Rajesh Kumar S is an Assistant Professor at NIFT Shillong, with over seven years of industry experience across the apparel export, retail, and sales sectors. His core expertise lies in Retail Analytics and Apparel Export Business, encompassing retail management, retail merchandising, product development, export merchandising, apparel costing, garment production, and retail operations. Prior to joining academia, he served as Manager – Product Development at Zivame, a leading women’s lingerie retail brand. He also held key positions as Merchandising Manager and Product Developer in reputed export houses across India and Bangladesh. He earned his B.Tech in Textile Technology and Master of Fashion Management (MFM) from NIFT Kannur, enabling him to integrate industry best practices with academic excellence. His research focuses on Retail Analytics, with particular emphasis on sales analytics, profitability enhancement, inventory optimisation, and production planning in the fashion and apparel industry. He actively pursues industry-oriented and applied research that supports data-driven decision-making and operational excellence. Among his notable contributions is the design and development of the official flag for NEIGRIHMS Shillong, a project sponsored by the institute, demonstrating his capabilities in institutional branding, design development, and project execution. Beyond teaching and research, Raj is dedicated to mentoring students through experiential learning, industry engagement, internships, and graduation projects. He actively fosters academia–industry collaboration and is passionate about retail technology, business analytics, product innovation, and curriculum development, preparing future fashion management professionals with the practical knowledge and analytical skills required by the global fashion and retail industry.