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Sanjana VelnqeriChief Executive Officer

Personal correspondence

Build the network the brand can stand behind

Chief Executive Officer India

I build a travel-goods business by deciding where our presence earns its place, how partners should be supported and which service capabilities the brand must own.

I did not begin my career expecting that closing a shop could be a necessary act of building a retail business. Early in merchandising, the visible signs of progress were new ranges, new space and new customers. The prestige location I later supported fitted that account. Becoming CEO required me to judge it again without allowing my role in the opening to determine the answer.

A shop can be visible without earning the resources it consumes. A partner can open a door while leaving the brand with a service obligation. An acquisition can add a capability only if the people and work are brought into the business. I want our growth account to describe those obligations as clearly as the opportunity.

Sanjana Velnqeri

Open to Board appointments · Executive opportunities

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Company employees
280
March 2026; seven executive direct reports
Company revenue
₹96 crore
FY 2025–26;₹5.9 crore operating profit; franchise retail sales excluded
Retail experience
30 years
Merchandising through CEO and executive statutory director

Give every part of the retail network a reason to belong.

The prestige shop I had supported as COO became a decision I needed to revisit as CEO. It had absorbed ₹2.3 crore at opening in 2019 and later reported a ₹42 lakh negative annual contribution after direct store costs, before head-office allocations. The original investment was not a reason to keep spending. We examined its wider customer role, nearby access and online relationships before choosing closure rather than preserving a visible reminder of my earlier judgement.

I lead Kelqevni Travel Goods in Pune. The fictional company had twelve owned shops, online retail and two trading franchise-pilot shops in March 2026, with 280 employees,₹96 crore company revenue and ₹5.9 crore operating profit for FY 2025–26. I have seven executive reports and responsibility for enterprise performance, while material capital goes to the board. Raman Qelrnavi is our separate chair and Alka Derqeshi our CFO. My 2%holding sits within the 10%employee portion; I serve as an executive statutory director.

The decisions on this site concern the shape of the business, not only the number of places carrying its name. A four-location franchise pilot required a central support programme and produced two trading shops, one still preparing and one withdrawn at the review point. We also acquired an eighteen-person bag-care operation because a continuing service capability mattered to the brand. Each choice needed a funded operating account alongside the commercial argument.

The earlier opening decision did not decide the closure question

We spent ₹68 lakh on the closure programme after a network review. Of twenty-four shop colleagues, eighteen transferred and six agreed separation arrangements through the appropriate process.

Four approved pilot locations were not four operating shops

The ₹1.1 crore central franchise-support programme covered four planned locations. Two traded by March 2026, one remained in preparation and one was withdrawn.

A purchased service capability still needed integration

The board approved ₹4.8 crore consideration for the bag-care operation and a separate ₹42 lakh integration programme. In a 120-case review, seventy-four repairs were completed, eighteen were assessed as unsuitable for repair and twenty-eight remained pending.

Current focus

I am building a network in which shops, partners, online operations and after-sales service have explicit roles. Presence should be evaluated through the customers it serves and the obligations it carries. I want a partner programme to be supportable before it is widely offered, and an acquired capability to become dependable work rather than remain an acquisition announcement. The board should see what has opened, what is still being integrated and what we have chosen to stop.

Conversations I welcome

I would consider a retail CEO mandate or one compatible outside non-executive contribution on network choices and operating commitments. I currently hold one executive directorship and a small shareholding. Twenty-six proposed outside-board days require careful capacity and relationship review, and preparation for an independent appointment remains unfinished.

The leadership record

Trusted with consequential decisions.

Formation

  • Bachelor of CommerceTarqelni Commerce College · 1996
Sanjana brought the closure of a shop she had sponsored with the network consequences and transition cost visible, rather than asking the board to defend the earlier announcement.
Raman QelrnaviNon-executive Chair, Kelqevni Travel Goods
The full record ↗

Contact

I would consider a retail CEO mandate or one compatible outside non-executive contribution on network choices and operating commitments. I currently hold one executive directorship and a small shareholding. Twenty-six proposed outside-board days require careful capacity and relationship review, and preparation for an independent appointment remains unfinished.

  • Board appointments
  • Executive opportunities
Write to Sanjana Contact page