Mumbai (India)-based value fashion retailer Pantaloons Fashion and Retail Limited (PFRL) has appointed Sangeeta Pendurkar as its new Chief Executive Officer (CEO). She succeeds Shital Mehta, who had resigned in September 2017 to join Landmark Group as CEO of Max Fashions, another value fashion retailer.
PFRL is a division of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL), an Aditya Birla Group subsidiary. It is touted as India’s largest big box fashion retailers and one of the fastest growing lifestyle apparel retail destinations in the country.
Interestingly, Pendurkar is the first woman CEO at the US $ 41 billion Aditya Birla Group in its 160 years of existence.
Her appointment, however, comes at a time when PFRL is looking to reinvigorate its branding and marketing approach amidst mounting competition from the deep-pocketed and ruthless e-commerce marketplaces and offline value fashion retailers.
Besides, the increasing influx of foreign brands and retailers has also rendered the situation even more intense.
Nevertheless, Pendurkar boasts of impressive professional track record that could help her sail the challenge. Prior to joining PFRL, Pendurkar served as Managing Director, India & South Asia, at multinational food manufacturing company Kellogg. Earlier, she also held senior management roles at Coca-Cola India and HSBC Bank.
Santrupt Misra, Director, Group Human Resources at Aditya Birla Group, stated on the development that “She had the right experience in consumer-facing businesses like banking, food, FMCG”.
Started in 1997 as a Future Group company, PFRL was acquired by the Aditya Birla Group in 2013. The company today enjoys a pan-India presence in 78 Indian cities/towns through 209 fashion stores spanning 3.20 million square feet of retail space. Additionally, it also sells on all leading e-commerce portals.
PFRL’s current portfolio includes more than 200 brands – a blend of licensed, international and exclusive brands – offering a broad assortment of brand offerings across apparel and non-apparel categories and across varied price.
