Nitin Agrawal

Sachin Tendulkar just launched shoes at ₹5,499 and targeting ₹35 crore revenue within 18 months. First, the timing looks smart. India's athleisure market will hit $21 billion by 2033. That's massive growth. Sachin entered at the right moment. But let's talk about the competition: 📍HRX by Hrithik Roshan crossed ₹1,000 crore in revenue.  📍Virat Kohli invested ₹40 crore in Agilitas Sports. These aren't side projects anymore. They're real businesses fighting for the same customers with lower prices. Now here's what Sachin is doing differently with Ten x You which he launched few days back: → He partnered with Karthik Gurumurthy as CEO. Karthik Gurumurthy scaled Swiggy Instamart to ₹600 crore monthly in 2.5 years. That's not celebrity window dressing, that's serious operational muscle. Also, they're backed by Peak XV Partners and Whiteboard Capital shows they're serious about scale. → Sachin isn't just the brand face. As Chief Inspiration Officer, he's involved in product design. They have actually tested shoes with cricket academies since March. Designed for wider Indian feet, not just copied Western sizing. → The pricing is premium. ₹5,499 for regular athletic shoes, ₹9,000 for cricket-specific. They're not competing on price. They're betting on quality and brand loyalty. Their revenue target: ₹35 crore within 18 months. But here's where my 22 years in sourcing makes me pause. Premium pricing works only if you can maintain quality at scale. Most celebrity brands collapse when orders are increasing, vendors renegotiate, quality drops, customers switch. Karthik's operational experience gives them a real shot. But supply chain execution is what separates lasting brands from launch-day hype. Would you spend ₹5,499 on shoes from a celebrity brand?

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Shibin Chulliparambil Appointed Head of IT at Malabar Group. Shibin Chulliparambil has taken charge as the Head of Information Technology at Malabar Group, one of India’s largest and most respected retail conglomerates. Known for innovation, scale, and customer-first strategies, Malabar continues to redefine excellence across sectors. 1. 20+ years of IT and digital transformation leadership across global and Indian enterprises. 2. Former Head of IT at Blue Star Limited and CIO at Mafatlal Industries Limited, with parallel CEO roles at Vrata Tech Solutions (India & UAE). 3. Held diverse tech leadership positions at Cipla, from Software Engineering to IT Strategy & Solution Architecture. 4. Recognized with honors like Most Inspiring CIO of India, Security Icon, and Innovative CIO Award. 5. Strong academic mix: MBA in Cybersecurity, BCA, and executive programs from ISB and IIT Bombay. At Malabar Group, Shibin will lead secure digital transformation, tech-enabled growth, and IT innovation aligned with global expansion goals. As retail and tech converge, what role will cybersecurity and cloud innovation play in shaping customer trust and scalability? #Leadership #DigitalTransformation #RetailTech #Cybersecurity #ITLeadership #Innovation #MalabarGroup #CareerMoves #CIO #TechStrategy #EnterpriseIT #TechnologyLeadership #DigitalRetail #CloudComputing #DataSecurity #Omnichannel #SmartRetail #ITStrategy #AwardWinningCIO #ScalableTech #ExecutiveLeadership

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From Corner Stores to Category Leaders: How Zithara.AI is Reimagining Indian Retail In Tier 2 and Tier 3 cities across India, shopkeepers once knew every customer by face—but not by data. That was the gap. 📍That’s where Zithara.AI stepped in. Launched in 2022 without VC backing or Silicon Valley buzzwords—just a bold vision, relentless founders, and one mission: 👉 To democratize AI-powered customer intelligence for every Indian retailer. The insight? Indian retail was rich in footfalls, but poor in follow-up. No CRM. No segmentation. No structured retention. Loyalty was assumed, not engineered. So, the Zithara team built a solution from scratch: A full-stack retail CRM platform — 9 products, one unified interface. Simple enough for a paanwala to use. Smart enough for a luxury jeweller to rely on. 🚀 From pilot stores in Hyderabad to 500+ high-intent retailers across India, Zithara is now driving: ✅ 3x repeat sales via precision WhatsApp marketing ✅ 28% lift in customer retention ✅ 25% increase in acquisition through referral automation ✅ 100% lead capture from every channel — walk-ins, social, or digital ✅ True omnichannel orchestration — SMS, Email, RCS, Meta, Push, and more But this journey wasn’t just about tech. It meant winning trust in a market where pen and paper were still the CRM. Where “data” was seen as optional, not transformational. Zithara didn’t just build a platform. It built a new way for Indian retailers to think about customers — as relationships to grow, not transactions to close. 💡 The belief that carried them forward? “Solve for the user, not the investor.” No vanity dashboards. No hollow metrics. Just tangible outcomes. ⸻ In just two years, Zithara.AI has become the quiet force behind India’s smart retail revolution — powering everyone from local kiranas to national chains. Because in tomorrow’s India, even the smallest shop deserves enterprise-grade intelligence. Made in Bharat. Made for Bharat. Scaling beyond Bharat. This is just the beginning. Sridevi Reddy Varun Kashyap

