‘Indian economy’s push can primarily come from manufacturing & retail’

The Retailers Association of India (RAI) organised the ‘Retail India Summit & Expo (RISE) 2022’ on 6 December 2022 in New Delhi. The summit saw the participation of the retail fraternity and retail service providers, including retail designers, visual merchandisers, shopfitters, as well as those in real estate and technology.

Evolving customer expectations were at the core of all discussions at the summit. Setting the tone of RISE 2022, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said “There is never a dull time in retail. Consumers are evolving fast and personalisation has got re-emphasised. Omnichannel retail has become a way of life, both for consumers as well as for businesses. Social commerce too is becoming important as an increasing number of consumers are now not only discovering products on social media but are also buying on social media platforms. In the coming year, ONDC (Open Network for Digital Commerce) an initiative by DPIIT (Department for Promotion of Industries and Internal Trade) may be the game-changer in India as it seeks to democratise e-commerce.” 

Delivering his special address as the Chief Guest at RISE 2022, Shri Rohit Kumar Singh, Secretary, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India, said, “The Honourable Prime Minister of India always has ease of doing business on top of his agenda. He believes that supporting ethical and honest businesses will help the economy. India’s retail is worth $ 800 billion and the push that India wants to give to its economy can primarily come from manufacturing and retail. It is important to protect the interest of the consumers and retail businesses thrive on consumers.”

Highlights of the Summit included a workshop on Legal Metrology conducted by Shri Ashutosh Agarwal, Deputy Director, Legal Metrology, Department of Consumer Affairs, Government of India.

Throughout the day summit touched upon various discussions, namely Going beyond Traditional Norms: What Retailers are doing differently to ensure Growth and Expansion; NextGen Omni Channel Engagement: Connecting Interactions Across all Channels; The X Factor: What defines India's most Successful Retail Brands; From Digi-first to evolving trends: the Retailer’s Mantra to Stay ahead of the Curve; and a special roundtable discussion on Simplifying Retention for Retail & CPC Industry, among other retail solution provider presentations.

Speaking at RISE 2022, Lalit Agarwal, Managing Director, V-Mart, said, “In this new world, there is differentiated consumer behaviour. We are inciting a lot of change in a post-pandemic world. This change will keep us going as retail continues to evolve.”

Speaking about the evolving consumers, Amit Dutta, CEO, Le Marche Retail, said “In a prepandemic world, we had to only focus on store experience. Now, it’s more focused on home delivery using WhatsApp, Zomato, and Swiggy. We took our omnichannel journey. Challenge is the consumer is evolved, but the employee has not. We still need to outperform and meet targets and take on the competition. The balance will happen over time, but this will not be an overnight phenomenon.”

Retail leaders speaking at the summit included Anupam Bansal, Director, Liberty Shoes; Dhruv Bogra, Country Manager, Forever New Clothing, Gunjan Shah, CEO, Bata India Ltd. Manish Sapra, CEO, Kama Ayurveda; Rahul Bharde, VP & Head of Analytics & Insights, Jubilant Foodworks; Jay Kapoor, President-Retail, Fabindia; Anil Sharma, COO - FNP Retail & Franchise, Ferns N Petals; Murali Krishnan, CMO and Co-founder, Wow! Momo Foods; Naman Mawandia, Co-Founder, Magicpin; Pankaj Vermani, Founder & CEO, Clovia; Rajesh Sethuraman, Vice President - Brand Experience, Blackberrys Menswear; Sunil Menon, Chief Retail Expansion Officer, Lenskart; Ankur Bhatia, CEO, Chogori India Retail; Akhil Jain, Director, Madame Apparel; J P Shukla, CEO, Nysaa Retail; Mayank Mohan, Director, Mohanlal Sons; Rochita Dey, Director, Sreeleathers; among others.

Over the years, ‘Retail India Summit & Expo (RISE) has evolved to provide retailers with a platform to find the right business partners and solutions across categories to help take their business to the next level. The objective of the Retail India Summit & Expo (RISE) is to bring together retailers and retail service providers under one roof to facilitate dialogue and explore changing trends in the industry. It is a platform to discuss new inspirations and innovation to win new customers, retain existing ones, and ultimately increase sales.