Damodar Mall, CEO – Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail

 
Damodar Mall is currently the Chief Customer Strategy Officer of Reliance Retail Ltd. He is the ex-Director, Integrated Food Strategy at Future Group and was part of Kishore Biyani’s core strategy team.
Mall is also the author of ‘Supermarketwala’ , an unconventional, insightful publication on consumers and retailing in India. His book continues to receive rave reviews from business heads across the retail and consumers fraternity for its fresh, perceptive outlook on changes sweeping the Indian consumer landscape.
“Damodar Mall, who was ‘born to be a grocer’ enthralls the reader with his insightful perspectives on Indian consumers,” says Harish Manwani, Global COO, Unilever.
In addition to his other responsibilities at Reliance Retail, Mall is also currently leading the company’s expansion into e-retail, with the launch of an online grocery shopping platform in a few select locations across Mumbai, including Navi Mumbai, South Mumbai and Thane.
Operated by Reliance Fresh, the website www.reliancefreshdirect.com allows consumers to place orders for 6,000-plus products, including fresh fruits and vegetables, groceries, dairy, confectionery, packaged foods and personal care items. The purchases are then home delivered through the closest Reliance Fresh outlet in the neighbourhood. There is also a pick-at-the-store option.
Before the launch, Reliance Retail had tested the concept on its 10,000 employees at the Reliance Corporate Park in Navi Mumbai.
Mall is a business graduate from IIM, Bangalore and an engineer from IIT Bombay. He won the gold medal in marketing at IIM Bangalore. He has earlier been responsible for promoting a supermarket chain with R K Damani in 1999-2000, which has since expanded into the 60-store D-Mart chain in western India.
He has also headed the first phone-order supermarket, Sangam Direct, for Unilever in 2003. He has been instrumental in shaping Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar for the Future Group.
An in-demand columnist and commentator, Mall writes an invitation blog ‘Shopkeeper-In-Law’ for Forbes India. He has also written columns for The Economic Times, DNA and Times of India, among others. He was profiled by business daily HT Mint in 2007 and was also part of the Coca-Cola Retail Research Committee of Asia from 2006-2009. He was a recipient of the Coca Cola Golden Spoon Award for the Most Admired Food & Grocery Retail Professional of the Year, presented by IMAGES Group in 2011.