Starting India Fashion Forum 2022 With Purpose, Pioneering, and Profitability

With its 21st edition, India's biggest fashion retail intelligence event returns with a bang.

March 2022: The IMAGES Group, South Asia's and the Middle East's leading retail intelligence firm, will launch the 21st edition of India Fashion Forum, India's largest fashion retail intelligence event, on 23rd March 2022 at The Leela Ambience in Gurugram.

IFF Chairman Akhilesh Prasad, President & CEO, Fashion & Lifestyle Business, Reliance Retail, discussed the curveball thrown by the epidemic and emphasised Reliance's rapid reaction. Mr. Prasad said,

"The one certainty about the future is that it will always be unpredictable, and we need models that account for that."

The industry's future is fluid and dynamic, and we must design models that are more adaptable than ever before. The key to succeeding in this uncertain environment is to be prepared to confront obstacles head-on and seize opportunities that present themselves.

Saloni Nangia, President, Technopak, opened the discussion by providing insights into the fashion retail business via the perspective of the economy and GDP, the broader fashion industry, and major trends for 2022–23. She emphasised the impact of COVID-19 on consumer purchasing power and expressed her hope for the industry's recovery over the next several years, with a projected 10% growth in GDP every year until 2025.

"Technology is on track to be the industry's greatest value generator,"

The top education and networking platform was launched with an opening presentation by MC Anish Trivedi, President & CEO, Alenka Media, who greeted guests and said optimistically,

"Fashion retail in India is genuinely vibrant and alive." Let us capitalise on this momentum and make the most of India's greatest fashion retail event."

The first panel of India Fashion Forum 2022 focused on developing future-proof fashion retail models that are meaningful, innovative, and lucrative. This packed panel was moderated by B. S. Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN, and featured insights from panellists Akhilesh Prasad, President & CEO, Reliance Retail's Fashion & Lifestyle Business, Ayushi Gudwani, Founder & CEO, Fable Street, Himanshu Chakrawarti, President, Snapdeal, Mukesh Kumar, Chairman, Shopping Centres Association of India, CEO, Infiniti Malls

The talk concentrated on the issue of breaking into the fashion retail market and the associated hurdles. The panellists agreed on the critical nature of having a clear mission and structuring the organisation around it. Concerning profitability, the panellists discussed the need of striking a balance between ecommerce and brick and mortar retailers. Ms. Gudwani credited this balance to each business making its own decision and charting its own course of success. Mr. Prasad said,

"The world will change far more in the next seven years than it did in the last seventeen years."

The panel then discussed pioneering, with Dr. Darlie O Koshy, an educator and design management strategist, introducing the Dhoni Phenomenon in the fashion retail business, in which talent from small towns is achieving success. Continuing the subject on talent, Mr. Gautam emphasised the country's wealth of talent. The difficulty is in cultivating the patience necessary to nurture such skill. He encourages businesses to cultivate a growth culture in which opportunities regularly sell the dream to new talent. The insightful panel discussion was capped up with the formal launch of the IMAGES India Business of Fashion Report 2022.

The panel discussion was followed by innovative and mind-bending sessions featuring the powerful voices of Kunal Bahl, Co-Founder, Chairman, and CEO, Snapdeal, and Harminder Sahni, Founder, Wazir Advisors, in a discussion about cracking India's value commerce code, as well as a speech by Pranav Ahuja, CEO, Xeno, who demonstrated how the world's largest companies today predict and personalise their services and products.

The day's second panel discussion focused on rethinking physical retail. The event opened with a keynote address by the program's host, Praveen Mellacheruvu, Country Head - Business Applications, Microsoft, who discussed solutions for a physical retail environment. The panellists were Abhishek Bansal, ED, Pacific Malls, Darpan Kapoor, Vice Chairman, Chandigarh Council, Raghu Rajagopalan, President & COO, Max Fashion, Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India – Sports and Leisure Apparel Limited, and Rishabh Soni, MD, SSIPL.

Ninad Takpere, VP of Sales at Gupshup, delivered a keynote address on conversational fashion and the implications for customer engagement in the apparel industry, while Rajul Aggarwal, Industry Lead – Retail at Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd., delivered a session address on the evolution of retail's new growth levels.

The first half of Day 1 was culminated with an informational and innovative panel discussion led by Harmeet Bajaj, Product Development and Communications Strategist, Fashion Academician, with inputs from panellists Atul Bajaj, Executive Director – Sales & Operations, Puma, Johnson Verghese, MD, Fossil India, Rajul Agarwal, Industry Lead – Retail, Accenture Solutions Pvt. Ltd., Sanjeev Rao, CEO, Being Human Clothing, and Vineet Gautam, CEO, Bestseller.

The India Fashion Forum 2022 is a venue for remarkable, game-changing innovation in the fashion sector, from agile design tools to amazing in-store technology influencers, from the dynamic science of fashion retail analytics to hyper-targeted social marketing.

Significant Points –

"By 2024–25, merchandise retail consumption is estimated to exceed US $1 trillion."

"Physical retail must increase the variety of products accessible in-store to compete with digital offers — internet retailers provide millions of products at a look."

"The harsh fact is that we must be prepared to provide more development possibilities in order to attract and retain people. "Talent must be motivated by the organization's and its leaders' mission."

"Around 2017, the Jio-led 4G revolution altered the size of ecommerce in the nation. The critical point is to keep moving ahead."

"We now live in a predictive and personalised environment."

"Innovation and technology are critical — particularly technology that can be employed attractively in brick-and-mortar establishments."

"Conversational messaging has the potential to simplify the overall fashion experience."

"Reset, reinvent, and pivot to the proper model."

"The constant question we ask ourselves is this: Are we being human?"

More About India Fashion Forum:

India Fashion Forum (IFF), founded in 2000, is India's biggest fashion retail intelligence event. Each year, IFF brings together the most significant consumer trends, market information, and retail innovation in the Indian fashion sector via a potent combination of conference sessions, seminars and master courses, zonal displays, and industry awards. Through a world-class mix of keynote addresses, panel discussions, CEOs Roundtables, presentations, knowledge series sessions, and workshops, this edition of IFF Conference will provide unparalleled insights from international and Indian industry experts, academics, global fashion research majors, and analysts. Four thematic exhibition platforms — Fashion Sourcing, L Cube, Asia Shop, and India Brand Show — will showcase the most cutting-edge fashion ingredients, design innovation, technology, retail strategies, and solutions to a global gathering of fashion industry professionals from India and other countries.