Young Women Disruptors of Retail Design 2026: Pratheeksha Unnikrishnan

Pratheeksha Unnikrishnan, Senior Projects Lead, FRDC, was featured by Retail4Growth as Young Women Disruptors of Retail Design 2026. What sets Pratheeksha apart is her knack for designing retail as infrastructure for growth, not just visual expression. She operates at the intersection of design, operations, and business scalability. 

Pratheeksha knew she wanted to be an architect at 15. She built her foundation methodically by studying architecture and then moved to Milan for her Master's. This was the defining moment in shaping her career.

Being in the design capital of the world, Pratheeksha found herself drawn to the world of retail and interiors – the facades, the detailing, the way spaces are designed for people. After completing her postgraduation, she stepped into retail design, and learning hasn’t stopped for her.

In her previous organization, she led the transformation of The Sleep Company’s physical retail presence and developed a scalable retail framework adaptable across flagship, franchise, and shop-in-shop formats. After leading the brand’s expansion, she realized that fast-growing brands lacked structured rollout systems. Instead of adapting to fragmented processes, she built a solution within her organization. She established a dedicated retail rollout vertical by defining workflows, aligning cross-functional teams, and bringing discipline to timelines and costs. Within two and a half years, the vertical evolved into a stable, profitable delivery engine supporting multiple high-growth brands.

Pratheeksha also conducts pre-design workshops with brand founders and leadership teams. Beyond commercial practice, she actively invests in knowledge-sharing. She co-developed and delivered a 5-day Micro-Credential Course on Retail Interior Design and Consumer Engagement at MAHE (Manipal Academy of Higher Education). At FRDC, she mentors interns through live retail projects, equipping them with systems thinking rather than isolated design skills.

What sets her apart is her knack for designing retail as infrastructure for growth, not just visual expression. She operates at the intersection of design, operations, and business scalability.

Click on the link to continue reading - Retail4Growth https://www.retail4growth.com/news/young-women-disruptors-of-retail-design-2026-pratheeksha-unnikrishnan-7861