India as a destination in the global business strategy for every major international organization is well-established now. As a testament to this, in the last few months, Jeff Bezos, Amazon; Mark Zuckerberg, Facebook; Sheryl Sandberg, Facebook; Mary Barra, General Motors; Satya Nadella, Microsoft; Indra Nooyi, Pepsico; Tadashi Yanai, Uniqlo, Jack Ma, Alibaba… are few of the global CEOs who have made their visit to India, betting on its potential and importance as a market no global company can afford to keep off its radar. Also President Obama’s visit shows the importance the world economies attach to India and India’s promise as being one of the most exciting places to be in, and where the future markets are going to be shaped.
For us closer back home too, this is indeed the most opportune time for us as the leaders who know the Indian market and the Indian consumer so well, to leverage this rising consumerism and fashion consciousness to pave the future of fashion. For the last 15 years, the annual congregation of the INDIA FASHION FORUM has become the platform to be seen at and profit from the knowledge sharing by the Fashion, Trends and Lifestyle industry captains.
Kabir Lumba, Managing Director, Lifestyle International Pvt Ltd. is chairing the 2015 mega annual congregation of India Fashion Forum (IFF) scheduled to take place on 18-19-20 March 2015, Mumbai, India. Senior industry leaders like Rakesh Biyani, Joint MD, Future Retail, Gautam Singhania, Chairman & MD, Raymond, Nikhil Meswani, ED, Reliance Industries and Dr. Darlie Koshy, DG, IAM and ATDC – Apparel Export Promotion Council have chaired the forum in past.
Calling upon the fashion and retail industry stakeholders to join him to bring in the era of Fashion 2.0 in India, the IFF chairman Said that IFF, ever since its inception 15 years ago, had aimed to catalyse the fashion business through evolution of best practices, encouraging new ideas and innovation. IFF has earned the hallmark status of being the most well-established and influential fashion knowledge forum of the region and benchmarked globally as the flagship annual event of the fashion industry in India.
”In keeping with this aim, at this year’s edition of the IFF, we have a three-pronged approach to help Indian fashion businesses realize their potential – 1. Think Fashion Forward, 2. Plan for the Long Haul and, 3. Act with Creative Intelligence’” he said.
IFF has been propagating these approaches for the past 15 years through multiple platforms including conferences, master-classes, workshops, sourcing exhibitions, globally-aligned design and trend displays to a large inclusive audience — CEOs of textile giants / fashion brand heads, merchandisers /creative heads and heads of retail organizations.
Fashion business across the world is changing at a rate faster than ever before, and IFF 2015 will therefore be centered on four principles of success for the post-technology consumer.
Innovation in products | Innovation is the lifeline of fashion. Be it in the next-gen engineering of denim design, or a smart placket detail, if your product isn’t updated, your business won’t grow enough.
Innovation in experiences | Indian consumers now look for a great retail experience when shopping for fashion. Do your stores generate ‘interest and awe’?
New brands, Fresh Ideas | Consumers constantly yearn to experience something new. Fresh ideas and new brands do drive consumption, especially in fashion. New concepts add to sales, be it by reinventing khadi for modern silhouettes or developing a specialty jewellery brand. India needs new entrepreneurial concepts in fashion!
Technology, Technology, Technology | It’s the newest ingredient for success in fashion retailing. Technology has touched every aspect of the business from cutting-edge textile engineering to fashion design, from in-store engagement to social media activations, from customer analytics and Big Data to supplier collaboration and more importantly in creating an Omni-channel experience. While technology is everywhere, we need to get the best from it!
Finally, successful fashion brands are the result of imagination, creativity, adventure and real passion. We can then create incredibly profitable businesses.
A path-breaking IFF 2015 presents an incredible mix of iconic global and Indian speakers delivering keynotes, CEO Roundtables, workshops and talk shows. There will also be four finely-calibrated exhibitions on fashion ideas and innovations (INDIA BRAND SHOW, INFASHION, FASHION RETAIL TECH, and INDIA SHOP). This magnum opus of the fashion industry will also celebrate excellence and recognise outstanding achievements with the IMAGES Fashion Awards – one of the most glamorous fashion awards extravaganzas.
Bonnie Brooks of Saks Fifth Avenue to meet Indian fashion industry captains at IFF
Fashion and retail industry captains and executives will get a ‘never before’ opportunity to meet and interact with Bonnie Brooks, Vice Chairman of Hudson’s Bay Company, which owns and operates iconic luxury fashion retailer Saks Fifth Avenue among other formats, at the IFF. Read more
About the IFF’15 Chairman
Kabir Lumba is Managing Director of Lifestyle International Pvt. Ltd., a leading retailer in India, part of the Landmark Group, Dubai – a multi-billion dollar retail and hospitality conglomerate.
With a presence in over 52 cities in India, Lifestyle International today is an industry leader and comprises a Department Store chain – Lifestyle, a home products format – Home Centre – and a value fashion chain – Max.
In his ten years with the company, Kabir has driven consistent growth, formed alliances with world renowned brands, and nurtured a private label program – which accounts for more than 30 percent of the company’s sales today. Under his tenure the company has won numerous awards and accolades including ‘Best Department Store’ for four successive years, and recognition as Best Company to Work for in Retail Industry – 2014 by Great Place to Work Institute & RAI.
Kabir is the recipient of the ‘Most Admired Retail Professional of the Year’ Award at Images Retail Awards 2014, an annual event dedicated for recognizing and honoring retail excellence in India.
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