D2C brands can reorganize management strategies for the setting of managers in order to meet the growth and the Omnichannel expansion: Report

A new study was more than half (55%) of management settings in 2024 in business and operating functions, which reflected the growing focus of the customer on the expansion of retail, sales growth and strategic leadership.

Remarkably, 60% of these attitudes focused on growth, sales and strategy, while 25% focused on retail stores, 15% on general business and 10% on other business preparations.

The Report by Executive Search and Talent Advisory Firm Longhouse, Titled 'D2C Talent Trends: The Leadership Shift' Analyses Leadership Hiring Trends in India's Direct-to-Consumer (D2C) Sector From 2021. Reinforcing the Sector's Evolving Approach-From a Technology and Investor-Led Playbook to a Structured, Revenue-Focused Growth Model, Where Leadership The Hiring of Business Foundations, Omnichannel scalability and long-term profitability.

This development changes the cessation of priorities in leadership, which leads to a demand for roles in the areas of business, marketing and retail expansion as well as a more competitive remuneration landscape.

Based on an analysis of more than 300 leadership movements in 48 D2C organizations, the report shows a deduction from the technical attitude towards a strong leadership qualities in the areas of economy, operations and omnichannel retail to ensure sustainable growth and scalability.

The results underline an industry-wide transition in which D2C brands no longer rely solely on digital dominance, but rather include hybrid models that integrate online and offline presence to improve consumers' commitment. The report also shows a significant shift in the functional setting patterns. The leadership roles of business and operations rose from ~ 18% in 2021 to ~ 28% in 2024, which is due to the emphasis on retail sales and the Omnichannel growth. Marketing leadership roles rose from ~ 9% to ~ 41%, which is due to a growing focus on branding and the commitment of consumers over several points of contact. In the fact that the setting of engineering and product tours in 2024 decreased from 33% in 2021 to 15%, brands switched from technology development to operational efficiency. The financial management roles also fell from 45% in 2022 to 17% in 2024, which indicates a departure of donation strategies for sustainable income models.

“India's D2C brands develop beyond their digital roots and include a hybrid growth model that integrates both online and offline channels. When brands expand their presence of physical retail, they prioritize leadership qualities with specialist knowledge in traditional and digital companies in order to promote sustainable and strategic growth. With many D2C players who observe the IPO, the focus is shifted from rapid expansion to long-term profitability and operational efficiency, “said Rohit Srivastava, Senior Partner of Longhouse.

“With scaling brands you will concentrate on offline retail, ownership platforms and marketplaces of third-party providers to expand their reach and at the same time minimize the dependence on external channels. With the universities of the customer acquisition, those who become social commerce, influencer marketing and data-powered personalization, in which Evolving-D2C ecosystem, added.

The report also underlines the competitive remuneration landscape for leadership roles in the D2C sector, in which CXO salaries for most non-digital leadership roles are generally more competitive than traditional retail. For digital expertise, D2C brands compete directly with Indian startups for consumer technologies, which leads to higher salary benchmarks in technological and data-controlled functions.

The salaries for CEO, COO and CMO rolls in the D2C sector typically have between 1.2 crore up to 3 crore per year and are closely agreed with e-commerce and large retail companies. CTOS in technically controlled D2C companies command packages between 1 crore and 2.2 crore, which reflects the importance for engineering and product management with deep consumer-tech expertise. Similarly, CFOs earn between 1 crore and 1.75 crore, whereby the financial management focuses on sustainable income models.

The report shows that D2C brands prioritize practical experiences from academic family tree when setting managers, with 71% of managers from level 2 institutions and not from Elite schools. Companies are looking for specialists with a proven track record in scaling companies across various growth phases, from start to mass expansion. Managers with backgrounds in FMCG, retail and startups with high growth are asked about their expertise in scaling and increasing efficiency, which reflects a shift into practical management.