MAM
Modern retailing arrives in India
NEW DELHI: The rules of the burgeoning retail market were being written and rewritten at the second day of the 7th KSA Retail Summit here today, as speakers like Ethan Allan USA chairman, president and CEO Farooq Kathwari and Interbrand UK strategic director Graham Hales threw light on some of the issues revolving around the retail industry.
The keynote address was given by KSA Technopak chairman Arvind Singhal, wherein he said that 2004 could be called as a year when modern retailing in India finally arrived and picked up momentum.
“Credit goes to Pantaloon for setting themselves up as one of the most organized retail stores in the country, which is growing at a steady pace,” Singhal said.
Speaking on the topic of ‘Writing and Rewriting the rules of Retailing’, Kathwari threw light on how Ethan Allan, which is a one stop shop for home solutions needs, had been “reinvented” in the US over the years.
“With the help of solutions based focus at Ethan Allan, we created an environment wherein we left competition behind. Our aim was to change our image, reinvent product offerings and at the same time, maintain our brand equity and grow our consumer base,” he said.
Ethan Allan saw an image makeover in the early 1990s, where the company changed almost 70 per cent of their old products in a span of three years. Then again in 2000, the need was felt to reinvent the brand. The company then introduced a $70 million advertising campaign, which is running till date.
“Our aim for the last 10 years has been to reposition and relocate our stores and we introduced a system of sorts wherein the brand name becomes the store name,” Kathwari said.
Stressing on the point that when a player is in the retail space, he cannot not afford to be a leader and has to position himself as a leader, Kathwari says that’s what Ethan Allan has been doing for a long time now.
Interbrand’s Hales, on the other hand, spoke on creating and sustaining value through branding. He pointed out that finding space to communicate your brand is getting more and more difficult in this cluttered market.
Driving home the point that with a larger number of multinational companies coming into India, there was a serious threat to the local players but at the same time it would also lead to the local players raising the standards of their brands in order to meet competition. “The time for branding in India has arrived. The positioning of a brand should spread throughout the organization thus making it real,” he said.
Hales drew up a series of rewards that could be achieved by branding products. They were as follows:
1) Brands are timeless
2) Brands can generate significant price premiums
3) Brands can drive employee productivity
4) Brands are intangible and that has become the key source of corporate volume
5) Brands generate value for their organization so accordingly they can be valued
6) Investing in branding delivers higher returns
He concluded by saying that companies should actively manage brands to increase their values. “Consider the brand as an organizing principle and it’s only by living the brand that you will achieve its aims and objectives,” Hales said.
Brands
Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail reshuffles top deck; Nikhil Modha to take over as CFO
Phased transition sees Marco Agnolin head OWND!, Nikhil Modha lined up as CFO as company readies next growth leg
MUMBAI: Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail is redrawing its leadership map, lining up a new generation of executives across key roles as it prepares for its next phase of growth.
The company has named Suraj Bahirwani as chief executive (designate) of Pantaloons, effective April 1, 2026, with a full transition to the top role slated for October 1, 2026. He will also be designated as senior managerial personnel.
A two-decade veteran of the Aditya Birla Group, Bahirwani joined as a group management trainee in 2002 and has since held a string of leadership roles across retail and manufacturing. His resume spans stints at Aditya Birla Retail, a tenure as chief operating officer of Pantaloons, and most recently, head of global sales at the group’s cellulosic fibres business, where he drove international expansion and strengthened value-added portfolios.
Academically, he holds a PhD from the University of Mumbai, a postgraduate management diploma from SP Jain Institute of Management and Research, and is a chartered accountant. Over the years, he has picked up multiple chairman’s awards, including distinguished achiever, exceptional contributor and accomplished leader.
The transition at Pantaloons will be staged. Incumbent chief executive Sangeeta Tanwani will continue until September 30, 2026, steering the handover before moving into an advisory role to the managing director from October 1, 2026. She is set to retire on January 31, 2027, at which point she will step down as whole-time director and key managerial personnel.
Alongside, the company has brought in Marco Agnolin as chief executive of OWND! and senior managerial personnel, effective April 6, 2026. Agnolin arrives with over three decades of global experience, having held senior roles at Inditex, where he helped expand Zara in Italy, and later served as chief executive of Bershka and Diesel. His track record spans fast fashion, brand turnarounds and youth-focused retail.
On the finance side, Nikhil Modha has been appointed chief financial officer (designate) and senior managerial personnel from April 1, 2026. He will assume full charge as chief financial officer and key managerial personnel from January 1, 2027.
Current chief financial officer Jagdish Bajaj will oversee a phased transition until December 31, 2026, before retiring and stepping down from his roles.
The reshuffle signals a calibrated succession plan rather than a sudden overhaul, with the company staggering exits and appointments to ensure continuity even as it refreshes leadership across verticals.
As Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail juggles legacy brands and new-age formats, the message is clear: steady hands for the present, sharper ones for the future—and no pause in the push for scale.
