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Category: retail
Interview with Treasury Elite – Entrepreneur Series
Happy to share my entrepreneurial journey with you all. It felt good to recount my personal ups & downs ever since launching V-Mart back in year 2003.The type of strategical, technical and managerial challenges and workarounds it took to make us the brand which we are today is bound to …
Coronavirus effect – A push for Business Adaptability & Innovativeness
“Jo dikhta hai wohi bikta hai,” is a saying in Hindi often used with a penchant in business circles. However, enter the Coronavirus, and things take a turn sharply. With the entire nation locked down, hardly any business is getting a chance to showcase their products in the markets. This …
THIRD – RETAIL PANCHAYAT
Help support India’s Retail Employees on Retail Panchayat, India’s first intelligence-with-charity Platform
Retail Transformation Post Covid-19
The impetus on social distancing as a necessity arising from the global Covid-19 pandemic has a direct co-relation with the necessity for going digital for almost all businesses. It is a wake-up alarm dong for those whose omni-channel strategies might have been languishing under the wraps for years. Even once …
Building India’s LARGEST RETAIL BUSINESS With No Money | V-MART Story | Lalit Agarwal| Josh Talks
Starting a business with a meager capital is never easy. Many people get great ideas but when it comes to actuating those, few get off the pad! In this post / video, I would like to share my own entrepreneurial journey. It would be tremendously fulfilling for me if my …
Leadership Tips for SMEs & Startups
It was an honor to be invited as a guest speaker for the ‘Everything About Entrepreneurship’ program launched by Dr. Vivek Bindra’s company ‘Bada Business’. The program aims to train entrepreneurs and startups in how to take their businesses to the next level. A wide range of topics were covered …
An Honor to attend the World Retail Congress, 2019
World Retail Congress The World Retail Congress is the pinnacle of retail platforms which sees the top leaders of the worldwide retail industry meet and share valuable insights on the current and future retail trends and scope. From domestic and international bigwigs to path-breaking innovative start-ups, it is a high-level …
The 2019 TRRAIN Awards
I was recently invited to attend the TRRAIN (Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India) awards held at the Renaissance Powai hotel in Mumbai. The highlight of the event was a fashion show in which several CEOs walked the ramp showcasing Anita Dongre’s designer wear, wherein I was one …
A Day at Harvard Business School!
In our constant endeavor to uplift V-Mart’s management to that worthy of a global standard, I recently had the honor to be invited by the world-renowned Harvard Business School at Boston, MA to attend an alumni event associated with one of our topline management employee. The event, called the PLD …
Saluting the Grit & Determination of a Cherished Family!
2018 has been a grand year for me on several fronts. Firstly, V-Mart became the world’s best performing department store chain as per data from Bloomberg. We were also awarded as the Most Admired Retailer of the Year (Marketing & Promotions), as well as being awarded the Retail Excellence and …
Happy Retail Employees Day
Retail Employees Day is tribute to all our workforce which has made India the global retail destination of choice. Thanks, @nageshbsn, for being @ RED and conversing with all V-Martians!@TRRAINindia #Thankyoubolakya#RED2018
Toss that Time-wasting Culture Out, Now!
Have you ever heard of that adage: ‘The Boss is always right!’ Or, worse still, are you a die-hard follower of the same? Grow up! Such eons-old school thoughts have no place in the modern day and dynamic management environ. And if you happen to be one of those bosses …
How to Practice the Art of Resilience
We’ve all heard and know how crucial it is to be in shape mentally and physically to recover and spring back from negative situations – be at work or home. However, in today’s business dynamics, resilience is not merely an add-on but rather an imperative skill-set to possess. This is …
Integration of ERP into our retail business right from Day 1
“Tech innovation…the seamless integration of ERP into our retail business right from Day 1, is the single-most criteria which has made it possible for the humongous expansion and performance of V-Mart over the past decade.”
Stop Blaming Your Team!
We all have felt let down by our subordinates at one time or the other. It is natural. When your team doesn’t perform up to your expectations, feelings of anger and frustration naturally crops up. It’s time you did something different! Let us examine a few initiatives that you can …
How to become a Maestro of your Emotions
Be they from any field, true leaders share one common trait: a calm and collected persona even in the most stressful and negative of environs. Bear in mind I said ‘leaders’, not bosses. For a screaming, gesticulating person might get things done temporarily as being a boss, he can never …
RISE 2018
I’m forever on the lookout for platforms which bring together the best of retail minds. A healthy discussion on the current and evolving retail trends and govt. policies affecting retail in India is as important to me as my morning cup of green tea. And so, it was with much …
The Axiom of 3
It’s time to mull over just how much time we invariably spend each day on uncharted occurrences and seemingly ‘urgent’ tasks and ‘important’ meetings – all at the loss of being productive by doing the work for which we actually are in office! This happens because majority of us tend …
A Call to All Micromanagers!
The ironic element pertaining to micromanagement is that while most everyone grumbles about being micromanaged, you won’t likely unearth an individual who professes to be a micromanager. Take a gander in the mirror and it might shock you to discover you’re one of this breed! Yes, chances are you might …
In-store inventiveness Key to achieve True Omni-channel Potential
The traditional brick-and-mortar stores are re-emerging in significance – as the retail industry ploughs ahead to tackle the omni-channel business model and associated consumer expectations in an optimal manner. More and more retailers are now utilizing their physical stores as distribution hubs to meet online demand. But this requires improvising …
Hail Ima Keithal: The Hallmark of Women Entrepreneurship!
