The apex body of retailers in India, Retailers Association of India (RAI), organised the Retail India Summit and Expo (RISE) 2017 on 31 August & 1 September in New Delhi. Themed “Collaboration: The New Business Imperative”, the summit brought together key decision makers from across Indian retail industry to deliberate upon collaborations in an evolving business ecosystem.

“In order to cater to the constantly changing value perception of customers, retailers need to create propositions that also evolve rapidly. This cannot be achieved by standing tall and alone. Collaboration is the name of the game for them. They need to constantly seek value across the value chain or face the risk of being redundant. They need to collaborate for merchandise, people, resources, space, finance and technology to offer the best to customers. We, at RAI, constantly try to give retailers and service providers to the retail industry, effective platforms that they can use to look for potential partners and collaborate. RISE 2017 is one such initiative,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, RAI.

Delivering the inaugural address, Guest of Honour Shri Santosh Kumar Gangwar, Hon'ble Minister of State of Dept. of Finance, Govt. of India, acknowledged the contribution of retail to India’s economy and reaffirmed the government’s commitment to facilitate ease of business for retailers. Thanking retailers for readily accepting and implementing the Goods & Services Tax, he explained that the government was keen on helping retail grow in India.

While the summit sought to equip retailers with insights on the current trends and paradigms in retail, the Expo served as the definitive platform to help retailers find the right business partners and solutions to help take their businesses to the next level.  

Discussions at the summit revolved around the following topics:

• The Future of Retail: Emerging Technology and Store Formats
• Creating Memorable Customer Experience: Together We Win
• Omni-channel success through Digital Transformation
• Trends and Innovation in Retail Real Estate

The GST session was one of the most appreciated as it helped retailers and tax professionals in attendance understand the finer nuances of the Goods & Services Tax. 

Attendees also benefitted from a 'Masterclass on Design Thinking Trends Curating Unique Store Experiences' by experience expert Surender Gnanaolivu.

Retail India Summit & Expo 2017 proved to be a great learning and meeting ground for retailers in the region.