WHILE Reliance Retail has been in the spotlight with its high-decibel retail rollout, another big gun joining the retail party has been quietly going about its task out of the spotlight. Aditya Birla Retail, the retail venture from the Rs 40,000-crore AV Birla Group, has, over the last few weeks, finalised on key hires for its retail venture. The first store is likely to be kick-started from Pune by June.
The AV Birla Group had announced last year that they would invest close to $1 bn (Rs. 4,100 crore) in their retail venture, and will concentrate on very few formats—supermarkets, hypermarkets and apparel. In its only other sign of activity, Aditya Birla Retail had picked up a controlling stake in Trinethra for nearly Rs. 150 crore, giving it a footprint of 172 stores. To beef up its operations, the retail venture has hired three additional expatriates at very senior levels in the organisation.
Russell Berman has already on board at Aditya Birla Retail as its head of operations. Mr Berman had previously worked with Carrefour in China and his experience of an emerging retail market will prove handy. He has also had stints at Chinese retailer Lian Hua and French food retailer Auchan. Joining him is Peter Denby, who was formerly with Sainsbury’s, the third-largest supermarket chain in the United Kingdom behind Tesco and Asda. Mr. Denby is likely to be heading the supermarkets division for Aditya Birla Retail.
Heading the supply chain and logistics function will be Juzar Mastan, a Malaysian of Indian origin. Mr Mastan comes from American President Lines (APL), the world’s sixth largest container transport firm. Finally, the consumer durables segment will be headed by an Italian expatriate from Dubai
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