East India, which has been for some time on the radar of national and international retailers, has, of late, seen some hyper activity in planning and developing quality retail space by real estate developers.
With over 20 percent share in country’s total retail and 9 percent contribution to total modern retail in India, this region which includes the seven sister states of North east, indeed holds big promise for retailers as well as shopping centre developers.
It is with this backdrop that national and regional retailers are converging in Kolkata for the two-day East India Retail Summit (EIRS) 2012 scheduled on January 11 & 12 at ITC Sonar.
EIRS Chairman Harshvardhan Neotia (Chairman, Ambuja Realty) said, “The retail frontier is expanding like never before, and we as contributors and stakeholders have much to be proud of, having shaped the retail landscape in the region to make it one of the most exciting and keenly watched region in the Indian retail growth story.”
“It is with this very thought in mind that we echo our vision and the region’s star growth potential at the East India Retail Summit 2012 with the theme “East India: The Rising Star of Indian Retail,” Neotia said.
According to Amitabh Taneja, CMD, Images Group, “The East India Retail Summit will facilitate the evolution of modern retail in this vast but under leveraged market. For the second year in succession, we have drawn the region’s and the country’s biggest retail brands to proactively discuss, debate and address the challenges and opportunities of this massive market.”
Among the retail honchos, expected to grace the event and the conference with their presence will be Sunil Biyani, Future Group, Pramod Arora, PVR Cinemas, Vineet Gautam, Bestseller, Anant Daga, W, Rudra Kishore Sen, McDonalds, Sumit Sahay, Croma, Mehriar Patel, Globus, Tarun Lal, YUM, K Ramakrishnan, Café Coffee Days, K. Dasaratharama, Spencers, Rahul Saraf, Forum Projects, Rajeev Gopalakrishnan, Bata India, Pankaj Renjhen, JLL, Kishore Bhatija, InOrbit, Mohit Tikmany, Manyavar, Sanjiv Gupta, GKB, Sanjay Vakharia, Spykar and many more.
According to Mohit Tikmany, CEO, Vedant Fashions Pvt Ltd (Manyavar), “We had an enriching experience at EIRS’11 the first ever regional retail summit wherein had got an excellent opportunity to interact with the captains of the regional retail fraternity, share their experiences and understand their business models and practices.”
“Retail is one of the oldest professions in the world. As India prepares to re-invent modern retail and re-jig traditional mom and pop retail simultaneously, the EIRS is bound to serve as a timely, relevant, original and innovative forum for open debate, discussion and decision-support,” said Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.
The event will include an exhibition featuring the best-known brands, companies, vendors and partners for the Retail Industry in eastern India.
The event also includes Images East India Retail awards, an initiative to felicitate and honour the best performing retail companies. The Awards are spread across various categories like Apparel & Accessories, Consumer Durables, Home Fashion Brands, Furniture, Health, Beauty & Fitness, etc.
An added attraction this year is the India Brand Show, a fashion show featuring leading fashion brands, wherein the fashion brands will not just show case the latest trends but also try and tell the audience their fashion philosophy.
Top models including Shonal Rawat, Asif Azim & Karan Rao among others will walk down the ramp at the event.
