Chennai Retail Summit, the annual extravaganza of the retail community in South India began with much fanfare today, 8 Aug. ‘23. The event was held at Chennai’s iconic ITC Grand Chola Hotel at Guindy. The annual event is now among the most popular retail events in the country. The event has grown in scale from year to year since the first edition that began over a decade ago.
The theme for CRS 2023 is Adaptable Retail: Navigating Change in the Indian Retail Landscape. Over 600 delegates participated in the event which witnessed over 30+ top speakers ignite passion and insights to the glued audiences.
The top Retail minds of Chennai and the key committee members of the Chennai Chapter of RAI were felicitated at the start of the day long event. This included CK Venkataraman, MD – Titan, Nalli Kuppuswamy Chetty, Srinivasa Raja, MD – Adyar Ananda Bhavan, B. Srinivasa, MD – Viveks, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO – RAI, Sunil Sanklecha, CEO – Nuts N Spices, Balachander R, Director – Junior Kuppana, Ashwin TS, MD – Odyssey Book Store, among others.
Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India, which organises CRS said, “Retail signifies democracy as there is something for everyone. Retail is about inclusion, it is about respect. It is also about people and it’s about empowering individuals.”
Tmt. Grace Lalrindiki Pachuau, IAS, Additional Commissioner, ICDIC and Executive Director, FaMeTN, addressed the gathering.
Talking about the collaboration, she said, “FaMeTN is committed to empowering MSMEs in Tamil Nadu, as they form the backbone of our economy. This MoU with RAI is a substantial step towards streamlining the process of understanding and addressing the varied needs of our MSMEs. Our partnership will enhance collaboration, create valuable dialogues, and most importantly, build capacity within the sector. We are enthusiastic about this alliance as we join hands to further promote the growth, competitiveness, and sustainability of MSMEs in Tamil Nadu.“
RAI announced the signing of a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) with the Facilitating MSMEs Tamil Nadu (FaMeTN) during the Summit. This strategic alliance signifies the shared commitment between RAI and FaMeTN to enhance the growth of retail Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs) in the state of Tamil Nadu.
C K Venkataraman, MD, Titan, said “After Covid, over 85 per cent of retail came from stores. This shows that people are happy to visit stores and shop . Even D2C stores have a fair distribution between online and offline today which shows that brick and mortar is here to stay.”
The first-panel discussion for the day on ‘Embracing Changes: Strategies For Adapting To The Regional Retail Landscape‘ began with Balaji Chinnaswamy,VNH Naidu Hall family Store, Balakrishnan GP G, Leadership Team, Saravana Super Store, Lavanya Pichasia, CEO – Zivame, Subhash Chandra L, MD – Sangeetha Mobiles and Sunil Sanklecha, Founder, Nuts N Spices, moderated by Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO – RAI.
The second-panel discussion for the day was ‘The Tech-Forward Retail: Harnessing Technology for Enhanced Retail Experiences‘ was hosted by Suhail Sattar, MD – Hasbro & Chairman – Chennai Chapter, Retailers Association of India (RAI). Panelists included Atul Mehta, RazorPay, Anand Krishnamurthy, Wedtree, Chittra Koman, Novac, Girish Krishnan, Amazon Pay, Jubran Sidique, Congruence Holdings, Manmohan Ram, Sundari Silks and Suraj Shantakumar, Kirtilal Kalidas Jewellers.
This was followed up by a fireside chat with Senthil Natarajan, the scion of Kovai Pazhamudir Nilayam (KPN), hosted by Balachander R, Director Junior Kupanna. KPN recently sold a controlling stake to private equity fund to WestBridge Capital.
The third-panel discussion for the day on ‘Understanding The Modern Shopper: Unveiling Motivations, Preferences and Decision- Making Factors‘ was led by Dr. Hitesh Bhatt, Director – Marketing & Communication; Editorial Director – STOrai, Retailers Association of India (RAI). Panelists included Baskarmoorthy, Posiflex, Niraj Jaipuria, BIRetail, Pratik Shah, Specsmakers, Senthil Kumar, Dindugal Thalappakatti, Sushanto Dey, Sreeleathers and Vijaya Darshan Jeevagan, Waalai Foods.
The fourth-panel discussion for the day on ‘The Best Of Both Worlds: Balancing Advantages Of Online With Physical Store Strengths‘ was hosted by Balachander R, Director – Junior Kuppanna. His panel included Abhishek Das, Suguna Foods, Faizal Ahamed, Suxus Menswear, Gaurav Chauhan, TVS Electronics, Jahabar Sadique, Bonfresh. Japtej Ahluwalia, Pricol Gourmet, Muthu Kumar, Code Value and Vikas Bysani, Off & On.
The last panel discussion for the day on ‘Breaking the Glass Ceiling: Advancement & Empowerment Of Women Retailers‘ was moderated by CK Kumaravel, CEO & Co-Founder, Naturals Salon. His panelists included Aishwarya Gupta, Wonder Diamonds, Brinda Padmanaabhan, Prashanti Sarees, Nalini Parthiban, Sweet Karam Coffee, Rachna Binani, Kidss Talk, Sujatha Kartic, Donracks and Sujata Vasudev, Wedtree.