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What DMart - Avenue Supermarts Ltd announced yesterday is unprecedented, given their history of slow expansion. India's biggest value retailer, known for its calibrated, cluster-based expansion strategy, is now set to accelerate its growth by opening more stores than its usual pace. They plan to double down on expansion now. In their annual call, Neville Noronha confirmed that over the next 6 to 8 months, he would personally be focusing his time on expansion in India’s most populous state, Uttar Pradesh, which is a new cluster market for them with huge potential. He also admitted that if there’s one thing he could have done better during his tenure, it would have been increasing the store count to around 600–650 by now, compared to 426 today. This will now be the key focus area for the incoming CEO, Anshul Asawa, who emphasized that the business needs to scale across more geographies. From an investor’s perspective, this shift brings fresh energy and could accelerate the path to greater value creation for shareholders. At Finding Outperformers, we recently turned positive on the stock from a medium- to long-term perspective. Market may have overestimated the impact of Q-commerce on its business model, while value retail continues to be a large, untapped opportunity. Read our full thesis in the blog posts shared in the comments below⬇️ (do own research before investing)

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This image shows brands owned by major cigarette companies in India along with their current market price (CMP) and 1-year stock returns. Here’s the breakdown: 1. ITC Limited (CMP ₹405, +5%) Brands: Insignia India Kings Classic Gold Flake American Club Wills Navy Cut Players Scissors Capstan Berkeley Bristol Flake Silk Cut Duke & Royal 2. Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) (CMP ₹3,181, +61%) Brands: Four Square Red & White North Pole Tipper Cavanders Marlboro (licensed) Stellar Cavenders 3. VST Industries (CMP ₹3,653, +15%) Brands: Charminar Specials Shah-I-Deccan Charms Virginia Filter Kings Vazir Qila Ambassador Muratti 4. NTC Industries (CMP ₹117, +42%) Brands: Total Gold Prestige Blue Bird Marlboro (some segment under collaboration) Hero Mustang ✅ Key Insights: ITC dominates the Indian cigarette market with a huge brand portfolio. Godfrey Phillips India (GPI) has shown the highest 1-year return (+61%). VST Industries and NTC are smaller players but still hold notable regional brands. Mohit Singhal 9555049244

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Flipkart has appointed Rajarshi Guin as Vice President – Home & Furniture, marking a key addition to its leadership team. In his new role, Guin will be responsible for steering business growth in the home and furniture segment, with a focus on deepening consumer insights and sharpening execution strategies to accelerate expansion. Guin moves to Flipkart from Amazon, where he spent more than 14 years, most recently serving as Director, Category Management, Media. Over his tenure, he played a pivotal role in building and scaling multiple verticals including private labels, books, toys, and personal care appliances. He is credited with helping shape Amazon India’s marketplace in its formative years. 👉 Read More: https://lnkd.in/gyFj_7Gi #rajarshiguin #flipkart #vp #vicepresident #home #furniture #homeneeds #lifestyle #ecommerce #retail #amazon #proximus #infosys

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One of the most tangible ways to create impact is by closing the gap between skills and employability. With 14+ new VLCC School of Beauty institutes, our footprint grows to 106+ centres; scaling an industry-first promise of 100% placement for eligible students, backed by scholarships of up to 100%. This is an ecosystem designed to enable confidence, financial independence, and entrepreneurship, especially for youth and women in Tier 2 and Tier 3 towns where opportunities are often limited. Over the years, VLCC School Of Beauty has trained over 1 lakh professionals, and with our expansion, we are reinforcing our role as a key partner in India’s skilling and vocational mission. Proud of the team driving this initiative and building not just institutes, but meaningful career pathways that support an #AtmanirbharBharat.

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GST 2.0 has just redrawn the pricing playbook for Indian retail. 🚀 With fashion & footwear now taxed at 5% up to ₹2,500 and 18% above ₹2,500, brands can no longer treat pricing as static. The line between affordable and premium has been redefined overnight. Here’s the opportunity: • Shift assortments: Move more SKUs into the ≤₹2,500 bracket. For apparel, that means designing entry and mid-tier products that still carry brand DNA but qualify for the lower slab. • Re-engineer packs & sizes: FMCG has done this for years with ₹5–₹20 packs. Fashion can learn leggings, kurtis, tops, footwear models designed just under ₹2,500 can unlock massive Tier 2/3 demand. • Create bridge pricing: Consumers who aspire to premium can be captured at ₹2,200–₹2,499 with strong design and marketing, instead of pushing them out at ₹2,800+. For FMCG, the 10–15% MRP reduction is immediate, but in fashion the impact depends on how quickly brands redesign their price architecture. The winners will be those who treat this not as a tax cut, but as a strategic lever to acquire new consumers and expand relevance. Yes, margins may tighten. But the volume upside, faster stock turns, and consumer loyalty built through affordability will offset the hit. 👉 Bottom line: GST 2.0 is not just a consumption reset — it’s a call for brands to rethink pricing strategy, assortment planning, and consumer acquisition. The question is, who will act fast enough? #GST #Retail #PricingStrategy #Fashion #Footwear #FMCG #IndianEconomy

