The Conclave comprised of stimulating discussions on various topics related to the challenging retail sector in India today, such as mass, luxury, food, and entertainment retailing. The eminent speakers were:
Mr. Subhinder Singh Prem, MD, Reebok India
Mr. Atul Joshi, CEO, Subhiksha
Mr. Atulit Saxena, Senior VP, Future Brands
Mr. Satyaki Ghosh, VP – North, Spencer’s Retail
Mr. Ashish Kapur, MD, Yo! China
Mr. Rajnish Wahi, Chief Officer – Business Development, E-City Ventures.
The Welcome address was delivered by Dr. Harsh Vardhan Verma , Faculty of Marketing at FMS Delhi, wherein he shared his perspective on the changing face of retail in India, while taking a closer look into the minds of the Indian consumer. Dr. Varma later on chaired the panel in the first session inviting interesting questions from the audience.
Mr. Subhinder Singh Prem, MD, Reebok India started the session with an “India Poised” video. He emphasized on the rapid changes coming up in the Indian retailing environment and went on to explain the success factors and requirements for tapping different Indian consumer mindsets. Mr. Singh focused on the field of luxury retail and spoke on the importance of understanding the psyche of the Indian consumer. He left the students enthralled with his captivating presentation.
Mr. Atul Joshi, CEO, Subhiksha, is a marketing professional with two decades of experience across diverse industries such as consumer goods, telecom, financial services and retail. Mr. Joshi said that retailing is not a business but a concept. He discussed the mass-retailing concept in India and gave an insight into the hugely successful model of Subhiksha.
Mr. Atulit Saxena, Senior VP, Future Brands, has a Brands experience of 19 years with the likes of Nokia, Nestle, and Dabur. Mr. Saxena put forth the idea of a world of free brands irrespective of conception, production, marketing origin & control. He also talked about certain interesting facets of retailers depending on their behavior of operation, categorizing them into Servants, Monkeys, VIP’s, Cost Warriors, and many others.
Mr. Satyaki Ghosh, VP, Spencer’s Retail talked about the key dilemma, being faced by the Indian retailers, of balancing growth and its profitability in the current scenario of margin crunch. Through a comparison with international retailers like Wal-Mart, Mr. Ghosh presented the real issues being faced by the industry and provoked thought in a meaningful direction.
Mr. Ashish Kapur, MD, Yo! China, brought in an entrepreneur’s perspective into the whole discussion. He provided incisive insights into food retailing in India and its opportunities. Mr. Kapur left the students with an inspiring thought – treat poverty with respect because it is the training ground for the next wave of global entrepreneurs.
The Conclave concluded with an address by Mr. Rajnish Wahi, Chief Officer – Business Development for Fun Multiplexes (Essel Group’s multiplex chain). Having an in-depth understanding of the retail and real estate scenario of the country, he provided a detailed insight on its evolution and progress of entertainment retailing.
The FMS Retail Conclave 2007 provided an opportunity to learn from stalwarts in the dynamically transforming Indian Retail sector. The Conclave was a platform for the speakers as well as the students to delve upon sensitive issues related to retailing, which were discussed, argued and debated, resulting in a very educational and enriching experience as a whole. It was branded as a successful event by all the participants who consisted of the students of FMS, its Faculty, participants from other business schools and industries as well.