecting heavy investment in artificial intelligence infrastructure.

President and chief executive officer Andy Jassy, said demand across cloud services, advertising, retail and emerging technologies such as AI chips, robotics and low-earth-orbit satellites remained strong. He added that Amazon plans to invest around $200 billion in capital expenditure in 2026 to support long-term growth.

The company also pointed to a wave of new AWS partnerships, spanning clients such as OpenAI, Visa, the NBA, BlackRock, Salesforce, Adobe, HSBC and the London Stock Exchange Group, underscoring cloud demand across industries.

BENGALURU: Flipkart has elevated Aditya Maheshwari to head of category and P and L for toys, stationery and babycare, placing him in charge of end-to-end business strategy and financial performance across the high-growth segments.

The move follows a four-year stint at the e-commerce major, where Maheshwari served as category head for toys and stationery and associate director for beauty and personal care. During this period, he played a key role in strengthening Flipkart’s position across multiple consumer categories through scale-driven portfolio management.

Maheshwari brings deep experience across India’s startup and e-commerce ecosystem. Prior to his current elevation, he previously worked at Flipkart as a category manager and business development lead in the early phase of his career.

He is also the co-founder of Packflea.com and has held leadership roles including head of alliances at Xoxoday and head buyer at Gozefo.com. His early experience in procurement and sourcing spans platforms such as Giftxoxo.com and buytheprice.com.

With a strong track record of managing large P&Ls and building scalable category businesses, Maheshwari is now set to spearhead Flipkart’s strategic expansion in toys and babycare.