The exodus of top executives from debt-ridden apparel retailer Koutons Retail is continuing unabated with Balvinder Singh Ahluwalia, who was the company’s President, becoming the latest to join the exit list.
“I have quit Koutons Retail recently and have not joined any other company yet,” Ahluwalia told PTI.
In the last one year Koutons Retail, which reportedly has around Rs 660 crore debt on its books and is currently undergoing a corporate debt restructuring (CDR), has seen a series of top executives leaving the company.
In February this year, two of its directors — Gurdarshan Singh Bhalla and Virender Kumar Gupta — resigned.
Last month, Arun Aggarwal, Company Secretary-cum-Compliance Officer of the company had quit. The company’s Chief Financial Officer, Ajay Mahajan, and Company Secretary, Poonam Chahal had left the firm last year.
Earlier this year, independent directors in the firm Vinod Chander Sinha, Girish Chandra Raghubir and Krishnamurthy Santhanam had stepped down citing health and personal reasons earlier this year. Other independent directors Ajay Mittal, Anil Kathod and Rajeev Grover also left in 2010.
Comments could not be obtained from the company as repeated calls to Koutons Retail Chairman DPS Kohli remained unanswered while its spokesperson declined to comment.
Earlier this year, the debt-ridden retailer had appointed SBI Capital Markets to draft the debt recast scheme.
“The CDR is likely to be completed in the next one month,” a company executive said on conditions of anonymity.
Koutons is the second such financially-troubled major retailer to have gone for a CDR after Vishal Retail.
Source : Business Standard
