Manoj Bathija

Head Sales & Operations - Retail & Wholesale @ celio India

About

Senior business leader with 23+ years of experience driving growth and transformation, currently spearheading Celio India’s retail and omni-channel business, with previous leadership roles at Levi’s and Vodafone. I have led businesses across three distinct stages: start-up, established, and turnaround environments, giving me a unique perspective on how brands grow, scale, and reinvent themselves. This breadth of exposure has shaped my approach to building repeatable, profitable, and consumer-centric growth models. What I’m known for: • Strategic business planning and brand positioning, aligning commercial objectives with long-term brand value. • Scaling multi-format retail businesses across exclusive brand stores, franchise models, large-format retail, MBOs, and omni-channel platforms. • Driving P&L ownership and profitable business economics across channels through structured growth and disciplined cost management. • Building strong strategic partnerships with leading large-format retailers and MBO partners across India, applying robust key account management principles. • Developing and leading high-performance teams, fostering ownership, accountability, and collaboration. • Driving KPI-led execution and disciplined growth, aligning cross-functional teams and stakeholders to deliver consistent outcomes. • Turning around underperforming businesses when required through focused strategy and execution. • Leading with clarity, empathy, and accountability. I thrive in environments that require strategic thinking, commercial discipline, and hands-on leadership, and I’m passionate about building strong teams and long-term brand value.

Country

India

City

Mumbai

Industry

Apparel & Fashion

Skill

Brand Positioning, Go-to-Market Strategy, Growth Strategy, Retail Strategy, Omni-Channel Strategy, Market Expansion, P&L Management, Sales & Marketing Leadership, Large-Format Retail, Franchise Development, Distribution Strategy, Key Account Management, Strategic Partnerships, Category Management, Merchandising Collaboration, Business Turnaround, SOP Development, Team Leadership, Stakeholder Management

Experience

Head Sales & Operations - Retail & Wholesale

celio India

2017-7 - Present · 9 yrs 3 mos

Mumbai, Maharashtra, India

Highlights: • Leading Celio India’s business transformation, scaling revenue from a ₹130 Cr base to a ₹400+ Cr profitable, omnichannel operation. • Strengthening partnerships with leading large-format retailers. Drove brand repositioning to achieve Top 5 ranking in Lifestyle and Top 8 in Shoppers Stop, while improving category share and store productivity. • Expanded the retail footprint to 70+ stores, including flagship locations, while building a six-partner franchise network. • Launched and scaled the Multi-Brand Outlet (MBO) channel, now the highest EBITDA-contributing business. • Built and led a high-performance sales and operations organization, driving strong ownership and accountability. • Steered the business through the COVID period, maintaining financial discipline across cost, inventory, and cash flow. • Defined and executed the long-term growth blueprint, covering market prioritization, partner strategy, and retail experience benchmarks.

Regional Sales Manager - North India Wholesale & National Key Accounts

Levi Strauss & Co.

2009 - 2017 · 8 yrs

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Progressed from Zonal Sales Manager (2009-2012) to Regional Sales Manager roles across South India (2013-2015) and North India (2015-2017), leading wholesale and national key accounts with additional responsibility for Sri Lanka and Nepal. Highlights: • Delivered double-digit revenue growth for 8 consecutive years across India wholesale and key accounts. • 3× CEO Award Winner and multiple National Sales Championship recognitions. • Led India wholesale and national key accounts, driving strong distributor and franchise ROI. • Oversaw Nepal and Sri Lanka as additional regional responsibilities. • Led national SOP and capability initiatives adopted across the organization.

Key Account Manager - Enterprise

Vodafone

2002-5 - 2008-10 · 6 yrs 6 mos

Bengaluru, Karnataka, India

Progressed from Customer Service Trainee to Store Manager, Corporate Key Account Manager, Area Sales Manager, and finally Manager - Enterprise (Bangalore) within Vodafone. Highlights: • Managed marquee enterprise accounts (Accenture, HP, Oracle, ITC, SAP), achieving industry-leading penetration, retention, and service excellence. • Grew SME and enterprise postpaid base across Karnataka. • Multiple national performance awards for target achievement and growth. • Part of Vodafone’s Karnataka pre-launch team. • Built strong capabilities in negotiation, consultative selling, and partner engagement.