Brands
Banaja Samal appointed head visual merchandiser at Skechers South Asia
Former Puma executive to lead retail presentation and in-store experience
MUMBAI: Skechers South Asia Pvt. Ltd. has appointed Banaja Samal as head visual merchandiser, strengthening its focus on in-store storytelling and retail presentation across the region.
In her new role, Samal will lead the visual merchandising strategy and execution for Skechers’ South Asia operations. She will focus on enhancing the in-store brand experience while ensuring consistent retail presentation across the company’s growing network of stores.
Samal brings more than a decade of experience in retail design and visual merchandising across leading fashion and lifestyle brands. She joins Skechers after an eight-year stint at Puma Group, where she most recently served as visual merchandise manager.
During her time at Puma, she also worked as visual merchandiser and LFR concept manager, and earlier as assistant manager overseeing visual merchandising for regions including Karnataka and Mumbai.
Prior to this, Samal worked with Blackberrys Menswear as a visual merchandiser, managing multiple eastern markets including Kolkata, Odisha and Chhattisgarh. She also served as a concept designer at StudioJ, developing window displays and in-store concepts for various brands.
Samal began her career as a textile designer with Universal Textile Mills and Jaipuria Silk Mills, gaining early experience in surface techniques, prints and design development.
She holds a bachelor’s degree in design from the National Institute of Fashion Technology, India.
Brands
Aman Gupta’s OFF/BEAT secures Rs 100 crore seed funding round
Bessemer backs new venture betting on AI and India’s digital shift
MUMBAI: Aman Gupta has raised Rs 100 crore in seed funding for his new venture OFF/BEAT, with Bessemer Venture Partners leading the round as it bets on a new wave of AI-led, consumer-first businesses in India.
The funding marks an early but significant push for OFF/BEAT, which is positioned to tap into a rapidly evolving market shaped by a digitally native generation and advances in artificial intelligence. The venture aims to build at the intersection of culture and technology, where brand identity and innovation increasingly go hand in hand.
Gupta, best known for co-founding boAt and scaling it into a Rs 3,000 crore-plus business, is now looking to apply those learnings to a new playbook. His focus this time is not just on building a consumer brand, but on leveraging AI and global networks to accelerate growth.
OFF/BEAT founder Aman Gupta said, “Having built from scratch before, I know what capital can do and what it cannot. This time, I was looking for partners with a global perspective who can help me leverage technology and AI, because that is where the future lies. Bessemer’s track record with companies like Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn says it all.”
The choice of investor reflects that ambition. Bessemer Venture Partners has backed global technology players such as Anthropic, Shopify, Canva and LinkedIn, bringing not just capital but strategic support and global reach.
Bessemer Venture Partners partner Anant Vidur Puri said, “We back founders who see around corners. Aman saw how a new India would come to think about aspiration, identity and quality, and built boAt as proof. He is now applying that same instinct to a market being reshaped by AI and by a generation with entirely new expectations.”
The investment comes at a time when India’s startup ecosystem is being reshaped by both consumer behaviour and technological disruption. Founders are increasingly expected to understand not just products, but the cultural shifts that drive adoption.
For OFF/BEAT, the journey is just beginning, but the signal is clear. In a market where attention is fleeting and expectations are rising, building something truly distinctive may be the only way to stay on beat.
