The Aditya Birla group appointed Thomas Varghese as the new chief executive officer (CEO) of Aditya Birla Retail, replacing Sumant Sinha, who will move out after spending six-and-a-half years with the group. Thomas Varghese is currently senior executive president and head of Grasim’s pulp division.
Sinha confirmed media that he’s got another challenging opportunity outside the group.
Under Sinha’s leadership, Aditya Birla Retail built its presence through an aggressive expansion spree in southern India that included acquisition of the Trinethra retail chain that gave it access to over 500,000 square feet of retail space, through 170 stores.
Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla has plans to spend nearly Rs 8,000 crore to Rs 9,000 crore for the retail business. The group already has expertise in apparel retail through group company Madura Garments, which owns and markets brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England.
