Rajesh Awate has joined Peora as Vice President of Business Development, bringing with him more than three decades of rich experience across retail expansion, business development, market research, and strategic deal evaluation. With an exceptional career built through progressive leadership roles across India’s leading retail and fashion brands, Rajesh steps into this role with deep expertise in scaling operations, driving new market entries, and building high-impact growth strategies.
Before Peora, Rajesh served as Vice President of Business Development at INC5 Shoes, where he played a pivotal role in new client acquisitions, market research, developer relations, and launch strategy execution. He introduced optimized payroll structures for front-end teams, strengthened inventory and product planning, and even conceptualized an in-house men’s footwear line to elevate competitiveness and expand the brand’s market footprint. His leadership helped consolidate operations, enhance productivity, and drive sustainable growth across multiple regions.
Rajesh’s journey includes an extraordinary 33-year tenure at Metro Brands Limited, where he rose through multiple leadership roles—from Executive Assistant to the COO to General Manager of Business Development. During this period, he signed 700+ new stores and 200+ renewals, managing a total portfolio of 900+ COCO stores. He also finalized store layouts and monitored each until operational readiness, with approximately 95% of all stores running profitably under his business development stewardship. At Metro Brands, he led end-to-end retail expansion—market evaluations, demographic surveys, commercial negotiations, developer relationships, and data-backed decision-making—building one of the strongest and most profitable store networks in the industry.
His early roles across inventory management, accounts, and sales operations further shaped his operational depth and execution capability. From overseeing MIS reports and physical store audits to negotiating rentals and coordinating with legal teams, Rajesh mastered the complexity of retail expansion long before stepping into senior leadership roles. His hands-on experience, discipline, and ability to build strong partnerships have set him apart as a trusted business development leader.
Now at Peora, Rajesh will lead the company’s growth strategy, market expansion initiatives, developer and partner relations, and the launch of new business opportunities. His appointment marks an exciting new chapter for Peora as the brand strengthens its national footprint and unlocks new avenues for strategic growth under his seasoned leadership.