Subodh Kant Sahay, minister of tourism, GOI, has assured complete government support to the retail sector in establishing India as a major shopping destination. In a message to the retailer and shopping centre developer community in India at the on-going India Shopping Centre Forum (ISCF) 2011.
The minister urged the retail sector to capitalise on the rich Indian culture and handicrafts to drive in more tourists into the country. The message was read out by Roma Singh, regional director, West, Ministry of Tourism. The minister is presently abroad.
Debating on ways to make ‘Incredible India’ a world destination for shopping, the panelists at a session on the subject, unanimously agreed upon the need to organise an Indian Shopping Festival to position India as a hot spot for shopping. Shopping can be a key driver for growth of Indian tourism and can contribute significantly to GDP and employment generation, they observed. The session was anchored by Dharmesh Jain, CMD, Nirmal Group and saw industry luminaries like Shishir Shrivastava, CEO & Executive Director, The Phoenix Mills Ltd., Arif Sheikh, ED, EWDPL and others.
Design dynamics dominated the post lunch session of ISCF 2011. In the session which was anchored by Shilpa Malik, Co. Founder and CEO, Star Centres saw panelists debate the Composite Power of Shopping centre design. They insisted on the importance of creation of a proper design brief for generating more foot falls at the shopping centre. The design of a shopping centre is often taken for granted. Retailers focus on the location of the mall and the catchments area rather than design for opening up a retail store. Mall design should focus on zoning, functional design, proper layout, parking design and natural and appropriate lighting. The design should not be limited to the physical appearance of the mall but the deeper concept of design should make consumers feel happy and satisfied. Moreover the design should be flexible as per the changing requirements. All this requires a deeper understanding of the design brief and the catchments area.
In the following session on How to make Incredible India a World Destination for Shopping anchored by Dharmesh Jain, CMD, Nirmal Group,the panelist strongly agreed that India needs to be and can be positioned as the next hot destination for shopping.
– IndiaRetailing Bureau
