Australian premium womenswear brand Forever New has appointed Shifali Singh as Country Director for India, marking a leadership transition as the brand strengthens its presence in one of its key international markets. Long-time India head Dhruv Bogra will move into an advisory role, supporting the business through its next phase of growth.
Singh joins Forever New with over two decades of experience across fashion retail, ecommerce, merchandising and international brand management. Her appointment reflects the brand’s emphasis on strengthening local leadership and accelerating market execution.
India continues to be an important international market for Forever New, which operates across major metropolitan centres through a combination of exclusive stores, department store presence and digital channels. Positioned in the accessible premium segment, the brand caters to urban consumers seeking contemporary western womenswear spanning occasion dressing, workwear and everyday fashion.
Currently, Forever New operates 50 standalone stores and 70 shop-in-shops in India, with an annual turnover of approximately Rs 350 crore, reflecting the brand’s steady expansion and strong positioning in the premium womenswear segment.
Dhruv Bogra, who played a significant role in building Forever New’s India operations and expanding its retail footprint over the years, will continue to support the company in an advisory capacity, ensuring continuity in the brand’s market strategy.
Shifali Singh: A Retail Leader with Cross-Sector Experience
Shifali Singh’s appointment at Forever New brings to the brand a retail leader shaped by more than two decades of experience across fashion, ecommerce and international brand building — a journey that reflects both strategic depth and hands-on operational leadership.
Her professional trajectory has consistently centred on scaling brands, building new business verticals and navigating evolving consumer markets. Complementing her industry experience is a strong academic foundation — she holds a Master’s degree in Business Administration focused on Leadership and Strategy from Harvard Business School, an MBA in Marketing from the Army Institute of Management, Kolkata, and a Bachelor’s degree in History from Delhi University.
Before joining Forever New, Singh was serving as Business Head for Reliance Ritu Kumar at Reliance Brands Limited, where she was responsible for steering the designer label’s growth strategy, managing profitability and expanding its market reach across customer segments. Earlier, she led the India operations for Pottery Barn and West Elm, building partnerships with the architect and design community while strengthening business operations and market development.
Her earlier leadership roles reflect a deep engagement with both digital and physical retail transformation. At BIBA Apparels, she drove marketing and ecommerce strategy during a period of increasing digital adoption in ethnic fashion retail. Prior to that, at the RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, she oversaw operations and ecommerce initiatives focused on scale and efficiency.
A defining phase of her career came at Myntra, where she built the platform’s international brands division from the ground up. She onboarded 65 global labels and created a ₹500 crore top-line business while also helping shape early omnichannel initiatives, including the launch of offline stores for brands such as Mango and Esprit.
Her earlier years in retail were shaped through roles at Benetton Group, Marks & Spencer India and Shoppers Stop, where she developed expertise in merchandising, product strategy and brand operations, and was part of the core team that helped build women’s wear operations during Marks & Spencer’s early expansion in India.
Over the years, Singh has built a career at the intersection of brand strategy, merchandising, ecommerce and retail operations — experience that positions her to lead Forever New’s next phase of growth in India’s competitive premium fashion landscape.
Reflecting her leadership philosophy, Singh says, “One of the most important things for any leader is to never let anyone else define who you are. You define who you are. I never think of myself as being a woman CEO — I see myself as a steward of a great institution.”
She adds, “Ignore the glass ceiling and do your work. If you focus on limitations, you will be limited.”
The leadership transition comes at a time when global fashion brands are increasingly strengthening India-focused leadership teams to capture rising premiumisation and evolving consumer preferences. As international labels expand their presence in the country, experienced retail operators with strong local market understanding and omnichannel expertise are becoming central to growth strategies.
With Shifali Singh’s appointment, Forever New is positioning itself to deepen its engagement with India’s growing base of premium fashion consumers while building on the foundation established over the past decade.
