Stanley Retail hires luxury brand veteran Abhijeet Sonar as chief executive

BENGALURU: Stanley Retail has found its growth driver. Abhijeet Sonar, who has spent nearly three decades turning around luxury brands and scaling premium businesses, takes over as chief executive of the furniture retailer, part of Stanley Lifestyles.

The hire signals intent. Stanley wants a bigger slice of India’s super-premium furniture market, and Sonar’s pedigree fits the brief. He led growth at Hansgrohe Group across India and SAARC, rescued Villeroy & Boch from the doldrums whilst expanding its showroom network, and pushed Audi’s luxury car business in Mumbai. Stints at Intercontinental Hotels and Jet Airways taught him what wealthy buyers want—and how to deliver it.

Sonar is blunt about his mandate. “My mission is to accelerate the growth of one of India’s most respected luxury brands and shape it into a world-class luxury house with global standards and ambition”.

His strategy hinges on three things: purpose, people and performance. The plan is to turn Stanley into what he calls a “future-ready luxury ecosystem”, back the teams across retail and manufacturing, and expand with an eye on the profit-and-loss account.

Sunil Suresh, founder of Stanley Lifestyles, thinks he has his man. “Abhijeet’s strategic clarity, global exposure and ability to build strong, profitable brands make him exceptionally suited to lead our next phase of growth”.

The message is clear: Stanley wants scale, but only if the margins hold. Sonar’s job is to make it happen—no excuses, no delays.