Page 52 - Images Retail January 2018

AWARDS

PRATIK SHAH

CEO & FOUNDER OF SPECSMAKERS
self-chiseled growth under his expertise
entrepreneur, and leadership by expanding
Pratik Shah, its footprint from a single
the CEO & store to 110 stores spread
Founder of across Chennai, Bengaluru
A Specsmakers and Madurai, in a span of 10
is a MBA in Finance & years.
Marketing from Spears School Shah’s interest and love are
of Business, Oklahoma State towards stocks, marketing and
University. His return to India banking. He steps up to the
was unavoidable as he had to next level as a tech evangelist,
handle his father’s wholesale who believes that software’s
business of optical lenses. can assist product demo’s
In just couple of years, he to attain new experience
envisioned to start India’s and better understanding to
fi rst single brand optical consumers.
retail chain. He launched the He is an avid believer of
fi rst outlet under the brand woman driven organisations brand to achieve 45 percent the brand to receive “South
‘Specsmakers’ at Anna Nagar, and has to that eff ect, woman staffi ng with an India’s Best Aff ordable
Chennai in 2007. appointed his wife Sonal overall head count of 462 Optician” by Times Retail
Specsmakers as brand Shah, the company’s COO. employees. His sheer passion Icon for two consecutive years
has shown phenomenal His belief has enabled the towards his work had made 2015 & 2016.

LAVANYA NALLI

VICE CHAIRMAN, NALLI GROUP OF COMPANIES
avanya Nalli is a hands-on leader with 12
years of experience across retail, e-commerce,
strategy and operations. She started her career
with the Nalli Group – a $100 million national
retail chain – focusing on new business
L development and growth opportunities, retail
store operations, and a private-label.
She later launched a sub-brand that penetrated untapped
markets, and incubated a venture that empowered artisanal
communities by bringing design-led products to market.
During her tenure, Nalli doubled its revenues, and expanded
from 14 to 21 stores.
Lavanya graduated from Harvard Business School with
an MBA in 2011, and worked at McKinsey & Company I am most passionate about is making Nalli,
(Chicago) advising CXOs of Fortune 500 companies on
issues ranging from top-line growth and profi t improvement the number one saree destination in the world.
initiatives, change management programs and multi- When I had joined the business in my early
channel strategy. twenties, I didn’t have knowledge about the
She moved to India in 2013 into the e-commerce world consumers and the product. So, in a way I was
as VP, Revenue & Shopping Experience at Myntra (Flipkart able to understand the business ground up. I had
Group) and is now leading the e-commerce, private-label my hunches, I tested it out with the costumer’s
and expansion eff orts at Nalli Group of companies. Her surveys or just through observations and then I
father, Nalli Kuppuswami Chetti received the award on her was able to do new things.
behalf.

52 | IMAGES RETAIL | JANUARY 2018