Arvind Singhal, Chairman of retail consultancy, Technopak Advisors, set the tone of the two-day event by taking the audience through a journey of the evolution of India’s retail market – from the emergence of Shoppers Stop and other modern retailers on India’s scene in the 1990s to the current scenario of universal internet access that is helping boom e-commerce in the country.
“Per capita income was $300 in the 1990s and in ten years we will comfortably cross $5,000 and then the consumption really goes into a virtuous cycle,” Singhal told the audience.
Shailesh Chaturvedi, MD and CEO, Arvind Fashions stated on the consumption story will help unleash the real consumption of branded goods in India.
“Commoditization is a big hurdle for our business, and innovation is the only way to fight commoditization,” Chaturvedi said. “The purchasing power and per capita income will become important in our category of our business. “
Over the next course of two-day of IMAGES Group’s Phygital Retail Convention on August 24-25, about 180 top retail executives from food and grocery, fashion and lifestyle, home improvement, beauty and wellness, consumer electronics among various other segments will discuss and brainstorm the next phase of the convergence of physical and digital retailing in India and what role small town India or consumers in Bharat will play.
PRC 2022 kick started on 24 Aug 2022, focusing this year’s edition on the evolution of the retail sector in India and understanding the changes the sector is expected to witness brick-and-mortar and digital transformations in the coming years.
Singhal said India’s is currently a $800 billion annual retail market and that will swell to $1.8 trillion in the next ten years. “By then India will be a significant retail market only overshadowed by the US, China and Japan,” he said.
Shailesh Chaturvedi, MD and CEO, Arvind Fashions said ten years ago people said it is very difficult to sell premium jeans – at that time price at 150 euros brands that his company was planning to bring to India.
At present, the average price of Calvin Klein jeans that his company Arvind Fashions sells is Rs 14,000 and they sell lakhs of pairs of CK jeans every year.
