The reason for the top-level departures at Nykaa remains unclear.
The chief executive officer of Nykaa Falguni Nayar is reportedly stepping up to directly oversee the marketing function at the Indian beauty and fashion e-commerce platform after six executives resigned since April, Reuter reported. The news of departures has occurred amidst increasing competition in the rapidly growing beauty and fashion sector in India.
The exits include that of Chief Marketing Officer Shalini Raghavan, a senior vice president for retail Kingshuk Basu; senior VP in the fashion unit Sumant Kasliwal; Aditya Sandhu from the business-to-business sales unit; VP Sachin Kataria from the e-commerce business; and VP for marketing and communications Shantanu Prakash. In addition, in June, Nykaa elevated Shailendra Singh as business head for physical retail – beauty.
While the reason for the top-level departures is unclear, Nykaa told the media outlet that the company is augmenting leadership roles with “an eye on strategic realignment, cost rationalization, and growing complexity of the business.” This series of top-management exits concerned investors about the company’s ability to retain talent and manage its future growth prospects.
Nykaa is a major player in the beauty and personal care market in India, offering beauty products through its website and physical stores, and competing with other major players like Tata Group and Reliance. Listed as FSN E-Commerce Ventures Ltd, Nykaa made its stock market debut through an initial public offering in November 2021.
Since the listing, the company’s shares have plummeted nearly 60%. Nykaa’s shares were offered to the public for Rs 1,125 and were listed at Rs 2,001 on BSE on its first trading day. Shares of the company are currently trading at Rs 147.60 on BSE at 2:40 pm today. The company reported a year-on-year revenue jump of 33% to Rs 1,301 crore in the January to March quarter but its net profit declined about 72% to Rs 2.4 crore over rising expenses, according to a report by The Economic Times.
