As Executive Chairperson of Quest Retail, Shriti is redefining beauty leadership in India with purpose, courage, and conviction
In a business world often enamoured by speed and scale, Shriti Malhotra has chosen a more enduring route: one built on values, empathy, and impact. As the Executive Chairperson of Quest Retail—home to The Body Shop in India—Shriti is not just building a beauty business. She is redefining what it means to lead with purpose, courage, and conviction in modern India.
Rooted in Heritage, Raised for Independence
Born and raised in Ranchi, Jharkhand, Shriti comes from the erstwhile royal family of Chotanagpur. Her early life, spent among tribal communities and steeped in traditional values, forged in her a unique worldview—one that blends humility with responsibility, and simplicity with strength. She grew up as one of four sisters in a household where intellectual rigour and academic excellence were non-negotiable, but freedom of thought and self-expression were deeply encouraged.
She pursued her undergraduate education at the prestigious Miranda House in Delhi, where her spirit of independence and appetite for ideas flourished. Then, in a bold career pivot that defied conventional expectations, she joined NIFT in the early 1990s—at a time when the Indian fashion industry was just beginning to find its voice.
Experiments, Epiphanies, and Evolution
Shriti’s career began at Benetton, where she was drawn to the brand’s unapologetic storytelling and disruptive fashion identity. Her time there taught her the nuances of brand building and product curation in a young and uncharted Indian market. She also brought her love of sports into the boardroom, joining Nike and later Planet Sports.
In 2001, she joined Planet Sports and later became the first female General Manager in India’s sports retail and distribution sector, which was then dominated by men. Under her stewardship, Planet Sports was ranked the No. 1 Sports Retailer for Customer Satisfaction and Service Index by Business World.
The Body Shop: Where Passion Meets Purpose
A defining inflection point arrived in 2006 when The Body Shop entered India. Shriti volunteered to lead the brand’s operations in the country, marking her entry into a beauty category she had never planned to explore—but would go on to revolutionize. Here, she found perfect alignment between her personal ethos and the brand’s activism-led business model.
The early days were far from easy. Recruiting women into retail was a challenge. Shriti often had to visit their families personally, assuring them of safety, dignity, and financial independence. From these conversations emerged a gender-inclusive workplace where many of the women she hired in 2006 have grown into senior leaders today.
Building More Than a Brand
Today, Quest Retail operates 10 global brands across four countries, employs over 1,000 people, and reaches 15,000 pincodes in 1,500 towns. Under Shriti’s leadership, The Body Shop has grown to over 220 retail stores in South Asia with robust omnichannel integration. By FY 2025–26, the brand aims to scale to 300 touchpoints, with projections of doubling business to hit ₹1,100 crore in revenue by 2030.
What sets Shriti apart is her ability to lead a high-performance business while staying true to her values. She introduced The Body Shop’s India Edit—a homegrown collection featuring ingredients like lotus, hibiscus, black grape, and pomegranate—as a celebration of Indian culture and craftsmanship.
Digital channels already contribute to 30% of sales, with ambitions to hit 50%. The brand is also pushing deeper into Tier 2 and 3 cities, with strategies that straddle affordability and aspiration—balancing entry-level pricing with premium sensorial launches like its SPA range.
Championing People, Planet and Policy
Shriti’s impact extends far beyond retail metrics. She has spearheaded over 50 community projects, including the Why25 campaign, which added 25 million first-time voters to the electoral rolls and collected 1.5 million petition signatures to advocate for lowering the age of candidacy in Parliament.
The Body Shop India has recycled over 100 million plastic bottles in collaboration with Plastics for Change, supporting over 2,000 waste collectors. She also served on the Body Shop Global Foundation for three years, advising on environmental, child rights, and grassroots aid projects.
Her commitment to the next generation is perhaps best exemplified by the Youth CEO Advisory Collective—a disruptive board of under-30 changemakers who advise her on innovation, equity, and sustainability.
Leading with Heart and Head
Shriti’s leadership is marked by a rare duality: performance and compassion. She is often found at stores, talking to front-line teams and understanding operational challenges firsthand. Many of her current CX leaders began their journeys in those very stores.
Her people-first approach includes pioneering policies like menstrual and abortion leave, paid childcare support, and flexible work arrangements. She believes in rising by lifting others and credits her own mentors for shaping her leadership values of trust, integrity, and courage.
The Global Indian Story
India is now a top five global market for The Body Shop. With a growing contribution from locally manufactured products and India-specific formats like hair oils and kajals, the brand is charting a culturally relevant, ethically robust retail roadmap. About 10% of its products are now Made in India—slowly and responsibly increasing with each season.
At PRC 2025, Shriti will bring this expansive vision to life. She will anchor the C-Suite session ‘Cracking the Code of Gen Z Retail Behaviour with Infinite Impatience’ alongside top retail captains, and also join the panel discussion ‘Infinite Equilibrium: The CXO Blueprint for Growth Amid Chaos.’
The Lasting Legacy
From basketball courts in Ranchi to boardrooms leading purpose-led commerce, Shriti Malhotra’s journey is a story of bold pivots, quiet courage, and unwavering belief in doing business differently. In her, India’s new-age retail finds not just a trailblazer, but a torchbearer—lighting the way with empathy, equity, and enduring excellence.
