A seminar on ‘Retail Industry in India’ was organized on 25th September, 2017, by Department of Management, Uttaranchal Institute of Management. Director-UIM, Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Suri was the Convener, and Dean-Research Prof. (Dr.) D.S. Choubey was the Co-Convener of the event. The Keynote Speakers were Mr. Bharat Rishi, Regional Manager (Delhi and Rajasthan), Tommy HILFGER, India and Ms. Aradhna Oberai, Stores Manager, Tommy HILFGER, India.
The seminar was inaugurated by Director-UIM, Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Suri. It was attended by the Organizing Committee comprising of HOD (Management), Dr. S M Mariam Fatima, Head – T&P (UIM), Mr. Bipin Kandpal, Co-ordinator T & P (UIM), Ms. Madhu Arora along with the faculty members and the management students from MBA, BBA and B.Com. (H) who were the target audience of the seminar.
The objective of the event was to make the students aware of the recent changes taking place in online and offline retail industry in India. The speakers pointed out that in the present scenario retail industry is the only industry registering remarkable growth whereas many other industries are facing financial challenges due to demonetization and enactment of GST etc. inter alia other factors. They further elaborated that the organized retail industry is far outperforming the unorganized retail industry by growing at the rate of 35 percent annually as compared to a mere 6 percent growth registered by the unorganized sector.
Earlier, it was feared that the online retail industry would adversely affect the offline retail. Instead, the real picture turned out to be totally opposite with most of the online retailers opening offline stores in our country. They further informed that online retail industry has already reached its plateau giving the feel of an impending downturn.
At the end of their address, the speakers invited questions from the audience. A few faculty members and some students raised queries regarding current retail industry scenario in our country. The experts enlightened the audience with their comprehensive answers strongly supported with facts and figures of the industry.
The Vote of Thanks was proposed by Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Suri, Director – UIM, who profusely thanked the Keynote Speakers for their time and the invaluable knowledge they imparted to the students. Thereupon, he thanked the organizers and all the participants. The seminar ended on a positive note lending a broader outlook to one and all present.
