New Delhi: Shailesh Chaturvedi, managing director (MD) & chief executive officer (CEO), Arvind Fashions said the company is cautiously optimistic and that its focus on profitable growth will continue this year.

Chaturvedi added that there are a lot of smart execution plans with a focus on building categories and opening bigger and better-looking stores.

“We are revitalising the growth of our brands, and we have done well as a company last three years or so and we hope to continue doing that,” Chaturvedi added on the company’s past performance.

Speaking about the outlook for 2024, Chaturvedi added that the the focus of industry should be on profitable growth. Adding on to the expectations from the upcoming Phygital Retail Convention to be held in Mumbai in May 2024, Chaturvedi again pointed out that the above-mentioned things should be the central theme of PRC with a focus on how businesses can grow profitable.

Vineet Gautam, chief executive officer, Bestseller India, hopes 2024 will bring better business prospects than 2023, a year that witnessed a slowdown for retailers in India.

He feels that the business has learned from their mistakes made in 2023 and is trying to correct them. He is though optimistic about the long term business potential of India and feels that the business will start to pick up in the next two quarters. “The industry is going to witness a much better positive vibe in the country post the election,” he said.

Speaking about Bestseller India’s focus in the year he said: “Emphasis will also be on the products and consumer journey in the stores. On the digital side, we are trying to see how we can bring a lot more fashion to consumers online rather than just discounted product lines.”

Since there is a clear distinction between an online and an offline consumer, understanding how brands cater to both these consumers differently and create cohorts and keeping products accordingly is important, he said.

On the expectations from the upcoming Phygital Retail Convention 2024 (PRC) to be held in May in Mumbai, Gautam added that there has been a lot of discussion going on online and omnichannel.

“I think the PRC should talk a lot about physical retail because I think if you look at it post-COVID, physical retail has started to become strong. And I think a lot of D2C brands are also realising that physical is the next word. Let’s spend more time on the physical retail part, how to improve experiences, and how to win back consumers for physical retail,” said Gautam.

RS Sodhi, President of the Indian Diary Association said that the Indian consumption story is growing at a faster pace compared to other parts of the world.

Speaking about the reasons for the same, Sodhi further said that the inflation in India has been much less as compared to other parts of the world.

“The way we are growing in terms of income and economy as we crossed a $4 trillion makes us not only the biggest consumer economy but also the fastest growing,” said Sodhi.

We have already crossed the tipping point of explosive growth according to him. “So now it is up to the individual Indian companies how much they can exploit, and how much they can meet the market requirement,” added Sodhi.

Speaking about consumers he said that Indian consumers are different and companies should understand the Indian consumer’s psyche.

Commenting further on the key focus areas of 2024 in dairy and food companies, Sodhi said, “Companies are sitting at the centre of the world’s biggest food and dairy market that is also fastest growing and also comparatively less organized. The sky is the limit. Companies should come out with a good product, efficient value chain and own the whole supply chain,” added Sodhi.

Sodhi also gave insights into the expansion of companies and said that they should not focus on spreading all over India, rather they should at least have a double-digit market share in one geography, one state, one district and then spread.

Speaking on the expectations from the upcoming Phygital Retail Convention (PRC) 2024 in May, Sodhi said that there needs to be an approach from the retail and corporates on how they can innovate and give products and services to the lower end of the consumers as that is the segment with more opportunities.

New Delhi: Anurag Katriar, founder and managing director of Indigo Hospitality, said that since the Phygital Retail Convention has emerged as a prominent platform to discuss the retail industry, should place a special emphasis on the HoReCa (hotel, restaurant, catering) industry as well. He added that such conversations in the convention can help set agendas and broaden the scope of the discussions.

“I think maybe there is a time now to do a little more  HoReCa-centric communication at the PRC where we don’t only discuss what’s going on, we discuss and set agendas for the future and let the world know this is how the larger leadership team of the restaurant industry is looking for the industry to grow,” he said.

Discussing the 2024 outlook for the hospitality industry he said there could be a substantial increase in the number of restaurants over the years. “More and more people are coming out to dine out and I feel with the sustained GDP growth that India has, this isn’t going to change anytime soon,” he said.

He called the restaurants in India “lowest hanging fruit” due to the disposable income available for spending. This tendency fosters industry growth and facilitates business expansion, he said.

He emphasized that, in the aftermath of the Coronavirus pandemic, it is essential to stay faithful to products, explore new product lines, and prioritize substance over style.

PRC will be the ultimate platform for powerful predictions, discussions, and insights by leaders of retail. To learn more about the event or to register, click here

New Delhi: Swarndeep Singh, co-founder and chief executive officer (CEO) of Logic ERP said that he expects more regional brands and small retailers to come to the Phygital Retail Convention (PRC) 2024 to be held in Mumbai on 8th and 9th May 2024.

“I have been associated with Images Group since 2003 and I have witnessed a good improvement in the areas of events and operations. I am expecting more brands in the PRC as there is less participation from North India. The focus should also be on regional brands and retailer’s number,” said Singh on the expectations from PRC.

“If we can bring brands from B-towns (tier 2 cities) and C-towns (tier 3 cities), it will be much better as they will have access to new technologies in the market,” said Singh on the regional brand participation.

PRC will be the ultimate platform for powerful predictions, discussions, and insights by leaders of retail. To learn more about the event or to register, click here

New Delhi: Abhishek Bansal, executive director of Pacific Development Corp. Ltd, says that he is looking forward to the Phygital Retail Convention as it will bring retailers and developers together on one stage to discuss the expansion plans of both parties.

