Fast Trade: The war on fast trade expands into a battle for leadership talent

Poaching is rampant and salaries of Rs 2-3 crore, plus millions in stock, are on offer for top talents like… Swiggy convenience storeZepto, Blinkit and Flipkart are focusing on strengthening their leadership teams in the face of intensifying competition, recruiters and industry people said.

“Fast-trade is one of the few sectors that has attracted capital even in the current funding situation. Most companies are well-funded and are aggressively focused on building the fast trade “We are very keen to invest in the right business and the right talent,” said Anuj Roy, managing partner at executive search firm Fidius Advisory.

Ashish Sanganeria, senior partner at executive search firm Transearch, said the explosion of Q-commerce has changed things in the job market.

“Suddenly, a lot of opportunities have opened up,” he said. “Some of these senior managers would not have gotten jobs a few months ago because the market didn’t allow them to do so or they didn’t have options in terms of scale. That has changed.”

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Unlike the failure stories of similar models around the world, Q-commerce has been a success story in India. Strategic consulting firm Edit The US Department of Agriculture has predicted that the gross merchandise value (GMV) of the fast-growing industry in the country will grow at a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 40-45% over the next three years.

While Blinkit, Antics Instamart and Zepto are the three major players, Flipkart’s Minutes fast commerce service has just gone live in Gurgaon after Bengaluru. As reported by ET, BigBasket would be moving to a completely fast delivery model, while Amazon plans to launch its fast commerce offering in India next year.

Zepto, Swiggy, Instamart and Flipkart are the most aggressive in hiring, industry sources said, adding that Amazon is not hiring on a large scale yet.

Flipkart is likely to reshuffle several senior managers but will also have to hire staff as it is one of the most fertile grounds for hiring due to the scale of its operations. It is also likely to lose more staff to rivals in the coming months, recruiters and industry insiders said.

Elderly people’s movements

This year we have already seen a lot of senior moves in the space, with Zepto and Swiggy Instamart leading the way.

Zepto’s senior hires so far in 2024 include Martin Dinesh Gomez, its chief people officer who joined from Amazon, Vivek Prasad, senior vice president of private brands, who came from Own brandsand Ashwinikumar Patil, Head of Product who joined from Walmart Global TechnologyApart from this, Zepto promoted Nikhil Mittal to CTO and Devendra Meel to CCO.

“We are always looking for exceptional talent to propel us forward and are shaping roles based on their unique strengths,” said Aadit Palicha, CEO of Zepto. “We are committed to building a strong leadership team and fostering an environment that values ​​growth, ownership and impact, ensuring our people have a meaningful stake in Zepto’s success.”

Earlier this month, Swiggy Instamart hired former Flipkart executive Amitesh Jha as CEO after Sairam K joined as COO from More Retail in August. Its other recent additions include Himavant Srikrishna Kurnala as SVP – Product, Aakash Bhotika as VP – Business and Mayank Rajvaidya as VP – Fruits & Vegetables, among others.

“The growing popularity of fast commerce in India is driving this demand for talent,” said Girish Menon, CHRO of Swiggy.

Anshuman Das, chief executive of executive search firm Longhouse Consulting, expects the market to become even more competitive as companies like JioMart and Reliance Retail’s DMart will also want a piece of the action.

“Everyone is betting on the speed of trade. While traditional operators will fight to defend their turf and gain market share, new entrants can be more innovative,” he said. “In all of this, high-level talent will play a key role in driving the strategy.”

According to Das, while vice presidents can get an annual remuneration of over Rs 200 crore, senior vice presidents can go up to Rs 300 crore or more. The stock component can range from $1 million to $3 million and even over $5 million for specific and proven talent at the CXO level, he said.