Noel Tata, Chairman of Tata Trusts
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Noel Tata has said Trent's 74th AGM will be his last as Chairman, concluding a historic tenure where he built the Tata retail firm from a single storefront in Bengaluru into a leading Indian fashion and lifestyle giant."As you might be aware, this will be my last Annual General Meeting as Chairman," Noel Tata (69) told shareholders on Tuesday while addressing the AGM of the company, which operates fast fashion retail stores, such as Westside and Zudio.Noel Tata, who is also Chairman of Tata Trusts, the largest shareholder of Tata Sons, will turn 70 in November this year.The Companies Act 2013 mandates that any Managing Director or Whole-Time Director cannot be appointed or continue employment if they are 70 years of age or older.However, as an exception, they can be appointed only with shareholder approval through a special resolution, or with central government approval if only an ordinary resolution is passed. Thanking shareholders, employees and partners for their support over the years, Tata said the company has evolved into a strong and resilient retail platform with a clear focus on creating long-term value."I would like to sincerely thank all our shareholders, colleagues and partners for their confidence, trust and support over the years," he said.Under his Chairmanship, Trent expanded into 79 new cities and added 289 stores, taking its overall portfolio to 1,286 stores across 321 cities, serving more than 120 million customers in FY26.On a consolidated basis, its total revenue stood at ₹20,074 crore and profit before tax (before exceptional items) was Rs 2,259 crore.Besides Trent, Noel Tata is also the Chairman of the Board of several other Tata group entities, such as Voltas, Tata Investment Corporation Ltd, Tata International Ltd, Trent Hypermarket and Tata International West Asia DMCC, Dubai, UAE.He joined the board of Trent as a director on August 19, 2010, a company started by his late mother, Simone Tata, after divesting the Lakme business to FMCG major Hindustan Unilever.On March 31, 2014, he succeeded as the Chairman of Trent following the retirement of FK Kavarana.Reflecting on Trent's journey, Tata said the company started with a single Westside store on Commercial Street in Bengaluru in 1998, when modern fashion retail in India was almost "non-existent"."Over the following 25 years, the transformation of both the industry and your company has been extraordinary. From that single store, Trent today operates a network of over 1,250 stores across formats," Tata added.The scale that has been built is "significant", and more importantly, it rests on the strength of its brands, including Westside, Zudio, Samoh, Utsa, and Burnt Toast, which continue to hold relevance in the lives of customers.Besides, it also operates stores of the global fashion brand Zara and Massimo Dutti in association with Inditex Group of Spain.Tata said India continues to offer significant opportunities for organised retail, driven by rising disposable incomes, urbanisation and growing preference for branded products.Looking ahead, he expressed confidence in Trent's long-term growth prospects across formats, categories and geographies, including international markets."We also see a huge potential for our brands beyond India. It would be deeply satisfying to shape and build brands from India that find relevance in diverse markets globally," he said.Recalling an aspiration shared with shareholders in 2023 to make Trent ten times larger in terms of revenues with commensurate profitability, Tata said the company's revenue and profitability run rate has already increased more than 2.5 times since then."This progress gives me confidence that the aspiration we have spoken of is achievable in the not-too-distant future," he said.Published on June 24, 2026
