New Delhi: Reliance Retail is on the prowl and suddenly attrition levels have risen in the retail industry and so have salaries, even of mid-level executives.
With Reliance's entry, the game's got more exciting. Reliance Retail's recruitment drive has led to a major people movement in the sector.
Pantaloon is estimated to be seeing the highest attrition rate of between 35 and 40 per cent, and Piramyd's about 20 per cent, followed by Lifestyle and Shopper's Stop.
Reliance Retail has been responsible for a large chunk of those percentages. Reliance Retail has gone on a shopping spree, picking up about a thousand mid-level retail professionals like store operators and merchandisers.
The company has been offering hard-to-resist packages with hikes that stretch between 25 and 60 per cent over existing salaries and perquisites. Pantaloon is already feeling the heat.
Big Bazaar's category heads like Hans Udeshi for general merchandise and Prabal Ghosh for shoes are some who have joined Reliance Retail.
But sources say companies like Pantaloon and Shopper's Stop are trying to plug the outflow with better salaries and benefits. The top-rung at Reliance Retail is a gallery of high-profile prize catches with annual salaries of more than Rs 2 crore.
Some of the big names are Raghu Pillai from Pantaloon, Rajeev Karwal, ex-MD of Electrolux and Bijou Kurien from Titan.
More names will be added to this list of 15 to 20 people, who will head various categories like apparel, consumer durables and FMCG, under Reliance's mega retail venture that plans a rollout of hypermarkets and supermarkets before the end of this year.
Sensing all this buzz from a distance is Bharat Rathod, a kirana owner for 12 years. Studies suggest that traditional retailers like him will continue to grow at between 5-6 per cent, while modern trade formats grow at between 25 and 30 per cent. But an unconvinced Rathod wants to join Reliance Retail.
He says, "If the big companies offer us a job that requires experience and pays, we will want to close our retail outlet and work there."
Reliance and others might look at tapping local retailers as the manpower crunch worsens. But others feel kiranawalas lack the skill sets for modern retail trade. Even so, Reliance Retail, which is out to change the face of retail in India, might find a way around that too.
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