Time - USA (2022-04-11)

60 TIME April 11/April 18, 2022

LEADERS

PATAGONIA
TAKING A STAND
Outdoors retailer Patagonia has doubled
down on its long-standing political
activism in recent months, donating
$1 million to  ght restrictive voting-rights
laws in Georgia, for example, and ceasing
sales at a Wyoming ski resort after
the owners sponsored a conservative
fundraiser. At the same time, CEO Ryan
Gellert criticized counterparts who he
feels aren’t doing enough to combat
climate change. That Patagonia’s sales
exceed $1 billion demonstrates such
corporate activism can be very good
for business. —Simmone Shah

SPOTIFY

PLAYING THE HITS

Spotify’s 400 million users can’t listen

to Neil Young. But they can get The Joe

Rogan Experience, an exclusive podcast

whose host’s COVID-19 beliefs and use of

racial slurs caused an uproar this winter.

Some artists (like Young) and users left

amid the outrage. Yet Spotify beat Apple

as the top podcast provider in 2021, added

audiobooks, and gained nearly 30 million

subscribers during the pandemic. “Cancel-

ing voices is a slippery slope,” CEO Daniel

Ek wrote in a memo amid calls to end Spo-

tify’s deal with Rogan; he then announced

a $100 million investment on content from

“marginalized groups.” —Raisa Bruner

NYKAA

INDIA’S BEAUTY

BEHEMOTH

Ten years after being founded by

entrepreneur Falguni Nayar with the

goal of inspiring Indian women, Nykaa

has evolved into one of India’s largest

cosmetics and lifestyle brands.

Nearly 10 million people shop

there, and a November IPO raised

$700 million at a $13 billion

valuation—turning Nayar, the CEO,

into India’s richest self-made

businesswoman. Expansion and

marketing led to a 23% drop in net

proi ts in the nine months to December,

but revenue grew 65% year-over-year to

$376 million. —Juliette Pearse

DEMNA GVASALIA

PATAGONIA: ILLUSTRATION BY LAURIE AVON FOR TIME; BALENCIAGA: PRESLE

Y ANN—PATRICK MCMULLAN/GETTY IMAGES