~ Kavitha comes on board with over 23 years of experience and has held various leadership roles with companies like IKEA, Accenture, Target & Unilever
Bengaluru, 9th, January 2024: 10Clubhomes, a leading consumer goods brand for everything Home & Kitchen, today announced the appointment of Kavitha Rao as their new Co-founder and Chief Operating Officer. Kavitha brings over two decades of leadership experience gained through her journey across various leadership roles in the retail and consumer industry. In her new role with 10clubhomes, Kavitha will lead various business functions to drive growth and profitability.
In addition to this, she will play a pivotal role in spearheading the company’s retail expansion plan across both online and offline channels, doubling down on the category roadmap and leading high-performance daily operations to further grow 10clubhomes in the dynamic Indian retail and consumer market. Prior to this, Kavitha Rao was the Managing director of Accenture’s Retail division where she led the retail industry practice and supported retailers in their transformation journey across business, technology and operations.
Kavitha also worked at IKEA for 7.5 years, where she was part of the India management team in their start-up phase in India. In her last role as Chief Commercial Officer, she was responsible for the business functions of Sales, Marketing, Sourcing, Merchandising, Retail Design, Customer Experience and Food business across both physical and online retail channels; focused on build the IKEA brand. Holding an MBA from IIM Lucknow, she brings a wealth of experience from her consulting roles at Infosys, Capgemini, and Accenture, where she focused on transforming the businesses of various global retailers and consumer companies.
Commenting on the announcement, Bhavna Suresh, Founder, 10clubhomes said, ‘’When Kavitha and I discovered that we shared the goal of building a homegrown consumer business in the Home & Kitchen category for India, our shared vision inspired us to join forces. I am thrilled that we have come together, because with Kavitha’s extensive expertise and successful track record in the retail and lifestyle industry, it is going to be a much more enjoyable experience building to disrupt this extremely large opportunity. I am immensely grateful to have found a partner of her caliber as she embarks on her entrepreneurial stint. The board and team at 10clubhomes are fully committed to supporting and empowering her as she takes on the mandate with the focus on expansion of the brand, while ensuring explosive growth with a firm hand on profitability.”
Speaking on her appointment, Kavitha Rao, Co-founder and COO, 10clubhomes said “As the new Co-founder & COO, I am extremely excited for the unlimited opportunities that lie ahead. Together with Bhavna and the entire team at 10clubhomes, I look forward to expanding our footprint across the country with the intent to make high quality home and kitchen products at incredible prices, accessible across all consumer touchpoints. I am committed to steering us towards new heights as I embark on this journey of making 10clubhomes India’s go to consumer brand for everything home and kitchen.”
Highlighting the growth potential in the Home category, Kavitha added, “The projected CAGR of 12-15% over the next 5 years underscores the promising trajectory of the Home category, driven by increased consumer spending and the evolving aspirations of Indian consumers for their homes. Going forward, the commitment is to be where our consumers are – whether online or offline. We already have a presence in market places across India, in addition to our own website. We are exploring partnerships and collaborations to build our physical presence and will also explore our own stores. Further, we are actively exploring distribution possibilities for specific products in our range. All these initiatives align with our ambitious goal of becoming a 1000 crore brand in the coming years.’’
Under Kavitha’s leadership, 10clubhomes aims to meet the evolving needs of Indian consumers with a strategic focus on brand-building, expansion, product design, and technology to enhance the shopping experience. Various initiatives focussed on deeper market penetration, category expansion and cost optimization will enable 10clubhomes to become a 1000 crore brand in the coming years.
Valued at $30 billion, India’s Home and Kitchen industry is rapidly expanding, yet it predominantly exists as an informal category. Recognizing the market potential, 10clubhomes has recently announced a strategic pivot for the next phase of growth with a strong focus on organizing and bringing structure to the informal industry, aiming to become the most trusted and go-to brand for everything home and kitchen across every corner of India.