I recently was in Imphal, the capital city of Manipur. Besides the beauty of this small northeastern state, what struck a chord ithin was the experience of visiting the Khwairamband Bazar, better known as the Ima Keithal market. For instance, it happens to be the world’s only all-women run marketplace. …
The Correct Way of Succession Planning
Identifying, harnessing and developing the right mix of employees as future leaders in your company is as much an art as science. However, there are several factors which often negatively impact this exercise. Intuition Bias This is perhaps the most disruptive of all politics. More often than not the top …
Glad to attend Economic Times Family Business Round table NxtGen Family Business Forum. Thanks for the rewards and recognition
Setting up Targets: The Realistic Way
Every company sets up targets. But whether it achieves it or not often remains just a paper exercise. Allow me to share my views on how to set targets firstplace. That, to a large extent, would determine if it’s up to your company to realize them or not. Spare falling …
Panel Speaker at Retail India Summit and Expo 2017, EROS Hotel on 31st August
Collaboration: The New Business Imperative for Retailers & Vendors -RISE 2017 held at EROS Hotel, Nehru Place, New Delhi on 31st August. The consumers of today have evolved to a level where retailers constantly have to keep on their toes to assess and meet not only the demand for quality merchandise …
Time India takes a stronger approach to the Doklam Standoff!
It’s now over a month of the Doklam impasse between India and China. The tri-junction of Bhutan continues to remain tense, with China continuing to harbor an extremist stance. It has gone even so far as to say that there cannot be any chances of negotiations unless Indian troops withdraw …
Welcome #GST
It’s time for over-hauling the national transportation infrastructure
The supplementary operations developed to foster e-commerce have evolved into full-grown businesses in their own perspective, leveraging the scale they formed to support the e-commerce evolution to offer services to a hoard of new businesses in various industry verticals. A prime example herein is the logistics business, which has evolved …
The Catch-22 scenario of transforming to a Digital Society
Digitalization is the new buzzword in the country, especially since the controversial demonetization drive launched by PM Modi on November 8 last year. Vast swathes of people from all walks of life who had never before been introduced to digitalization were prompted to switch to the digital platform for making …
The Debate on RBI’s Autonomy
It is somewhat of a relief to know the finance ministry stating Saturday that the govt. respects the independence & autonomy of the Reserve Bank of India. The demonetization drive has thrown up concerns on the RBI’s autonomy being under question. Besides many other factions, two of its former governors, …
Musings on the upcoming Union Budget
This year’s Union Budget is bound to be more interesting considering the recent backdrop behind its inception. Foremost lies the consideration of a frail world economy underpinned by an unpredictable US, with Donald Trump as the new President. Internally, India is still estimating the consequences of demonetization while the country’s …
There’s some Good even in Bad…a slice from History
History has always fascinated me. Often, it manifests itself as a struggle between the good and the bad. But it is said that there is some good even in the worst of villains. A few of the most brutish leaders come to mind. Let’s consider Joseph Stalin, the erstwhile Russian …
Complexity of doing business affecting foreign interest in Indian retail
It’s not too surprising that despite so many industrial policy reforms India continues to elude a major influx of wholehearted foreign investment. Blame it on the country having one of the most complex web of retail policies globally. Unlike many other countries which have a streamlined and uniform set of …
Let’s hail 24X7 Shopping!
Much has already been written about the Model shops and establishment act bill of 2016, which proposes to liberalize shopping in India in a major way. While many quarters are going into overdrive with the hype and hoopla revolving around the potential security and feasibility concerns, I feel it’s a …
Why Indian Brands have failed to make a Global impact
Has anyone given a serious thought as to why our Indian fashion retail brands have been just that – Indian? Why have they failed to make any sort of global impact? Consider the international brands which have made a poignant impression on the minds (and shopping habits) of Indians, youth …
The charm of Hyperlocal Marketplaces
By coupling the ease of online shopping with the convenience of the next-door traditional store, ‘hyperlocal’ markets are fast becoming the new-age retail formats. As with any online shopping portal, shoppers on a hyperlocal market set-up can surf through products of several vendors with the click of a button, and …
Retail sector under the scrutiny of cyber hackers in India
According to a recent report the Indian retail industry happens to be the second-most targeted section after financial services by cyber attackers as data protection is fast turning out to be a tough task to manage. It was revealed at the India Retail Forum last month that more than 90% …
The Faculty of Management Studie -FMS Annual Convention, Delhi
I recently had the honor of being a guest speaker at one of the most prestigious Management institutes of our country – The Faculty of Management Studies (FMS). The institute had organized its Annual Convention, an event aimed towards sharing best business practices to mold …
CSR springs from Heart
I have always believed that there could be no true meaning or worth of social responsibility unless it springs from the bottom of one’s heart. This is more so when we speak of Corporate Social responsibility. Many view it as a mere business promotion activity or attach political benefits to …
The Need for a Hybrid Retail Model in India
An online retailer raising the hackles of the traditional brick and mortar retailers; and few traditional retailers planning online forays is old hat. Ultimately, what matters equally to customers is ease of shopping besides getting the right product at the right prices. And that would prompt the dual existence of …
The Beginning…
It is often said that the seeds of the future get engrained in one’s early childhood. For those who don’t know me closely enough, it might come as a surprise that I have had a very humble childhood. Born in 1970 in Kolkata, I still remember my early days as …