The Mumbai-based company said it has strengthened its leadership team by on-boarding the seasoned professional reckoned for leading large-scale business transformations and creating strong consumer brands in India and Southeast Asia.
The lifestyle business is the flagship vertical of Raymond Group which includes branded textiles, fermenting, shirting, retail and apparel business. The business includes brands such as Raymond, Raymond Ready-to-Wear, Raymond Made to Measure, Park Avenue, Colorful, Park and Ethnic by Raymond.
Gautam Hare Singhania, chairman and managing director, Raymond Ltd, said that over the last few years the company has made strong strides and created brands and retail experiences for new-age consumers. Katarina could be instrumental in accelerating growth for the business in India and international markets, he added.
In 2019, Raymond had announced the merger of its core lifestyle business and its listing as a separate entity in a bid to create two separate companies. However, the merger scheme of the lifestyle business was subsequently withdrawn. Instead, the company moved to consolidate its apparel business.
With a focus to fast track the recovery post pandemic, Raymond will consolidate its B2C business by transfer of apparel business into Raymond Ltd. This move will strengthen efficiencies, streamline and simplify processes and bring in synergy benefits in terms of design and innovation, sourcing and retail network, it said in a 2021 September filing to the exchanges.
The company has witnessed an overhaul of processes and technology over the last few years.
In an endeavor to emerge as a new age lifestyle conglomerate, technology has been increasingly playing a significant role. Its latest slew of launches be it—DIY range of denims, home concierge services, stylist advisory, virtual trade shows, and bookings, increasing presence on e-commerce and various other initiatives are ably aided by technology across consumer lifecycle, the company said.
Katarina is the second executive to lead the lifestyle business since 2020 after Sanjay BHL quit in 2020; mid last year Joe Kuruvilla stepped down from the role.
In his new role, Katarina will be responsible for steering the next phase of growth by driving the digital agenda and strengthening the brand's presence in domestic and international markets.
At Raymond, we believe in having industry's finest talent that resonates with our vision to create a future ready organization. During the last few years, we have been making stronger strides and creating brands and retail experiences for our loyal and new-age consumers, Raymond Chairman & Managing Director Gautam Hare Singhania said in a regulatory filing.
The Lifestyle Business is the flagship vertical of Raymond Group which includes branded textiles, fermenting, shirting, retail and apparel verticals.
Katarina's role will be pivotal in driving the ongoing transformation to create a future ready entity that intersperses digital and physical experiences while infusing freshness to the product portfolio to drive growth, the company stated.
Last month, GCPL announced that Sunil Katarina, chief executive officer, India and SAA RC, had decided to step down from his role to pursue an opportunity outside the company.
During his earlier stint as the CEO of Gore Consumer Products Ltd, Katarina managed the business operations of India and Southeast Asia.
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