India Retail Forum 2012 maps the future of retail

11 Oct 2012 Day two of the India Retail Forum (IRF) 2012 at Hotel Renaissance, Mumbai, saw retailers of the nation rise and shine to a bright morning of discussion and debates on the future roadmap of the business that is growing at a rapid pace.

The first insightful session for the day was on Customer Centric Retailing. Addressing the session Dr. Simon Jury, Country Head, Dunnhumby (a global consultancy that uses transactional data to understand consumer behaviour) spoke of loyalty schemes as something that lives and breathes within the organisation. He questioned retailers, Should I be rethinking my loyalty scheme? Schemes become mechanical, they become operational, they stop being natural. They are no more something that breathes and lives within the organization. In this case you go back to the basics of the customer loyalty scheme. In the course of the session the masters of the game explored the various facets of customer behavior and loyalty patterns in the present scenario where the two major challenges are low costs of switching and reduced brand loyalty.

Professor Piyush Sinha, Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, was of the belief that customer loyalty is 1:1 equation. He says, The retailer needs to think from a micro perspective, from an individuals point of view. For the consumer it is 1:1 equation and not a 1: many equations that is perceived at a macro level, to them that is flirting and the consumer doesnt flirt. Vinay Bhatia, CCA & VP, Marketing and Loyalty, Shoppers Stop, while sharing some light on the company's practices said: We discovered in our Malad store that when women purchase salwar kurta dupatta (SKD) they prefer to purchase the footwear along with it. But the footwear section is far from the SKD section which required them to walk. So we placed the two next to each other and there was 120 crore incremental turnover. As the session moved along more knowledge and queer practices of consumers and how they are used to boost revenues by retailers were uncovered.

The session Capitalising on Retail Growth through Innovations in Technology discussed how technology in both hardware and software can make an immense difference to big and small retailers. R Jayaraman, VP Retail, Asia Pacific, Tyco said: As per the retail industry analysis done by Tyco, 80.3 percent of retailers believe that technology enhancement is the key to tackle challenges in the business. It helps retailers improve profitability through innovation in technology and proper store management solutions. Technology helps retailers achieve top-line growth and bottom-line profits by enabling loss prevention, minimizing retail shrinkage, increasing operational efficiency, and facilitating best practices in retail excellence through everyday solutions to business challenges. For retail leaders and technology heads, this session was a practical tool-kit for optimising technology investments that would enhance their business.

The IRF Excellence series saw a panel of retailers share their experiences and learning on best practices and initiatives taken by shopping centres to support retailers. Arjun Sharma, Directror, Select City Walk, New Delhi shared his experience in taking retailer experience to a whole new level. He shared his views on how to make a mall successful in terms of revenue generation and footfall. He emphasised on the fact that mall developers should look at making retail experience rich and work as a team to serve consumers and retailers both. Shailesh Chaturvedi, MD and CEO, Tommy Hilfiger India stood tall as he claimed, "Our stores at Select City are doing great business and they are the highest earning stores in Asia."

Mark Ashman, CEO, HyperCITY has been in India since the last five years and in the session The Expert Expat Experience he said: If I am selling tomatoes here or anywhere else, it is still tomatoes. Yet the dynamics of the Indian market is different and often proves challenging for expats. The panel of the session comprised those who have over time braved these challenges and comprehended the needs of the Indian consumer. Mark Ladham, President, Home Business, Future Group agreed with Ashman as he gave his take on FDI, Differentiation is made by change. It keeps moving, it is what gives longevity. As Mark said a tomato will always be a tomato the task is how you sell it and that is our job.

The bright morning of the second day at IRF 2012 found retailers in an introspective mode analysing their practices and looking forward to a promising future as they readied themselves for the second half of the two day retail convention.

India Retail Forum (IRF) is a congregation of the most innovative and successful retail brands, companies and minds from across the globe.