Aditya Birla’s TMRW to float ESOPs to retain top executives

TMRW, the wholly-owned unit of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd, has taken a leaf out of the policies and salary structure of global startups to design its equity plan for senior executives, said an executive requesting anonymity.

“TMRW will have competitive equity plans for top management and it is designed to attract talent from global startups. While other group companies have regular employee stock option plans (ESOP) and restricted stock units (RSU), the equity plan here has higher stakes in the firm, and gives more ownership,” he said.

The equity plans are structured along the lines of startups such as Honasa Consumer Ltd and GlobalBees.

For the first time TMRW is offering equity to its top leaders, including former Facebook and Bain executive Prashanth Aluru, the chief executive officer and co-founder of the venture.

The venture is attempting to create a ‘House of Brands’ and invest in brands that are born online and draw a large part of sales via the internet.

The move follows rival Tata Digital’s efforts to woo senior talent with long-term incentives, including stock options. It is the e-commerce unit of the $103 billion Tata group, .

Executives aware of the development said TMRW took the help of senior Aditya Birla executives to meet industry experts for 6-8 months before designing an attractive compensation package, including stock options.

TMRW has also been on an aggressive acquisition spree. In December, after acquiring a controlling stake in Bewakoof Brands, it infused ₹200 crore to fuel the growth of the D2C brand. Within a year of launch, it owns eight brands, including Berrylush, Bewakoof, Juneberry, Natilene, Nauti Nati, Nobero, Urbano, and Veirdo.

While floating the venture in June 2022, the cement to textile business house said that the move was in line with the group’s strategy to launch and back new-age digital ventures.

It aims to create the largest portfolio of disruptor brands in fashion and lifestyle and be part of the D2C growth story in India, which is estimated to be at $100 billion by 2025.

TMRW plans to acquire and incubate 30-plus innovative, customer-obsessed brands.