Shashwat Goenka now chairman of Spencer's Retail

Shashwat Goenka, Sector Head - Retail & FMCG, at the multi-format hypermarket retailer Spencer’s Retail, has been appointed as chairman after RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group Chairman Sanjiv Goenka stepped down from the board of the company as part of a succession plan. Sanjiv Goenka stepped down from the position of chairman and director of the company with effect from close of business hours on May 22, the company informed in a filing to the stock exchanges. 

“As a part of succession planning and since Shashwat Goenka is overseeing the affairs of the company, Sanjiv Goenka being the Non-Executive Non Independent Director has stepped down from the position of Chairman and Director of the Company with effect from close of business hours on May 22, 2023,” Spencer’s said in the regulatory filing on Monday.

Shashwat has been appointed by the board as the chairman of the company, effective May 23, 2023, as per the BSE filing.

After graduating from the Wharton School at the University of Pennsylvania, Shashwat joined the group company as a director on November 14, 2018. Thirty-three year old Shashwat is the immediate past President of Indian Chamber of Commerce and current Chairman of National Committee on Retail and FICCI Young Leaders Forum. He is also Executive Committee Member - Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce & Industry, Member - FICCI Retail & Internal Trade Committee and Director - Retailers Association of India (RAI).

Shashwat joined the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group in 2012 and soaked his feet in the group’s businesses including power, manufacturing, media & entertainment, before heading the management of Spencer’s, a multi-format retailer having presence in over 35 cities across India. He took up the challenge to revive the loss-making retail chain.

Revenues of Spencer’s Retail at ₹1,350 per square feet per month now are more than double the ₹600 per sq. ft. per month when he took over. The company’s OMNI Channel Business turned EBITDA positive for the first time with a Gross merchandise value (GMV) of ₹302 crore for FY23.

In the recently concluded March 2023 quarter, Spencer’s reported standalone turnover of ₹482 crore and gross margin of 18.2%. For the financial year 2022-23, the company logged a business growth of 6.6% YoY, while gross margin stood at 20.1%, supported by both food & non-food categories. The revenue for the fiscal stood at ₹2,452 crore and EBITDA was at ₹36 crore.

During the year, the company added 9 stores with a trading area of 81.4k sq.ft., including  7 Spencer’s stores and 2 Natures Basket stores. Spencer’s operates with 151 stores with a total trading area of 13.36 lakh square feet as of Mar 31, 2023.

Commenting on Q3 earnings, Shashwat Goenka, says, “Our Sales continue to grow by 6.6% on consolidated basis for FY23 on year-on-year, driven by our initiatives which includes higher share of Non-Food mix, growing OMNI channel business and increasing our footprint in existing clusters.”

“We continue to measure the performance of our new format ‘Spencer's Value Market'. Basis the stabilisation of these stores, we shall decide the way forward. The initial consumer response has been encouraging," he adds.