Ashish Dikshit appointed Madura’s CEO

After getting controlling stakes in Future Group’s Pantaloon

Retail, Aditya Birla Nuvo has named Ashish Dikshit as the CEO of Madura Fashion & Lifestyle, the country’s largest apparel maker. Dikshit will replace Pranab Barua who has takenover as the business director of apparel and retail division at Aditya Birla Nuvo, a Rs 21,000 crores conglomerate of Kumar Mangalam Birla.

On Monday, AV Birla Group and Kishore Biyani’s Future Group announced Rs 1,600 crores deal for AB Nuvo to acquire 50.01 per cent stake in the fashion business of Pantaloon Retail. The first of its kind move from the Future Group comes on the back of a debt burden it has been trying to get rid of for some time now. The Pantaloons fashion chain will be ultimately hived off and will become an arm of AB Nuvo after the transaction is completed in 8-10 months. Barua and Dikshit will be a part of the six-member fashion council created to advise the newly acquired business. Others in the council will be Kumar Mangalam Birla and Kishore Biyani, Pantaloon Retail (India) MD Rakesh Biyani and Pantaloon Retail Executive Director Kailash Bhatia. Sources say, the aim of the council will be to discuss the synergies between Madura Fashion and Pantaloons, identify growth drivers and review the business for profitability.

It may be noted that in March this year, AB Nuvo had made top management reshuffle. Barua, who handled textiles in addition to apparel, was roped in to revive the group’s food & grocery retail business under ‘More’ super market and hyper market stores. Thomas Varghese, who was heading the retail business, was designated as chief executive of textiles.