MAM
Raymond to increase brand-specific stores
BANGALORE: As part of its strategy to open exclusive Park Avenue stores in the country, Park Avenue launched its first exclusive store in Bangalore.
Located at Brigade Road, the Park Avenue store was inaugurated by Raymond Group president Pradeep Bhandari.
Speaking on the launch, Bhandari said, “This launch marks our entry in Southern India with this exclusive branded store from Raymond Apparel Ltd. The first Park Avenue store, launched in January 2005 in Mumbai, has received an overwhelming response. We plan to open around 15 more Park Avenue stores in the next 12 to 18 months all over India.”
“We plan to bring in more brand exclusive outlets. We’ve around 290 Raymond outlets, 20 of them owned or managed by Raymond which retail only all our brands. As has been the norm we shall continue growing at the rate of 25-30 new outlets every year, besides, we’ve also invested around Rs 1 billion across three apparel manufacturing plants in and around Bangalore,” added Bhandari.
Raymond has four brands, three through their 100 per cent subsidiary Raymond Apparel Ltd (RAL). RAL has in its folio three highly regarded men’s wear brands including Park Avenue, Parx and Manzoni.
Park Avenue registers counter sales of around RS 1.5 billion (RS 1.1 billion ex-factory) annually, while all the brands bring in around RS 3.6 billion. Bhandari expects the two Park Avenue stores in Mumbai and Bangalore to rake in around RS 35-37 million during this fiscal. The turnover for the Raymond group, which had exited their cement business some time ago by hiving it off to a French cement major, is RS 18 billion.
Brands
YES Bank hands the keys to SBI veteran Vinay Tonse as it bets on a new era
Former SBI managing director appointed as YES Bank’s new MD and CEO
MUMBAI: YES Bank is done rebuilding. Now it wants to grow. The private sector lender has appointed Vinay Muralidhar Tonse as managing director and chief executive officer-designate, with RBI approval secured and a start date of April 6, 2026 confirmed. The three-year term signals the bank’s intent to shift gears from crisis recovery to full-throttle expansion.
Tonse, 60, is no stranger to scale. Most recently managing director at State Bank of India, he oversaw a retail book of roughly $800bn in deposits and advances, one of the largest in the country. Before that, he ran SBI Mutual Fund from August 2020 to December 2022, a stint that saw assets under management surge from Rs 4.32 lakh crore to Rs 7.32 lakh crore across market cycles. Add stints in Singapore and four years leading SBI’s overseas operations in Osaka, and the incoming chief arrives with a genuinely global CV.
His academic grounding is equally solid: a commerce degree from St Joseph’s College of Commerce, Bengaluru, and a master’s in commerce from Bangalore University.
The appointment follows an extensive search and evaluation process by the bank’s Nomination and Remuneration Committee. NRC chairperson Nandita Gurjar said the committee unanimously backed Tonse, citing his leadership track record, governance credentials and ability to drive the bank’s next phase of transformation.
Non-executive chairman Rama Subramaniam Gandhi was unequivocal. “I am certain that Vinay Tonse, with his vast experience as a senior banker, will propel YES Bank to its next phase of growth,” Gandhi said, adding that the bank remains focused on strengthening its retail and corporate banking franchises and expanding its branch network.
Rajeev Kannan, non-executive director and senior executive at Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, the bank’s largest shareholder, said Tonse’s experience across retail, corporate banking, global markets and asset management positioned him well to lead the lender. SMBC said it looks forward to working with Tonse and the board as YES Bank pursues its ambition of becoming a top-tier private sector lender anchored in strong governance and sustainable growth.
Tonse succeeds Prashant Kumar, who took the helm in March 2020 when YES Bank was in freefall following a severe financial crisis, and spent six years painstakingly stabilising the institution, rebuilding governance and restoring operational scale. Gandhi was generous: “The bank remains indebted to Prashant Kumar, who is responsible for much of what a strong financial powerhouse YES Bank is today.”
Tonse, for his part, struck a purposeful note. “Together with the board and my colleagues, I remain deeply committed to creating long-term value for all our stakeholders,” he said, pledging to build on Kumar’s foundation guided by his personal motto: Make A Difference.
Beyond the balance sheet, Tonse played cricket at college and club level and represented Karnataka in archery at the national championships — sports he credits with teaching him teamwork, situational leadership, discipline and focus. In quieter moments, he reaches for retro Kannada music, classic Hindi songs, and the crooning of Engelbert Humperdinck, Mukesh and Kishore Kumar.
YES Bank has its steady-handed rebuilder in Kumar to thank for survival. Now it has a scale-obsessed growth banker at the wheel. The next chapter starts April 6.
