Shankar Suryanarayan joins Lifestyle International as V-P, marketing

Shankar Suryanarayan has joined Lifestyle International, part of the Dubai based Landmark Group, as vice-president, marketing. Prior to this, he was general manager, sales and marketing, at Lotte Confectionery (formerly Parry’s Confectionery). His mandate at Lifestyle International will be to head its marketing function. He will give strategic direction to the marketing function and simultaneously foster brand-building initiatives to position Lifestyle as a leading retailer in India. He will report to Kabir Lumba, executive director, Lifestyle International.

Commenting on his role, Suryanarayan says, “Retail is on a boom in the country. My challenge here will be to drive market interest among the competition and make the Lifestyle brand stand out for its true fashion values.”

He remembers playing a pivotal role in the turnaround of the Murugappa Group’s Parry’s Confectionery and then subsequently disinvesting it to Lotte, Korea. Some of the other companies he has worked with include Perfetti, Cadbury’s Bournvita and BPL India. At BPL, he played a crucial role in looking after the company’s soft energy business and launching the ‘power cell’.

Lifestyle has 11 stores in India, in Chennai, Hyderabad, Bengaluru, Gurgaon, Delhi, Mumbai and Ahmedabad. Recently, it won the Lycra Images Fashion Award 2006 for the Most Admired Large Format Retailer of the Year.

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