CEO Spotlight: Govind Shrikhande, retailer and cricket buff

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CEO Spotlight: Govind Shrikhande, retailer and cricket buff

They are the people in the driver's seat at India Inc, steering the company on the growth path, motivating staff, managing shareholder expectations and playing brand ambassador. But have you wondered what is it that drives these high achievers and where are they coming from?

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They are the people in the driver's seat at India Inc, steering the company on the growth path, motivating staff, managing shareholder expectations and playing brand ambassador. But have you wondered what is it that drives these high achievers and where are they coming from?

Moneycontrol.com helps you get to know some of the chief executives better, through our weekly feature CEO Spotlight, where we get the top bosses to speak about their careers, likes, regrets, vision and aspirations.

This week we turn the spotlight on Govind Shrikhande, managing director of Shoppers Stop . Starting as a trainee at textile company Mafatlal, Shrikhande has now spent over a decade driving growth at the department store to hypermarket operator Shoppers Stop. In this interaction with moneycontrol.com, Shrikhande talks on a wide range of issues from his growth from a trainee to MD, future plans, his love for cricket, travel and corporate social responsibility.

Shrikhande says the labour unrest in the textile industry in the 80s and his experience of learning the trade at some of Mumbai's old textile markets as a trainee has shaped his move and then rise in the retail sector. Read on more about Shrikhande's life beyond the corner room office.

Below is the verbatim transcript of the interview. Also watch the attached video.

Q. You started life as a trainee at Mafatlal Industries. How has it been since then? Could you give us some insights?

Q. You started life as a trainee at Mafatlal Industries. How has it been since then if you could give us some insights?

A: I never expected to reach here so fast, so early. I come from a very small town called Kolhapur; my parents did not know what the textile industry was. In fact, I had never seen what a textile mill was, so it was a slight shock for them. But I still completed my textile technology and then my MBA and joined Mafatlal and I think it's been a great career that I have seen. I have learnt a lot about textiles, about apparel and then about retail. So it has been a great progress for me from backend to frontend. I never expected to become a retailer when I started my career but here I am now, a retailer for the last 20 years or so.

Q: In those 20 years you must have seen a lot of changes happening, from the unorganized to the branded retail market?

A: Unorganized was not even known when I began my career. Other than Bata, Carona and a few other retail chains in the textile field like Mafatlal, Bombay Dyeing or Raymond's. When I was a kid there were chains like DCM, Binny and Calico which got closed down as well.

2001 onwards we have seen dramatic change in India. The whole mall culture has come in and the whole consumption space has changed as salaries have increased. As people started travelling, they have started understanding the want and need differential. So earlier you bought only what you needed; now you are also buying what you want.

Looking at retail growth, 1991 is when Shoppers Stop started but 1991 to 2000 we had only 6 stores. 2000-2010 we had 35 stores but 2010 to 2014 we are likely to have 65 stores.  So the growth progression is absolutely dramatic. What we saw in 10 years can now be done in about 3-4 years time.

Q: You mentioned 35-65 stores in a matter of four years. How is life, very hectic?

A: I joined when we had just declared a big loss. Rs 24 crore loss had been declared. The first year itself was a big turnaround. We turned it around and made it profitable, and then it was a steady growth, adding 2-3 stores every year. Then again we went through a big change when the economic slowdown happened, we had launched certain formats, we closed down some of them, went through again another loss and then we rebuilt the company. Last three years have been pretty hectic and the next four years are going to be more hectic according to me.

Life is I would say 24/7 in retail, always open, always ready as we call it. While the world celebrates Independence Day on 15th August or whatever occasion, we are always open. So we as retailers have to be ready to serve the customers all the time and we are preparing the organization to be ready for the next big jump. Typically we are always ready to dip and that's something we have built on for a pretty long period. So I would say hectic, but enjoyable.

Q: When there are festivals happening and the retail is open for customer, you sometimes don't get all that time for your family?

A: You don't get a holiday. So sometimes you take your family to the store, allow them to shop while you are doing some work. They can still complain, but atleast they can do their shopping and you can do your work. So you can sometimes combine both of them together.

Q: Do you get time at all after your work hours? Do you get to travel with your family or pursue your hobbies?

A: Generally I take a holiday every year. This year I haven't been able to take a holiday yet, but I generally make it a point of at least taking one holiday a year. That does give you a break. But Sunday is definitely time for the family where you can go for a film, may be go for lunch or dinner somewhere, meet some friends, call friends at home etc. So Sunday is definitely reserved for family.

Q: What is your favourite travel destination?

A: Lot of them; internationally New York definitely is one of my most favourite. Locally Mahabaleshwar used to be my favourite because it is very easy to drive down there than any other place and may be Ooty.