Future Group hires Jabong's fashion unit head Manjula Tiwari

MUMBAI| KOLKATA: The talent-poaching trend in the retailing industry may be changing. Future Group has roped in Manjula Tiwari from online rival Jabong where she headed the women’s fashion division. She joins a league of senior executives who are increasingly shifting from e-commerce or startup companies to brick-and-mortar firms.
Reliance Retail, Shoppers Stop, Aditya Birla Retail, Tata and RPG have all hired mid- to seniorlevel officials from ecommerce rivals recently to help them set up omni-channel initiatives that cater to online and offline sales. “Manjula will develop a womenfocused fast fashion brand that will be designed in London.

The brand will be created keeping in mind both offline and online trade,” said a senior official who didn’t wish to be identified. Even chains such as Lifestyle and Spencer’s Retail are planning to hire professionals with a background in ecommerce or consumer technology platforms to start their online ventures.

Lifestyle plans to start its ecommerce business by next year and Spencer’s may have a soft launch this year, industry officials said. HR firm Quess Group chairman and MD Ajit Isaac said the hiring of ecommerce professionals by brick-and-mortar stores is a selfdefence strategy to compete against the new shopping medium and reach out to newer consumers.

“There are cycles of recruitment in any industry and ecommerce is trending now in the consumer services industry. We had seen a similar wave 4-5 years back when ecommerce firms were poaching talent from offline stores and service providers to build their business,” he said. While for Tiwari it is like a homecoming as she earlier worked with Benetton and Aditya Birla Retail, several others have little or no background in retail.

And that’s precisely the value addition, said experts. “Online selling is beyond just retailing. The person needs to have a sound knowledge in technology and how he can leverage it for consumers in a better way,” said Shivanandan Pare, head of trendin. com, an ecommerce venture at Madura Fashion and Lifestyle.