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Old Stitch vs New Stitch : The Fashion Retail Face-Off.... on a lighter note ! Once upon a time in the bustling malls of Mumbai or the high streets of Cannaught Place, stood a fashion retailer who knew his customer like he knew his morning coffee ...strong, loyal, and predictable. Enter the Gen Z retailer.... hoodie on, TikTok open, and ready to disrupt “the system” before brunch bro. Let’s be honest: the battle isn’t about style it’s about survival. The experienced fashion retailer has weathered recessions, denim explosions, and even the rise and fall of cargo pants (twice). They believe in product margins, supply chain hygiene, and customers who walk into stores. They trust in footfall the way Gen Z trusts in "engagement." They still think a CRM is something that helps build loyalty not just a popup on a website. On the other hand, the Gen Z retailer doesn’t even own a cash register. Their store? A swipe-up story. Their model? Drop culture meets influencer hype. They sell out before legacy retailers finish aligning their assortment plan. But ask them about return rates, last-mile costs, or inventory holding and you might at times get a blank stare followed by “Let me check with my growth hacker bro.” The experienced retailer wins on scale, process, and predictability. The Gen Z-er wins on agility, noise, and memes. One builds brands. The other builds communities. But both are now in the same playground trying to win the same fashion-forward, budget-aware, short-attention-span consumer. In the end, the smartest player may not be the oldest or the trendiest but the one who learns fastest, fails cheapest, and adapts quickest. That’s fashion Darwinism, darling. So, who wins? The jury’s out.... But the runway is open. #RetailWars #FashionFaceOff #OldSchoolVsNewGen #RetailHumour #FashionBusiness

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Spykar Lifestyles Pvt. Ltd. has announced the appointment of Nipun Dhingra, former manager at Kearney, as its new Chief Transformation Officer. In this leadership role, Dhingra will drive initiatives focused on innovation, operational excellence, and sustainability for the fashion and lifestyle brand. Read more: https://lnkd.in/g_WA8JqK #retail #business #news #market #update #appointment #spykar #expansion Sanjay Vakharia| Rajesh Sharma| Gautam Jain| Khushboo Ahuja| Arun Sharma| Ronak Dedhia| Varun Chamoli| Nagendra Singh| Deepali Katyal Mathur| Pooja Goel| Diksha Gupta| Yumna Vaqar| Twinkle Roy| Biki Gupta

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The ₹920 crore moment: Are Indian brands missing their duty-free opportunity? Delhi Airport’s retail slice is now worth about ₹920 crore annually. Per passenger spend has inched up too, from ₹997 to ₹1,010. But still Delhi’s retail share is 28% of non-aero revenue. In hubs like Dubai or Singapore, it’s 50%+. That gap isn’t just about price. It’s about what airports are designed to be. Travel retail is an emotional zone. People are relaxed, primed to indulge, and open to gifting or trying something new. Globally, duty-free thrives by mixing curation, experience, and storytelling. So what are we missing? First, scale and format. Those hubs are destination retail centres. They are shopping and entertainment zones, not just transaction corridors. Second, category mix. In Delhi, liquor is the dominant ticket. That drives numbers but narrows the retail story. Third, experience. Top hubs layer cuisine, events, and exclusive launches to keep dwell times and spend high. A practical reality here is varied governance. Different airports are run by different concessionaires and regulators. That means a one-size-fits-all playbook will not work. Strategies must be local, negotiated, and testable. What Indian brands can do now: 👉 Launch travel-exclusive SKUs designed for gifting and convenience. 👉 Curate “Made in India” edits that are aspirational, not touristy like premium teas, artisanal foods, compact luxury goods. 👉 Build experiential pop-ups: tastings, demos, travel-first launches. 👉 Negotiate airport-first launches and packaging with concessionaires. Limited editions create urgency and higher ticket sizes What airports can test: 📍 A “Make in India” premium zone 📍A more balanced mix beyond liquor 📍Smarter use of data to place exclusives where dwell time is highest Duty-free is the last handshake with a traveller before they leave. Done right, a ₹1,000 impulse can turn into a lifelong memory and an ambassador for Indian brands. What do you think of this? #airportretail #retail #aero #delhiairport #dutyfree

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