IAA Knowledge Seminar on Future of Retail Marketing

The International Advertising Association (IAA) India Chapter hosted a Knowledge Seminar on Saturday, December 20, 2014 to discuss the future of retail marketing. Top marketing and advertising experts were in attendance to discuss on the topic.

The event was held at Le Meridien hotel in Bengaluru. The IAA Knowledge Seminar was inaugurated by Ramesh Aravind, popular film actor, writer, director, producer and TV host. “India’s retail sector is 15% of the country’s GDP. It gives employment to 4.43% of the population. The IAA Knowedge Seminar brought to the fore several issues concerning the sector as also the tradition brick-and-mortar stores will co-exist with the e-tailing revolution,” said Srinivasan K Swamy, IAA India Chapter & Vice President, Development Asia/ Pacific Region of IAA.

Noted actor and director Ramesh Aravind who was the Chief Guest at the seminar, while making his inaugural remarks said, “Right since childhood, we have are used to the unorganised retail and the online 1 billion dollar sale left me amazed. I also ended up becoming a part of the online revolution when I bought a pair of shoes which I didn’t really need”. He also added, “Ever since I was a child, my parents, teachers and others kept telling me that the future is in your hands. I now realise that the future is indeed in my hands, in the form of the mobile phone, as we have started using the phone for e-commerce transactions, banking and more.”

The first speaker among the retail experts was Damodar Mall, CEO, Grocery Retail, Reliance Retail Limited. “Modernity in retail trade and the self service format are fuelling demand for better retail systems. Organised retail surrounds the woman consumer with products without pre-judging or any opinion. It lets her make the choice,” Damodar Mall said. Charulata Ravi Kumar, CEO, Razorfish India said, “The digital marketing and technology alone can’t transform businesses, Innovations are key to success of marketing.” 

Sundeep Nagpal, CEO, Stratagem Media said, “Consumer choices and preferences have taken over the media. Be it print, television, outdoor or radio, every medium will have to convert to digital.  In-store sales influenced by internet has doubled in the last six years in US markets.” Next up was Meera Harish, former VP, Titan industries, she said, “The transition of the Indian consumer in the retail story is visible.”

The last speaker of the evening was Sandeep Tarkas, President, Customer Services, Future Group. “Malls will stay as they are also a destination for evening outings with the family,” he said. “They are places for social interactions”, he added.

Anand Sankeshwar, MD, VRL Media Ltd and Chairperson of the event said, “We, at Vijayavani, were overwhelmed with the response we received to the seminar which provided great learning to all those keen on understanding the Retail scenario in the country.”