<\/a>RLS 2014 commenced with the inaugural speech delivered by Mr BS Nagesh, Chairman, Retailers Association of India (RAI).
\nAligning with the core theme of the summit \u201cRetailing in Emerging Markets\u201d, the speech was focused on the evolution that the Indian retail market witnessed in the last 10 years.<\/p>\n

\u201cEntrepreneurs in retail should build businesses because they see value, not valuation\u201d \u2013 B S Nagesh,<\/strong> Chairman RAI, Founder, TRRAIN<\/p>\n

Retail is Value<\/strong>
\n\u201cThe last 10 years has seen positive and negative changes. There has been growth and in some cases, it has tipped\u00a0 into aggressive business expansion. Some retailers have used the slowdown of 2010-2013 to rectify the mistakes. More importantly, there are now thousands of companies and sub-segments of industry who have joined the retail\u00a0bandwagon,\u201d said Nagesh.<\/p>\n

\u201cAmongst the top 5 companies in every country, there is at least 1 retail company. The time will come when an Indian retailer too will feature amongst the top 10 retail companies in the world.\u201d He added.
\nThe politics of Retail<\/strong>
\n\u201cWhichever government comes to power, retail will benefit. If, after elections in May 2014, the government moves for FDI \u20135% of retail which is organized retail will benefit.\u00a0 In the Long term, the 95% of retail which is not part of Modern Retail will still benefit. And if, after May 2014, the government chooses to defer FDI, the sector will still grow\u201d, he noted.
\nThe next 5 years are likely to be golden years in terms of consumption he said. RAI believes that from the learning of last 10 years, the next 5 years are golden years in terms of growth and opportunity.
\nDo not build a business for FDI<\/strong>
\n\u201cEntrepreneurs in retail should build businesses because of the market opportunity, not because of valuation\u201d he said. It\u2019s important that the people who build businesses focus on value, NOT valuation.
\nWhat will change<\/strong>
\nThere are few major changes that we expect. One is the presence of online.\u00a0 While it\u2019s still 5% of retailers top line, and less than 2% of the overall sector, the simple fact is tommorrow\u2019s consumer is online.
\nPeople Power<\/strong>
\nPeople power is going to be important in the next decade. There\u2019s a need to develop skilled professionals and RAI extensively works on this and \u201cManning Modern Retail\u201d is one such platform where we discuss on this bringing in together India\u2019s retail fraternity.
\n\u2018Real Power\u2019 v.s \u2018Power of Power\u2019<\/strong>
\nThe Power of Power \u2013 refers to the fact that power cost has gone up, power is scarce. At the same time, some governments are slashing tariffs.\u00a0\u00a0 Retailers need to track developments and manage this dimension \u2013 as electricity costs impact the business.<\/p>\n

Well-governed retailers will command a premium.\u00a0 There is no space for a \u201cdukaandari\u201d mindset, when it comes to Governance. \u2013 B S Nagesh,<\/strong> Chairman RAI, Founder, TRRAIN<\/p>\n

Future focus: Governance<\/strong>
\n\u201cGovernance in retail is no longer \u2018dukaandari\u2019 governance. It\u2019s about building structurally strong and well governed companies.
\nThere\u2019s no more space for a \u201ckhandani\u201d mindset. Well-governed retail companies will create value \u2013 and will command a premium over peers. \u201c- he noted.<\/em><\/p>\n