Five executives at India's Nykaa resign in latest departures

Five executives at India's Nykaa have resigned, a spokesperson said on Friday, the latest departures at the beauty company amid intensifying competition and a falling stock price.

Among the exits are Chief Commercial Operations Officer Manoj Gandhi, Chief Business Officer of fashion division Gopal Asthana, and Chief Executive Officer of wholesale business Vikas Gupta - all executives of Nykaa.

Shuchi Pandya, a vice president of Nykaa fashion division's Owned Brands business, and Lalit Pruthi, a vice president of finance at the fashion unit, have also resigned.

A Nykaa spokesperson told Reuters it sees "some of these mid-level exits as a part of the standard annual appraisal and transition process, wherein, people exit due to performance or to pursue other opportunities."

"Voluntary and involuntary exits are expected in a fast-paced, growth-focused, consumer tech organisation with over 3,000 on-roll employees," the company said in response to queries from Reuters on the executives' departures.

Gandhi, Asthana and Gupta declined to comment, while the other two executives did not immediately respond to a Reuters request for comment.

Nykaa competes with Indian conglomerates Tata Group and Reliance, both of which have interests in the beauty sector, as all companies compete for a share of the fast-growing $16 billion beauty and personal care market in the world's second-most populous country.

Nykaa, whose parent is FSN E-Commerce Ventures, had surged 96% in a blockbuster market debut in 2021, fetching a near-$14 billion valuation. But its stock has plunged amid a broader rout in startups, falling around 68% from the all-time high in November 2021.