Shoppers Stop has appointed Venu Nair as its new Managing Director & CEO, effective November 6, 2020 to lead the next phase of expansion, the company said in a statement. 

BS Nagesh, chairman of the company stated, “I am delighted to welcome Venu as Managing Director and CEO. Venu has an exceptional leadership track record, strong international exposure, deep strategic expertise, and proven experience of driving transformation and managing technological disruption, which is the need of the hour. We believe that Venu is the right person to lead Shoppers in this critical phase and its next phase of growth.”

Nair replaces Rajiv Suri who announced his exit two years after being at the helm of the country's oldest department store chain in July this year.

Nair, an alumnus of S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai,  is an international retail leader with 27 years of rich and varied experience in the Retail & Apparel Industry across South Asia & Europe and presently, operating as CEO of Westside at Trent Limited. Prior to Westside, Nair was the MD of Marks & Spencer Reliance. In his earlier tenures, he has held leadership roles with various corporates Marks & Spencer Plc, Madura Garments, and Arvind Mills.

Nair is tasked with Shoppers Stop’s growth amidst tough times for retailers on account of the pandemic. His predecessor Suri’s resignation had come almost a month after the retailer laid off more than 1,100 employees and stated that it will close some stores due to declining sales and bleak demand outlook for discretionary products in the wake of COVID-19 pandemic and national lockdown. The move came as like other retailers, with declining business, the retailer was being forced to close lower performing and unsustainable stores and resort to layoffs to its cost base. With the gradual opening up of businesses, Nair’s goal will be to speed up recovery.