Meller India Head

Job description

Meller India Head Mission Brief: Build and Scale Meller as a Business in India Meller, Lenskart's Barcelona-born, D2C-first sunglasses brand is entering its next chapter in India. Known for bold silhouettes, expressive colourways, and a design language rooted in Barcelona's street culture, Meller has a cult following of 700K+ on Instagram and a strong Gen Z and Millennial fan base across Europe and the U.S. This role owns Meller as a business in India end-to-end P&L, growth strategy, and operational execution across retail, e-commerce, and marketing. Sitting at Lenskart's India HQ, you will effectively run Meller India as a founder would: setting the strategy, building the team, and making the commercial, brand, and operational calls that turn Meller to a category-leading sunglasses brand in India. This is a builder's role at the intersection of business leadership, brand, and retail. You'll work closely with the global Meller team in Barcelona, Lenskart's leadership, and internal functions spanning category, retail, e-commerce, supply chain, and finance while building a lean India team to execute the mission. 🔑 Core Mandate: Business Ownership & P&L Leadership 1. Business Strategy & P&L Ownership (The Founder Focus) P&L Ownership: Own Meller India's P&L end-to-end — revenue, margin, and profitability — making the trade-offs needed to build a healthy, scaling business. Business Strategy: Define and drive Meller's India growth strategy — market entry sequencing, channel mix, pricing, and expansion roadmap across retail and online. Brand Architecture Fit: Position Meller within Lenskart's house-of-brands portfolio (alongside John Jacobs, Owndays, and Le Petit Lunetier), with clear differentiation in price, design, and audience. Investment & Resource Allocation: Decide where to invest — stores, marketing, people, technology — to maximise growth and return, and build the business case for future investment. 2. Retail, Category & Channel Execution (The Growth Focus) Retail Rollout & Performance: Own store performance and expansion across the ~500 launch stores and beyond — driving sell-through, productivity, and the store economics that justify further rollout. Category & Assortment Strategy: Partner with category and buying teams to shape the assortment strategy, ensuring product-market fit for Indian consumers while staying true to Meller's global design DNA. E-commerce & D2C Growth: Drive Meller's presence and growth across Lenskart's app, website, and D2C channels, balancing brand experience with commercial performance. Channel & Partnership Development: Identify and build new channels and partnerships — marketplaces, collaborations, wholesale, or others — that extend Meller's reach in India. 3. Brand, Marketing & Consumer Experience Brand Custodianship: Ensure Meller's brand voice, positioning, and consumer experience in India stay true to its bold, design-led, youth-first DNA within global brand guidelines. Marketing Strategy Oversight: Set the direction for Meller's marketing engine in India — brand campaigns, influencer and community building, and performance marketing — and hold the team accountable for outcomes. Consumer Insight: Build a strong read on the Indian Gen Z and Millennial consumer — fashion trends, buying behaviour, and sentiment — to keep Meller's proposition sharp. Influencer Marketing/ Socail Media execution/ performacne to be added 4. Global Coordination, Team & Stakeholder Leadership Global Coordination: Serve as the primary interface between the Barcelona-based Meller team and Lenskart's India leadership — aligning on strategy, brand consistency, and market learnings. Cross-Functional Leadership: Work closely with Retail, E-commerce, Category, Supply Chain, and Finance to ensure the business runs as one integrated system. Team Building: Build, mentor, and lead a lean, high-performing India team capable of running Meller as an independent, founder-led business within Lenskart. Leadership Reporting: Own business reviews and reporting cadences with Lenskart and Meller global leadership — covering performance, strategy, and course corrections. The Essentials Experience: Proven experience in business leadership, general management, or P&L ownership roles, with meaningful experience building or scaling a D2C brand; exposure to fashion/lifestyle, retail, or consumer brands is a strong plus, as is an entrepreneurial bent of mind. P&L & Commercial Acumen: Proven ability to own and grow a P&L — balancing revenue growth, margin, and working capital while making sound commercial trade-offs. Brand & Retail Understanding: Strong grounding in brand building, retail operations, and consumer behaviour, particularly within fashion, lifestyle, or eyewear categories. Entrepreneurial Track Record: Experience building or scaling a business, brand, or new market with founder-like ownership, ideally in a fast-growing or category-disrupting environment. Cross-Border Collaboration: Experience or strong aptitude for working with global teams, balancing brand consistency with local market relevance. Stakeholder & Team Leadership: Proven ability to lead cross-functional teams and influence senior leaders across commercial, retail, marketing, and finance functions. Education: Bachelor's or Master's in Business, Marketing, Economics, or a related discipline. MBA preferred. 🧠 The Mindset Founder's Mentality You think and act like you own the business — chasing outcomes, not just tasks, and taking full accountability for Meller's success in India. Brand Storyteller You understand how to turn a brand's design DNA into stories and experiences that resonate with a new generation of consumers. Globally Minded, Locally Grounded You carry a brand's global identity faithfully while adapting it with nuance for Indian consumers and platforms. Commercially Grounded You balance brand ambition with the discipline of running a healthy, profitable business. Entrepreneurial Bent of Mind You're comfortable with ambiguity, quick to take ownership, resourceful with limited support, and driven to make things happen rather than wait for a playbook. Collaborative Operator You move easily between strategic, creative, and commercial conversations, working across category, retail, and global brand teams to get things done. Execution-Focused You don't just set strategy — you see it through, chase details, and hold the bar high at every touchpoint.