Tata Cliq CEO Faces Lawsuit From Nykaa For Breaching Confidentiality: Report

Tata Cliq chief executive officer Gopal Asthana is reportedly facing a lawsuit by his former employer Nykaa for allegedly breaching confidentiality, misappropriating proprietary data and sabotaging its business.

Nykaa, in its plea with the Bombay High Court, accused Asthana of essentially poaching its employees, saying he reached out to a number of Nykaa staffers who previously worked under him to join Tata Cliq — and that some of them have even jumped ship in the past 12 months, ET reported.

The Falguni Nayar-led beauty and ecommerce major has reportedly sought a refund of nearly INR 19 Cr of stock options benefits availed by Asthana and another INR 5 Cr in damages for alleged loss of goodwill and other business metrics. 

Inc42 has reached out to Nykaa for comments on the development. The story will be updated based on the response.

Asthana served as the chief business officer of Nykaa for four years and was also a member of its board. Nykaa told the court that being a top brass in the company made him privy to confidential business data.

As per the report, Nykaa also urged the Bombay HC to prevent Asthana from using its business data for his work at Tata Cliq.

The Bombay HC, in its interim order dated September 4, has ordered Asthana to stop trying to recruit employees for Tata Cliq from Nykaa. Further, it has also appointed Justice Akil Kureshi as an arbitrator to resolve the dispute between the parties.

Meanwhile, Asthana has reportedly dismissed the allegations as “incorrect” and said that they would be proven false in the arbitration proceedings. 

The development comes at a time when Nykaa faces intensifying competition from Tata Cliq Myntra, AJIO and Reliance Tira across beauty, fashion and accessories businesses. 

These players are vying for a larger piece of the Indian beauty and personal care (BPC) market pie, which is expected to become a $28 Bn opportunity by 2030, according to Inc42 data.