Global markets can learn from Indian ops' decisiveness, agility: Michelle Gass
Michelle Gass, chief executive of Levi Strauss & Co, said the denim maker's global operations should take a cue from the Indian business in terms of keeping speed, agility and execution of its retail strategy in a market, crucial to achieving its $10-billion annual revenue target, up from about $6 billion currently.
«Speed, decisiveness, agility, risk taking and making decisions, India does it really well. Every market has their own local product engine, but the bigger opportunity is operating like this speedy, agile retailer, and taking this culture of the Indian team and bringing that throughout the company is a great opportunity,» Gass told ET in an interview, adding that the Indian team is amongst the strongest it has globally.
«This is one of the most dynamic, exciting markets I have been to, and there's so much happening. We have had strength in the market for some time, but they are constantly challenging themselves to be better and evolve and that's what's accelerating our growth here,» she said.
Gass, a former Starbucks and Kohl's executive, joined Levi's last year, and assumed charge from long-time CEO Chip Bergh earlier this year.
Overall retail sales growth rate in India across segments such as apparel, footwear and quick service restaurants (QSR) slowed to 4-7% year-on-year every month in FY24, reflecting comparatively weaker consumer sentiment.
As the world's most populous nation, India is an attractive market for apparel brands, especially with youngsters increasingly embracing western-style
