Appario Retail gets a new MD and CEO | Economic Times

Amandeep Lohan, most recently a category leader at Amazon India, has been appointed the managing director of Appario Retail for a period of five years effective August 2.The move comes amid Amazon’s announcement that it would cease from May next year its Cloudtail joint venture with NR Narayana Murthy’s Catamaran, amid increased regulatory scrutiny.Appario Retail, its joint venture with the Patni Group, will exist for now. Lohan has also been designated as CEO of the seller firm, according to regulatory filings sourced exclusively by ET through business intelligence platform Tofler.Lohan’s appointment comes at a time when Amazon is facing regulatory pressure from multiple areas and Appario’s fate hangs in the balance.His appointment reiterates the close relationship sellers like Appario and Cloudtail have had with Amazon India.While the regulatory documents show Lohan’s appointment is for a period of five years, it could change if Amazon decides to end its JV with the Patni Group, like in the case of Cloudtail.Lohan was previously head of Amazon Launchpad in India.Sumit Sahay, another Amazon senior executive, was made Cloudtail CEO in 2017 but has now moved back to the ecommerce major as director - selling partner services, effective May.This is reflected on Sahay’s LinkedIn page as well.Appario Retail – which sells goods across segments like smartphones, electronics and other items -- is a wholly owned subsidiary of Frontizo Business Services, the JV unit of Amazon and the Patni Group.While Appario Retail is the online seller, Frontizo powers Amazon India’s customer care services. A spokesperson of Amazon India declined to comment. An email sent to a representative of the Patni Group did not elicit any response as of press time.ET reported on August 10 that a Cloudtail-like restructuring is in the works at Appario Retail as well.Meanwhile, Cloudtail has told merchants that the announcement of Amazon ending the JV would not impact payments or any other contractual obligations and it will continue as per previous agreements.ET has seen a copy of the communication sent to vendors.