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Expats too sing the retail desi tune

Anjali Prayag

Mall management

Bangalore , May 21

It's not just Indians who are singing the new desi tune, but also scores of foreigners who are writing the notes for the Great Indian Retail Story.

The country is now playing host to scores of expats from key markets known for big format retail experience. Says Mr K. Sudarshan, Managing Partner, EMA Partners International, an executive search firm, "Expat hiring for mall management is definitely a trend. We need subject matter expertise from these countries, and they love to come here because it is an added dimension to their profile." Most of the hiring is obviously happening from proximal markets such as Malaysia, South Africa, Singapore, the UAE and other West Asian countries. For instance, Clarendon Parker Asia, a Dubai-based search firm, which recently launched its services in the country, has placed a top Filipino executive for an Indian retail giant. Shopper's Stop has hired Mr Andrew Levermore, a South African, as CEO for HyperCity, its hypermarket chain in the country. In fact, EMA Partners has set up `retail desks' in its offices in South Africa, Malaysia and Singapore to hire both Indians and non-Indians for the country's retail sector.

Mr Virendra Rastogi, Managing Director, Clarendon Parker, says that even Sri Lankans, Pakistanis and Egyptians have shown interest in an Indian professional stint.

Mr Sudarshan says that mall management companies in the country are also on the lookout for `recently retired' people from giants such as Tesco, Debenhams and Carrefour. "They will be hired as transition CEOs for 3-4 years. Generally they have shadow teams who take over from them in a couple of years." And with a compensation of $120,000-150,000 per annum, these CEOs do not need persuading to take up the offer.

What is interesting is that these expats have generally grown from the ranks and usually do not sport fancy B-school tags. But they are subject matter experts in mall management.

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