Four top-level exits at Shoppers Stop this fiscal

K Raheja Corp promoted Shoppers Stop has had a troubled year so far with numerous top-level exits. While Salil Nair was the latest to quit as chief executive officer (CEO) on January 31, 2017, there have been three more top-level exits from the company taking the total to four in fiscal 2017.

What is really surprising though is that three of the four exits are by executives who have had a long association with the BSE-listed retail company while the fourth executive had a very short stint of under 10 months.

C K Nair, who was with Shoppers Stop for almost 22 years, quit in April 2016. Nair was chief operating officer of Homestop, the company's premium home solutions retail chain. Nair is currently running a retail consultancy firm as its director since August 2016.

Following the suit was Manohar Kamath who began his association with Shoppers Stop in September 2008. Being with the company for eight years, he handled various positions between/with Shoppers Stop and Crossword Book Store before moving out in August 2016 as the chief operating officer (COO) of Shoppers Stop. Kamath is now chief of Myntra Fashion since September last year.

Another senior level exit was of Debasish Gupta, who was appointed senior vice president and head - marketing, loyalty and analytics for Shoppers Stop in February 2016. "Debasish shares our values and our focus on innovation and customer-delight. He brings rich domain experience and marketing leadership to Shoppers Stop. I am confident that his vision and leadership will help us grow by leaps and bounds," Govind Shrikhande, customer care associate and managing director, Shoppers Stop Ltd, had said while announcing Gupta's appointment in March 2016.

However, Gupta quit Shoppers Stop within 10 months of his appointment, industry sources told DNA Money. While Gupta's LinkedIn profile still carries his old designation, the retailer confirmed his exit saying, "Debasish Gupta resigned from his post in early December 2016."

And finally, Salil Nair chose to move out of Shoppers Stop a little over a week ago after working with the company for over 23 years. In a statement to DNA Money, the retailer said that Salil Nair has decided to pursue other opportunities beyond the Shoppers Stop family. "He has spent over 23 enriching years at Shoppers Stop and has been an integral part of our retail journey. Salil has had a remarkable career at Shoppers Stop starting from store operations, expanding to buying and merchandising and ultimately occupying the role of chief executive officer. He has grown exponentially in the organisation and has enabled the company to grow from strength to strength," Shoppers Stop said without sharing further details.