About
Soumyaa VanvariaFounder, Aurevia Strategy
Soumyaa has spent 21 years building retail, first as a visual merchandiser on the shop floor and later at the scale of hundreds of stores across India and a dozen international markets. Aurevia Strategy is that experience, available to other brands.
Background
She started in visual merchandising at Cottage Industry Exposition and Future Group, launching Pantaloon and Big Bazaar stores across North India. At Lifestyle International (Landmark Group) she headed VM for a 73-store, $500M business and wrote the national manual that trained sales staff as visual display assistants.
The next decade was about scale. At Uninor (Telenor) she launched 404 stores: 37 company-owned, 367 franchise and 200 rural express formats. 200 of them opened in three months, which earned a Limca Book of Records nomination. At Jaquar she rolled out 949 showrooms and 150 shop-in-shops across India, the UK, Africa, China, Mauritius, Singapore, Malaysia and the Gulf, and gave the brand a new global store identity.
Since 2017 she has led retail for brand owners. She created and launched the SEVEN by MS Dhoni stores (the first in 30 days, with P&L accountability), headed VM and space planning for 74 Mothercare stores, and directed rollout and design for fashion and lifestyle brands across Dubai, Gurgaon and Delhi. She is currently bringing Palm Angels, Dickies and TM Lewin into Indian retail, and advising other brands through Aurevia Strategy.
Expertise
Retail business development and brand experience
Retail expansion and franchise development
Network strategy, catchment and site selection, COCO/FOFO and shop-in-shop models, franchisee and mall consultation, market entry into and out of India.
Retail brand identity and store design
Store concept and identity, prototype stores, space planning, fixture systems, design review.
Visual merchandising
VM strategy and calendars, windows and focal displays, planograms, in-store storytelling, consistency across formats and regions.
Rollout delivery and training
Vendor and fabricator bases, budgets and BOQs, SOPs, audits, handover. Manuals and training so the client's team can hold the standard afterwards.
How I work
Four habits from twenty years of openings
Tight timelines, sequenced properly
A first store in 30 days, 200 showrooms in three months, 949 outlets in two years. That happens when design, vendors and sites are sequenced so nothing waits on anything else.
Standardise to protect the brand and the budget
Reusable fixture systems keep VM costs down and keep the look consistent across formats.
Leave the client able to run it
Manuals, SOPs, audits and hands-on training are part of the job. The team should not need the consultant to keep the standard.
Check it in the store
Site audits, kick-off meetings, monthly floor audits and regular field visits. Brand consistency is verified on the floor, not in a deck.
Career
Roles
- 2026 to now
VP, Retail Space Planning and Rollout
Zyvorabrands (Palm Angels, Dickies, TM Lewin)
- 2022 to 2025
Head, Project Execution, Design and Deployment
Royalux FZCO · Shoetree · Redtape · ILC Lighting · RS Seven
- 2021 to 2022
Head, VM and Retail Experience
Mothercare (Reliance Group)
- 2017 to 2021
VP, Retail Design, Rollout and VM
RS Seven Lifestyle (SEVEN by MS Dhoni)
- 2011 to 2016
DGM, Space Design, VM and Projects
Jaquar & Company
- 2009 to 2011
Senior Manager, Marketing and Rollout
Uninor (Telenor Group)
- 2007 to 2009
Head, VM, Retail Experience and Rollout
Lifestyle International (Landmark Group)
- 2005 to 2007
Zonal Head North, VM, Rollout and Brand Communication
Future Group (Pantaloon, Big Bazaar)
- 2003 to 2004
Visual Merchandiser
Cottage Industry Exposition · Options
Aurevia Strategy operates as Aurevia Strategy Private Limited, a management consultancy registered in Haryana, India.
Work with Soumyaa
Every enquiry is read and answered personally.