India Center for Policy Research and Governance (ICPRG) in association with METRO Cash & Carry India in collaboration organised the sixth edition of the Retail Samvad, titled – Future of Small Retail: Building enabling ecosystem for small retailers and MSMEs to make them future-ready.
The deliberations revolved around the changing paradigm of the retail sector with the influx of new-age technologies and digitisation and how the sector can assist India to realise its ambition of becoming a 5 trillion-dollar economy.
Gopal Krishna Agarwal, BJP National Spokesperson, and UP BJP Executive Member inaugurated the event and highlighted the initiatives of the Government.
Lalit Agarwal, MD, V-Mart said, “The retail industry is currently undergoing a disruption of sorts. Consumer behaviour is continuously evolving and that is where small retailers are facing problems. Firstly, retailers are facing roadblocks when it comes to keeping pace with fast-changing consumer preferences. Secondly, retailers are also finding it difficult to manage costs as margins are often minuscule. The Government is undertaking a lot of measures but much more needs to be done in the retail space. Further, India is currently not consuming and that will only change, once per capita incomes increase in the coming years.”
Arvind Mediratta, MD and CEO of METRO Cash & Carry India, said, “The retail industry has witnessed many seminal events like demonetisation, GST, pandemic in the past couple of years which has boosted the digital economy. Modernising and digitalising operations of small retailers will make them future-ready. Hence, the Government needs to ensure easier access to loans under the PM Mudra scheme to facilitate the digitalisation and modernisation of the sector.”
Nidhi Gautam, Senior Consultant, MSDE highlighted the importance of skilling for small retailers.
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