Mumbai, September 22, 2022: The Manning Modern Retail (MMR) 2022 by Retailers Association of India (RAI) was hosted on 21st September 2022. The 16th edition of the conclave brought together CEOs, CPOs/CHROs, academia and thought leaders from the retail industry to discuss their ideas, opinion and experiences on the theme ‘Shifting Gears: Reshaping the future of Work’, and arrive at the holistic way forward for businesses on the evolving workplace nuances.

RAI member establishments, which include large and small establishments, provide direct and Indirect employment to ~46 million Indians. MMR is where retail leaders deliberate on macro-level people strategies. Being a service-driven industry, people are the biggest assets of the retail industry.

Speaking about MMR 2022, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, “Retailers and consumers have gone through some tough times during the pandemic. However, they have also learnt new lessons. While customers learnt new ways of shopping, retailers are adapting to these changes. Retailers have become more agile as they have evolved to operate omnichannel businesses and how to work with just-in-time inventory. The natural requirement has also been that people and the way in which people have worked has got changed. The Manning Modern Retail HR conclave is a common platform to bring together various people from the HR fraternity to discuss what they have learnt and what to look forward to for the industry.”

The key highlight of the conclave was the Keynote delivered by Dr C. Jayakumar, Executive Vice President & Head Corporate Human Resource (CHRO), Larsen & Toubro Ltd. and Special Address by BS Nagesh, Founder – TRRAIN & Chairman – Shoppers Stop Ltd.

Notable speakers at MMR 2022 included retail stalwarts such as Ashwin Khasgiwala, Chief Business Operations, Reliance Retail; K Radhakrishnan, CEO, StarQuik (TATA Group); Gopal Asthana, Chief Business Operations, Nykaa Fashion; Gulshan Bakhtiani, Founder-Director, Wellness Forever Medicare Pvt. Ltd; Manish Kapoor, Managing Director & CEO, Pepe Jeans India Ltd; to name a few.

Speaking about key trends shaping the future of work, Manish Kapoor, CEO, Pepe Jeans, said, “Workforce diversity especially with the arrival of millennials, Digitization, New Behaviours led by social media influence and Mobility-work from anywhere are the key trends shaping the future of work. Employees are the most important internal customers of any consumer-centric organisation and it’s imperative that the organisation recognises and addresses these on priority.”

The conclave progressed into a power-packed panel discussion on Leading Talent Transformation in a Hybrid Era, Building value-based organization and balancing employee wellbeing and a roundtable discussion on the rise of Extech for the Retail Frontline. The agenda also included a special masterclass on Digital HR Transformation – How More Retail Empowered the Frontline Managers to Unlock Growth.

CHROs sharing their learnings and insights at MMR 2022 included, Anjali Goel, Head HR, V- Mart Retail; Haneesh Mohan Nambiar, Head HR, Apollo Pharmacies; Kanchan Banerjee, CHRO, Vedant Fashions; Mukta Nakra, Head – HR & Sustainability, Marks & Spencer Reliance India; Nishigandha Kulkarni, CHRO, Wellness Forever Medicare; Preeti Malhotra Lobo, Head – HR, Skechers South Asia; Parineeta Cecil Lakra, Country People & Culture Manager, IKEA India; Rahul Vijayvargiya, Vice President – HR, Reliance Retail (Pharma); Richa Bhatnagar, Head HR, House of Anita Dongre; Venkat Iyer, Head – People & Organisation (Retail), PUMA Sports India; Seema Arora, Head HR – India Business, Lenskart.com; Venkataramana B, Former Group President – HR, Landmark Group India; among many others.

The conclave concluded with the 6th edition of the Retail HR Awards, recognising the Best Employee Engagement Practice (Organization Level) and Emerging Young Leader in HR (Individual Level)

A) Best Employee Engagement Practice (Organisation Level)

Winner: Titan Company Limited

1st Runner-up: Celio Future Fashion Ltd.

2nd Runner-up: Inorbit Malls (India) Pvt. Ltd.

B) Emerging Young Leader in HR (Individual Level)

Winner: Shivani Dimri – BigBasket

1st Runner-up: Ruchika Badruka – Reliance Retail (JioMart Marketplace)

2nd Runner-up: Vrinda Bhatia – Reliance Retail (Fashion & Lifestyle)

Manning Modern Retail (MMR), Retail HR Conclave is focused on developing ideas and resource capabilities to understand the retail industry’s most pressing issues around people practices. Over the years, this conclave has become an essential annual gathering for the retail HR fraternity to explore, engage and exchange ideas on moving towards sustainable growth.