Marks & Spencer appoints Ritesh Mishra as new India MD

Lifestyle retailer Marks & Spencer Reliance India Pvt Ltd., on Wednesday announced the appointment of Ritesh Mishra as the company’s new managing director.

Mishra was previously head of operations, and property, at the local arm of the British retailer. He succeeds James Munson, who led the India business for the past five years, and is set to assume the role of M&S international retail director in the United Kingdom.

Mishra will head M&S from the India support office in Gurgaon, Haryana, and report to Munson, the company said in a statement on Wednesday.

M&S India operates 91 stores in 34 cities across India including Delhi, Gurgaon, Noida, Amritsar, Mumbai, Pune, Kolkata, Bangalore, Chennai, Kochi, Surat, Kanpur, Hyderabad, Jaipur, and Chandigarh. It is present in India through a joint venture with Reliance Retail that it signed in April of 2008 to form Marks & Spencer Reliance India Pt. Ltd. M&S has the majority holding in the joint venture with a 51% share, and Reliance Retail with the remaining 49% share.

In his new role, Mishra will manage Marks & Spencer India’s leadership team and will be responsible for leading the growth of India operations. His appointment strengthens the retailer’s commitment to India as a market to innovate and grow locally as one of the largest international retailers, the company said.

Mishra has worked with the country’s top retailers across both offline and online retail operations, working across functions such as buying and merchandising, supply chain, and P&L management. In his previous assignments, Mishra worked with the Raymond Group, Pantaloon, Pepe Jeans, among other retail brands in India.

He has spent well over a decade working with M&S.

Meanwhile, on Munson’s exit, the company said that under his tenure the retailer reported a 50% increase in the number of stores across the country. “The M&S India flagship website and mobile app were launched under his leadership. As a result, he leaves behind a strong leadership team and a commercial operation that is faster, more digital, and closer to the customer," the firm said.

Mishra said M&S is on track to becoming the top international retailer in the country.