{"id":41957,"date":"2025-08-07T16:28:49","date_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:58:49","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/2025\/08\/07\/innovation-in-retail-becomes-key-focus-at-rai-hyderabad-summit-2025\/"},"modified":"2025-08-07T16:28:49","modified_gmt":"2025-08-07T10:58:49","slug":"innovation-in-retail-becomes-key-focus-at-rai-hyderabad-summit-2025","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/2025\/08\/07\/innovation-in-retail-becomes-key-focus-at-rai-hyderabad-summit-2025\/","title":{"rendered":"Innovation in Retail Becomes Key Focus at RAI Hyderabad Summit 2025"},"content":{"rendered":"<div>\n<p><strong>Hyderabad, August 6, 2025<\/strong>: Retailers Association of India (RAI) hosted the fourth edition of the Hyderabad Retail Summit (HRS) on August 06, 2025 at the Hotel ITC Kohenur Hyderabad. HRS is a content-led platform for industry stakeholders across categories to come together to learn, connect and engage in a common dialogue over issues relevant to retail in the region.<\/p>\n<p>Speaking about the developments in the retail industry,\u00a0<strong>Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI),<\/strong>\u00a0said, \u201c<em>Telangana has emerged as a stronghold for retail growth by blending economic expansion, digital-first governance, and a tech-enabled ecosystem. From modern malls to kirana stores adopting e-commerce, the state supports growth across formats. Retailers gain confidence here, not just from a customer base willing to spend, but from a government that enables, real estate that invites expansion, and infrastructure that helps businesses scale.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<p>Highlights of the\u00a0<strong>Hyderabad Retail Summit (HRS) 2025<\/strong>\u00a0were the in-depth panel discussions on topics such as The Future of Retail and How to Futureproof Ourselves, Managing Margins While Scaling: What Retailers Should Focus On, Brand Building &amp; Customer Loyalty: Earning Trust in the Digital Age, Marketing &amp; Omnichannel Mastery: Engaging the Connected Consumer, Staying Ahead of the Curve: Adapting to Changing Retail Technology, and Navigating CX: Building Loyalty Through Customer Experience.<\/p>\n<p>Sharing valuable insights on these panels were some prominent faces of the retail industry in the region, namely \u2013 P Jayakumar, CEO, Apollo Pharmacy; Madhukar Gangadi, Founder &amp; CEO, Medplus Health Services; Kiran Shinde, CEO, PMJ Jewels; Abhinay PVS, MD, RS Brothers Retail India Pvt. Ltd.; Y. Siva Govardhan Reddy, Business Head, Skandhanshi Retail Pvt. Ltd.; Sheetal Patil, CEO, Cream Stone Ice Cream Concepts, and Gautam Gupta, CEO, Paradise Food Court among others.<br \/>\n<img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-77850\" src=\"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/111-1.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/p>\n<p>Speaking at the event,\u00a0<strong>Avnish Kumar, Director, Neeru\u2019s | Chairman, RAI Hyderabad Chapter<\/strong>, said, \u201cThe biggest shift in Indian retail today is the rising demand for authenticity and relatability. Whether it\u2019s through ethnic fashion or curated shopping journeys, customers are no longer just buying products\u2014they\u2019re buying narratives. In Telangana, especially, we\u2019re seeing younger, digital-native shoppers value a brand\u2019s story and values as much as its price or quality. Retailers must now invest in brand-building as much as expansion to remain\u00a0relevant.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>P. Jayakumar, CEO, Apollo Pharmacies Ltd. | Vice Chairman, RAI Hyderabad Chapter<\/strong>, expressed, \u201cRetail success today hinges on operational intelligence\u2014especially in health and wellness. From predictive inventory to hyperlocal fulfilment, data-backed decisions are helping us meet needs faster and more affordably. The key isn\u2019t just technology, but how we use it to deliver trust, access, and value. Health retail in particular has become a blueprint for scalable, need-first omnichannel models.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><strong>Gautam Gupta, EIR Samara Capital,<\/strong>\u00a0added, \u201cIn F&amp;B retail, the challenge isn\u2019t just to serve great food-it\u2019s to serve great memories. Customer expectations have moved beyond hygiene and taste to seamless digital ordering, personalisation, and ambiance. What\u2019s exciting is how traditional formats like ours are adapting-using tech not to replace the human element, but to elevate it. That\u2019s the future of experience-led retail in India.\u201d<\/p>\n<p>Commenting on broader business trends,\u00a0<strong>Arshad Dhamani, Director, Kumar Shirts,<\/strong>\u00a0said, \u201cToday\u2019s customer is increasingly value-conscious, with a growing preference for casual and athleisure wear. In menswear especially, we\u2019ve seen strong brand loyalty, which has only deepened in the post-pandemic period. The shift in customer behaviour is clear, India\u2019s consumption story is evolving rapidly, and we are committed to being an integral part of that journey. As a brand that has stood for quality since 1987, Kumar Shirts continues to adapt while staying rooted in its legacy. With over three decades of experience, we understand that relevance today means combining trust, quality and price sensitivity with timely\u00a0innovation.\u201d<\/p>\n<p><img loading=\"lazy\" decoding=\"async\" class=\"alignnone size-full wp-image-77849\" src=\"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/08\/111-2.jpg\" alt=\"\" width=\"1200\" height=\"675\"><\/p>\n<p>HRS 2025 is Powered by National Mart. Platinum Partners included Neeru\u2019s Indian Ethnic and Amazon; Associate Partners include Apollo Pharmacy, Apollo 24\/7, Caf\u00e9 Niloufer; DONRACKS as Retail Fixture Partner, \u00a0 i-TEKRFID as RFID Partner; Event Partners include Radiwalla<a href=\"http:\/\/radiwalla.in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">.<\/a>in, Kumar (shirts and trousers), Sen Security Solutions; TRRAIN as Charity Partner, STOrai as the Magazine Partner, Digital Magazine Partner \u2013 Replenish and RAI Global Linker as Networking Partner.<\/p>\n<p><strong>About RAI:<\/strong><\/p>\n<p>Retailers Association of India (RAI) is the unified voice of Indian retailers. RAI works with all the stakeholders for creating the right environment for the growth of the modern retail industry in India. It is a strong advocate for retailing in India and works with all levels of government and stakeholders to support employment growth and career opportunities in retail, to promote and sustain retail investments in communities from coast to coast, and to enhance consumer choice and industry competitiveness.<\/p>\n<p><strong>Visit<\/strong>:\u00a0<a href=\"http:\/\/www.rai.net.in\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">www.rai.net.in<\/a><\/p>\n<p><strong>Follow on Twitter<\/strong>: @rai_india<\/p>\n<p><span>If you have any objection to this press release content, kindly contact pr.error.rectification@gmail.com to notify us. We will respond and rectify the situation in the next 24 hours.<\/span><\/p>\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>Hyderabad, August 6, 2025: Retailers Association of India (RAI) hosted the fourth edition of the Hyderabad Retail Summit (HRS) on&hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":3,"featured_media":41958,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[72],"tags":[639],"class_list":["post-41957","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-lifestyle","tag-lifestyle"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41957","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/3"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=41957"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/41957\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/41958"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=41957"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=41957"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/sattaexpress.co.in\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=41957"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}