Yv Rao
Retail & E-Commerce Leader | Head Merchandising Reliance Retail - Freshpik, Fresh Signature | 20+ Yrs in Buying, Merchandising, Private Brands, Supply Chain & D2C | Scaling Businesses | Advisor / Board Observer Aspirant.
- Role
- Head - Merchandising at Reliance Retail
- Location
- Navi Mumbai, MH, IN
- LinkedIn followers
- 500 followers
About Yv Rao
I’m a senior retail & e-commerce leader with 20+ years of experience building and scaling large consumer businesses across grocery, FMCG and general merchandise. My career spans leadership roles at Reliance Retail, HyperCity, StoreKing and BigBasket Instant, where I’ve combined category strategy, private brand development, omni-channel execution and disciplined P&L ownership to deliver sustainable growth.Currently, I head Buying & Merchandising for Freshpik / Fresh Signature at Reliance Retail, leading a premium grocery footprint of 150+ stores. My role covers assortment strategy, vendor partnerships, margin delivery, replenishment and customer experience for India’s premium food retail formats.Across my career, I’ve delivered outcomes that matter:• Led HyperCity’s Food & Grocery business to ~₹550 Cr annual revenue while pioneering private label growth and managing the Waitrose (UK) partnership, including assortment curation, licensing, promotions and profitability.• Built deep exposure to global retail best practices through collaborations with Waitrose, Marks & Spencer, Spar, Woolworths, Aeon, Lotte and others, studying formats, planograms, branding and operating models across markets.• Scaled StoreKing’s B2B marketplace to ~₹300 Cr annualised sales and partnered with Walmart to strengthen assortment and supply access.• Launched India’s first AI- and IoT-led smart retail format at BigBasket Instant, proving unit-level economics and supporting a successful acquisition.I’m an execution-focused leader who sets clear KPIs, tightens inventory and working capital, builds strong vendor partnerships, and develops teams that deliver consistently. I add the most value in Country / Business Head roles, senior merchandising or commercial leadership positions, and as an operating or advisory partner to PE-backed, family-office or founder-led consumer businesses.If you’re scaling a retail, FMCG, travel retail or D2C business and need someone who blends global retail thinking with hands-on execution, I’d be happy to connect.
Experience
Head - Merchandising
Nov 2023 — Present · Mumbai, IN
Freshpik, Fresh Signature and gofresh
Education
Indian School of Business
Certificate Cource in Retail Management, Retail Management
2012 — 2012
IIMC Degree College
Bachelor of Commerce (B.Com.Hons), Accounting and Finance
1992 — 1995
Pune University
Mba, Marketing, Finance
1995 — 1997
Skills
- Management
- Marketing
- Fmcg
- Budgeting
- Profit
- Business Development
- Leadership
- Sourcing
- Strategy
- Merchandising
- Training
- Store Management
- Team Management
- Budgets
- Fast-Moving Consumer Goods (Fmcg)
- Strategic Planning
- Competitive Analysis
- Business Operations
- Negotiation
- Pricing Strategy
- Merchandise Planning
- Pricing
- Sales
- Visual Merchandising
- Inventory Management
- Inventory Control
- Human Resources
- Retail
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