Sashi Vanagapalli Couture - Chief Executive Officer

Description: Chief Executive Officer (CEO)

Industry: Ethnic Wear | Saree Retail | Fashion Retail | Value / Premium Apparel | Omni-channel Retail

Role Purpose:

The CEO will drive overall business growth, profitability, brand leadership, operational excellence, and scalable expansion across retail, franchise, wholesale, e-commerce, and emerging channels. The role demands a strong blend of entrepreneurial leadership, retail execution, consumer understanding, merchandising excellence, and organizational building capability.

The ideal candidate should have deep exposure to large-format ethnic retail, saree retail, apparel retail, fashion consumer businesses, or branded retail chains with strong expertise in scaling multi-city operations and building sustainable profitable growth.

Key Responsibilities:

1. Business Growth & P&L Ownership:

Own complete organizational P&L and EBITDA performance.

Drive revenue growth across:

- Sarees

- Wedding wear

- Occasion wear

- Mens ethnic wear

- Womens ethnic fashion

- Accessories

Build long-term growth roadmap for:

- Retail expansion

- Franchise growth

- E-commerce

- Marketplace business

- International expansion

Improve:

- Same store sales growth (SSSG)

- Gross margins

- Inventory productivity

- Sell-through

- ROI per store

2. Retail Operations Leadership:

Lead large-scale retail operations across regions and store formats.

Ensure strong governance around:

- Store productivity

- Conversion

- ASP growth

- UPT

- Customer experience

- Staff productivity

- SOP adherence

- Drive operational excellence through structured KPIs and review mechanisms.

- Build a high-performance retail culture across stores and regional teams.

3. Merchandise & Category Leadership:

- Collaborate with merchandising and sourcing teams to create profitable product architecture.

Strengthen category planning across:

- Silk sarees

- Wedding sarees

- Daily wear

- Premium collections

- Regional assortments

Ensure:

- Fast inventory rotation

- Low ageing

- Data-led buying

- Regional demand mapping

- Seasonal assortment planning

4. Brand & Consumer Strategy:

- Establish strong brand positioning in ethnic and wedding wear space.

Drive integrated marketing strategy across:

- Digital

- Influencer

- ATL/BTL

- Festive campaigns

- Wedding campaigns

- Regional activations

- Build aspirational yet scalable consumer positioning.

- Strengthen customer loyalty and repeat business programs.

5. Expansion & Franchise Development:

- Lead aggressive but profitable expansion strategy.

- Develop scalable franchise and COCO/FOFO models.

Identify growth opportunities in:

- Tier 1

- Tier 2

- Tier 3 markets

- NRI/international ethnic markets

- Ensure strong store economics and payback periods.

6. Supply Chain & Inventory Governance:

- Improve inventory turns and working capital efficiency.

Build strong processes around:

- Procurement

- Vendor management

- Allocation

- Replenishment

- Warehouse productivity

- Reduce ageing stock and markdown dependency.

- Implement technology-driven planning and forecasting.

7. Organization Building:

- Build leadership bench strength across functions.

- Create performance-driven culture with accountability.

- Drive succession planning and capability development.

- Establish structured MIS and review systems.

Desired Candidate Profile:

Experience:

18-25 years of experience in:

- Ethnic wear

- Saree retail

- Fashion retail

- Apparel retail

- Consumer retail

Minimum 5-8 years in CXO/Business Head/CEO role.

Proven experience managing:

- 300 Cr+ to 2000 Cr+ business

- Multi-region operations

- Large retail networks

Strong exposure to:

- Franchise business

- Retail scale-up

- Omni-channel retail

- Brand-led growth

Preferred Industry Background

Candidates from:

- Ethnic wear brands

- Saree retail chains.

- Wedding wear brands

- Fashion retail houses

- Apparel retail organizations

Potential comparable organizations may include:

- Manyavar

- Pothys

- Nalli

- RMKV

- Koskii

- Fabindia

- Sundari Silk