“Now for example, if I am developing three or four centers over the next three years and similarly other developers are doing the same, what are the expansion plans for the retail side of this?” he said. He believes that discussions, panels, and meetings held at the PRC will help the industry address such questions.

“We kind of [want to] see how we can marry both parties together so that we know that the expansion plans for developers are matching with the retailers,” he said.

He emphasized that the convention will not only streamline the process but also enhance comprehension of diverse retailers’ requirements. This, in turn, will empower developers to achieve optimal occupancy.

“I think this is a very important question right now as to how we can bring both parties together so that we are able to generate the right revenue from the market and bring the right product to the market,” remarked Bansal.

Speaking on the outlook for 2024 for Pacific Group, he said that the company has many malls in the pipeline including a 1.5 million sq. ft. mall in Jaipur, the largest mall in Rajasthan once it is completed in the years to come.

He called 2024 a “very exciting time” for retail development.

“From a retail and shopping center perspective, I think 2024-25 are going to be very exciting years as you may have noticed the backlog of the COVID years from a development perspective where a lot of shopping centers got delayed and are now being delivered,” he said.

Pacific recently launched the Mall of Faridabad and will also open the Mall of Dehradun in the middle of 2024.

PRC will be the ultimate platform for powerful predictions, discussions, and insights by leaders of retail. To know more about the event or to register, click here

New Delhi: Anuj Singh, managing director and chief executive officer, Spencer’s Retail, called the Phygital Retail Convention (PRC) an example of an ecosystem where retailers, brands, technology and logistic providers will come together to discuss the retail industry.

“I think in the PRC it’ll be good to see examples where not just retailers but the whole ecosystem of retailers, brands, some of the technology providers, and the logistic providers have worked together to make that happen,” he said.

He said that the convention will be a platform to witness how collaborations take place between various sectors and how the availability of data collected by various functionalities can be shared to understand the industry better.

“I would love to see more examples of how the collaboration has happened between brands who have one set of data on their consumers and retailers who have another set of data; how they are sharing and partnering to better serve the consumers,” he said.

Talking about the outlook for 2024 for Spencer’s Retail, he said that he is “cautiously optimistic”. He shared that in 2024 the company is doubling the number of stores in three key geographies while also strengthening the existing stores there.

“We are also building our omnichannel business. We have a service proposition which we launched in Kolkata in September that provides service anywhere within one hour from our store,” he said. “The idea is to build that and then take it to other cities where we have a concentration.”

The company is also focusing on a combination of small stores and hypermarkets to build a healthy portfolio.

Headquartered in Kolkata, Spencer’s Retail is an Indian chain of retail stores and a part of RP Sanjiv Goenka Group. The retailer operates across categories including food, personal care, fashion, home essentials, electrical and electronics.

PRC will be the ultimate platform for powerful predictions, discussions, and insights by leaders of retail. To know more about the event or to register, click here

New Delhi: Prashant Peres, Managing Director – South Asia at Kellanova, called Phygital Retail Convention (PRC) a “unique space” that can help retailers and manufacturers come together to discuss the retail industry. The Convention can also build an agenda around category building, Peres added.

“Too often the retail space is dominated by a single premise – which is discounting,” he said. “I believe there is a huge opportunity for retailers to come together with manufacturers and say how do we build a category, how do we add value? Because discounting actually takes value away from a category if it doesn’t grow proportionately.”

Peres sees such a collective effort by both manufacturers and retailers could be a “win-win” for all, including consumers who can try new products and understand the benefits of new categories. He believes PRC will foster a dialogue around such categories among retailers, competitors and manufacturers.

He also added that the year 2023 was a tough year for retailers due to inflation which impacted consumers’ budget and consumption. “We are happy that our brand has continued to grow in penetration, but we know that consumption levels are not where they were a couple of years back during COVID times, for instance,” Peres said.

Kellonova has continued to grow new categories and has launched new products at the upper level and premium level such as various kinds of Muesli and middle and lower products including cornflakes packs for Rs 10, he added. In October last year, breakfast food major Kellog’s rebranded itself to Kellanova as part of a drive into the snacks sector to sell more on-the-go products.

PRC will be the ultimate platform for powerful predictions, discussions, and insights by leaders of retail. To know more about the event or to register, click here

Sagar Daryani, co-founder and CEO of Wow! Momo Foods Pvt Ltd, said he is looking forward to the Phygital Retail Convention (PRC) and hopes India’s largest retail convention should highlight the real issues faced by the retail sector, including the ongoing slowdown in the industry. “I think from what I’m hearing from my industry peers in the QSR space, in the FMCG space, and also many of whom I know in the retail sector, there is a silent slowdown that is happening, which is fair; business has its cycle,” he said. “Platforms like the Phygital Retail Convention are a great place to be where you can share knowledge, exchange ideas, and communicate. So yeah, I am looking forward to PRC,” he said.

Daryani, however, added that he expects to gain momentum in the later part of 2024-25. He said that the current lacklustre show in retail cannot be compared to 2021-22 and 2022-23 when Indians splurge on everything from food to fashion and from homewares to holidays in a revenge consumption pattern post-pandemic. “It’s a revenge consumption year that you’re comparing to a normal year and maybe the new normal is slightly slow for this year,” he said. The initial year (2024) may see a slight slowdown, Daryani said, but the second half will be fast.

PRC will be the ultimate platform for powerful predictions, discussions, and insights by leaders of retail. To know more about the event or to register, click here.