MAM
Pepperfry appoints Nishant Kumar as vice president & national head of studios
Mumbai: E-commerce furniture and home goods company Pepperfry announced the appointment of Nishant Kumar as the vice president & national head of studios. Kumar will be spearheading the expansion of Pepperfry’s studio footprint across the country. His appointment is effective immediately and he will be based at the company’s office in Mumbai.
Kumar comes to Pepperfry with 21 years of experience working in sales, business strategies, financial planning, operations, and zonal planning. In his previous stint with Vodafone-Idea, Kumar was managing an ecosystem of 2700 retail stores. At Pepperfry all studio regional managers will now report to Kumar.
He is a postgraduate in marketing from Welingkar Institute of Management and holds a bachelor’s degree in hospitality management from IHMCTAN, Kolkata.
On the appointment, Pepperfry co-founder & COO Ashish Shah said, “Nishant joins the team with vast experience in managing a large footprint of retail stores and has an impressive track record of leading businesses during a hyper-expansion phase. With his expertise, we aim to strengthen our omnichannel capabilities for our customers and provide them with a visual, highly engaging, and interactive shopping experience. It gives me great delight to welcome him, and l am looking forward to work with him in transforming the furniture retail landscape in India.”
On his new role, Kumar said, “I am delighted to join Pepperfry and super enthusiastic to be a part of the company’s mission – To spark a feeling called home across the world. I look forward to making significant contributions in charting a high growth path for the stellar Studio business at Pepperfry.”
Omnichannel is a very big strategy for the brand and Pepperfry Studios are a key consumer touchpoint. Pepperfry Studios operate in two formats – COCO (company owned and company operated) and FOFO (Franchise owned and Franchise operated), and are located at prominent locations across respective cities. The company has a good omnichannel footprint in India with 180+ studios in 90+ cities.
Brands
Jubilant FoodWorks faces Rs 47.5 crore GST demand, plans appeal
Tax authorities flag alleged misclassification of restaurant services
MUMBAI: Jubilant FoodWorks Limited has landed in a tax tussle after receiving a GST demand of Rs 47.5 crore from the office of the additional commissioner of CGST and central excise in Thane, Maharashtra.
The order, issued under the provisions of the Central Goods and Services Tax Act, 2017, relates to an alleged incorrect classification of certain services under the category of restaurant services. According to the tax authorities, this classification resulted in a short payment of goods and services tax for the period between the financial years 2019-20 and 2021-22.
The demand includes Rs 47.5 crore in GST along with an equal amount as penalty, in addition to applicable interest. The order was received by the company on March 13, 2026.
In a regulatory filing to the BSE Limited and the National Stock Exchange of India Limited, the company said it disagrees with the order and believes its arguments were not adequately considered.
The company is preparing to challenge the decision and plans to file an appeal. It added that once the redressal process is complete, the demand is likely to be dropped.
Despite the sizeable figure attached to the notice, the company said it does not expect any material impact on its financials, operations or other activities.
The disclosure was signed by Suman Hegde, EVP and chief financial officer, who confirmed that the company received the order at 19:06 IST on March 13 and has already initiated steps to contest it.
The development places the quick service restaurant major in the middle of a tax debate that could hinge on how certain restaurant-linked services are classified under GST rules. For now, the company appears ready to take the matter from the tax office to the appeals desk.
