As Future Group gears up for a new ownership under Reliance Retail, some of the group’s long-term senior executives have quit the company. Media reports suggest, last month Vineet Jain, CEO-North quit after 17 years with the company. He joined value retailer V-Mart Retail as the new chief operating officer. Jain’s southern counterpart Venkateswar Kumar, also resigned. He is a Future Group veteran with more than 15 years with the company. Aruni Mishra, business head for general merchandise at Big Bazaar, quit Future Group last month.
The departures of senior executives are happening amid a case filed by Amazon in the Singapore International Arbitration Centre challenging the sell-off of Future Group's assets to Reliance. Amazon.com NV Investment Holdings LLC had accused Future Coupons – the promoter entity of Future Retail in which Amazon owns 49 per cent stake – of breaching of a contract signed between the promoter company and the US giant.
In August, Reliance announced it would acquire the nation’s second largest retail enterprise, Future Group, for Rs 24,713 crore in a deal that would give it control over more than a third of India’s $80 billion annual organized retailing business.
