Sridharan, ex-Benetton honcho, set to join as Puma new India CEO

Sridharan will succeed Karthik Balagopalan who stepped down as the managing director of Puma India earlier this week.

Puma declined to comment on Sridharan's appointment. He did not respond to Mint's questions on the new position.

Sridharan has held senior leadership roles in the Asia-Pacific region and the UK, helming Benetton India since June 2021. Prior to this, he held senior positions at footwear brand Clarks and L'eros Fashions.

Puma's new CEO takes office at a difficult time when both rivals such as Adidas and Skechers as also new brands are impacting business for incumbents, an industry insider said. "So, for a new management, there will be a challenge—from getting more shelf space in stores to branding," an executive familiar with the development told Mint on the condition of anonymity. Adidas in India, too, has a new CEO in Vijay Chauhan starting 1 August.

Changes across supply chain, technology initiatives, digital adoption, product and brand discovery, and channels make for a complex situation, an expert said."The rapid pace of innovation, disruption is driving complex business models, and making it important for CEOs to navigate constantly evolving stakeholders," said Pakhi Saxena, partner, retail and consumer, Accord India, an executive search firm.

On 28 October, Puma announced that Balagopalan has stepped down to focus on family priorities in Germany. He was appointed to the position in May 2023. He succeeded Abhishek Ganguly, who had worked at Puma India for 17 years before leaving in 2023 with two other executives to co-found Agilitas Sports with an investment from cricketer Virat Kohli.

Balagopalan was formerly Puma’s global director of retail and e-commerce.

Earlier this year, Puma India had announced the end of its longtime partnership with Kohli ending an eight-year deal under which the German brand sold co-branded shoes with his venture one8.

On 9 September Benetton announced that Sridharan was leaving the company to pursue a new professional opportunity. It named Nikhil Upadhye as the new managing director of Benetton India effective 16 October.

Churn, competition

The move comes amid ongoing churn in the Indian retail market, with several top CEOs taking on new roles. This includes recent management changes at Arvind Fashions and Bestseller India, among others.

On 1 October, casual wear and denim retailer Arvind Fashions announced that Amisha Jain has assumed charge as managing director and CEO, succeeding Shailesh Chaturvedi, who stepped down from the role on 30 September.

Other recent leadership movements include Manish Kapoor, former MD and CEO of Pepe Jeans India, who took over as managing director of M&S India which retails the Marks & Spencer brand.

The retail market has gotten more competitive with more international brands as well as homegrown brands expanding both online and offline.

India's sports goods and apparel manufacturing business is worth $6.7 billion, consulting firm KPMG estimated in a report last month. It is expected to touch $10 billion by 2030.

As the business of sports apparel and athleisure grows, so is the competition. For instance, French sports goods retailer Decathlon reported ₹4,066.4 crore in annual revenue in FY24 and a net profit of ₹197.2 crore, per latest available company filings. Premium athleisure wear brand Lululemon – best known for its yoga pants – will also start sales in India next year via Tata CliQ, the e-commerce venture of the Tata Group.

Star athletes are launching brands as well; this month, cricketer Sachin Tendulkar launched his venture Ten X You with nearly $3.5 million in funding from Surge, owned by VC firm Peak XV.

For calendar year 2023, the latest period for which such data is available, Puma India reported a revenue from operations of ₹3,262.08 crore, up 10.5% from ₹2,953.35 crore in the previous year, according to data tracker Tofler. Its expenses grew faster: 14.8% to ₹3,257.53 crore reducing profits to ₹17.28 crore versus ₹140.12 crore in 2022.