'The Shop', Delhi chapter of India Retail Forum marked the beginning of the 4th edition of 'The Shop' in Delhi today at Pragati Maidan. With large participation of retailers and the entire retail support functionaries, The Shop basically facilitates knowledge sharing and business networking between national and international players, which eventually leads to faster retail expansion. 

Opening the forum Mr. Rajeev Karwal, Founder and CEO, Milagrow expressed his views on organised and unorganised retailing in India: "The consumer today is more empowered, aware and seeks attention. Thus is it very important for the retailers to understand consumer's needs".

Taking the session further Mr. Vipul Sabharwal from Nokia added "India is witnessing a boom in retail. Gone are the days of 'One size fits all' theory. According to our recent survey, 70 percent of the actual decision of buying a mobile handset is taken inside the store, which clearly indicates the importance of retailing. The consumers' demands have become far more specific and customised and in order to grow, the retailers today need to understand them". He added

Mr. Vikram Bakshi, MD, Mc. Donald's-India emphasized on the potential of this growing industry. "Retail is not about making money, its about creating consumer choices, benefiting then and finally ensuring consumer satisfaction. India has tremendous market potential and it is upto the retailers to leverage upon it which can only achieved by understanding the consumer and the market".

Hemant Kalbag of ATKearney said: "There are two strategic globalisation questions - which geographies to enter and when to enter. It is crucial for the retailers to understand market situations, market attractiveness and counter the risks involved in retailing".

Anuj Puri from JLL Meghraj raised several pertinent issues around the rapid growth of organised retail in India: "Are major retail players a  threat to the small retailers?  With the evolution of retail in India, will the local Kiranawalas prosper or perish?" His observation was that Infusion of new ideas, cooperation and adoption has helped the small retailers to grow and survive the competition of the major retailers.   

"Organised Retail in India is indeed growing fast and events such as the IRF and its zonal versions, The Shop, have received global appreciation for the bold initiatives to support this growth in organised retail. It has been successful in attracting industry big wigs and has almost cent per cent attendance of the key stakeholders." says Mr. Amitabh Taneja, Chief Convenor, IRF. The SHOP is aimed to addressing issues concerning millions of small retailers, middlemen and vendors who somehow fear losing their businesses in the wake of evolution of organised retail.

Pranay Sinha of CityWalk addressed the common misconceptions that cloud the benefits of the prevailing retail boom. "Retail in India is not fearless, it is struggling with pre conceived notions and common perceptions like  the premature death of big and small peddlers, retailers maximising their profits.  Retail shelf is the centre of any economy and its imperative to recognise the benefits that will come to us once we become a shelf driven country completely. "

The Shop witnessed representation from all kinds of retailers – successfully established like the Future Group (Pantaloon Retail), Shoppers' Stop, Spencer's, Lifestyle, Trent, Globus, Piramyd etc – recently started but with large expansion like Reliance and Aditya Birla Retail – yet to start like - Bharti Retail & Dabur. Sizable presence of regional retailers that now plan national expansion will include Big Apple, Spinach, Sabka Bazaar, Influx, Heritage Retail, E bony, Twenty Four Seven, etc. 

With all elements of India Retail Forum, 'THE SHOP' introduced products, services, spaces, ideas and innovations to retailers, retail concepts to potential franchisees equip young entrepreneurs with necessary support and knowledge. Showcasing the best in retail offering, providing an in-depth analysis of retail business trends and formulating a differential winning strategy, THE SHOP ensures the participation of the very best retail minds from all across India.

 'The Shop' congregation assess the implication of large scale expansion of organised retailing in India. How the existing retail & distributional channels can be energized will be the core focus of the CEO's discussion. The convention focus on the impact of organized retail on the overall economy, masses and the common shopkeeper.

Retail space planning will be vital in retail expansion, particularly in view of increasing cost of land prices. The session on real estate will discuss -How to amalgamate current need with futuristic vision ? How to tackle the increasing land cost ? How to differentiate ? Can we look beyond malls ?

Brands and retailers will exchange ideas at 'The Shop' on how to add new categories and add more value to the existing ones.

D elegates representing regional, national & global brands, vendors, retailers, real estate developers, technology providers and the entire retail support fraternity are expected to converge at 'THE SHOP' to listen to the visionaries and share insights into India Retail Opportunity - Categories & formats, demand & supply, consumption & shopping trends, space & infrastructure, mergers & acquisitions, tie-ups -- discussing successes & failures and chart out future path to grow retail in India.  

Sourced From: Vaishnavi Corporate Communications Pvt Ltd