With over 24 years of leadership across India, Thailand, Bangladesh, and the Middle East, Kumar Nitesh is a visionary driving large-scale retail transformation and sustainable business growth in Asia. As CEO of AJIO Business & Trends Footwear at Reliance Retail, he is spearheading innovation across product, format, and market strategies to elevate homegrown fashion brands in the Indian footwear industry. Kumar is known for his customer-centric, data-driven approach—successfully launching disruptive retail formats, executing strategic market entries, and engineering business turnarounds. He has managed P&L portfolios exceeding $400 million, scaled private labels, and built high-impact teams that deliver consistent, profitable growth.
His career foundation was built at Bata, where he spent over 14 years in senior leadership roles across South and Southeast Asia, followed by a successful stint with Apparel Group MENA, managing global brands like Hush Puppies, Dune London, Crocs, and Naturalizer across the GCC. At Reliance Retail, Kumar Nitesh has been instrumental in leading the turnaround of iconic brands like Lee Cooper, John Player, Payless, Catwalk, Performax, and Fashion World. He is driving the next phase of growth for AJIO and Trends Footwear through franchise-led expansion, private label scaling, and mass-market innovation.
His leadership has also pioneered B2B and B2B2C strategies to bridge the gap between India’s organized and unorganized retail sectors. Under his guidance, the business has consistently delivered double-digit growth, built high-performance teams, and scaled profitably across diverse retail formats. Philosophy & Leadership “People do not buy products. They buy stories, experiences, and magic.” This belief defines Kumar’s leadership style—purpose-driven, empathetic, and performance-focused. His spiritual grounding fuels his clarity, creativity, and ability to inspire high-performing, values-led teams. Educationally enriched by RetailCo (Singapore) and ADVANCO (Europe) programs, Kumar blends a deep understanding of Asian consumer behavior with insights into European retail best practices, giving him a unique ability to scale businesses across geographies.