Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research is one of the six colleges selected across the globe for the competition at World Retail Congress, at the InterContinental, Berlin, during 25 -28 September, 2011. WeSchool also has the distinction of being the only Indian institute participating in the Congress. The team of students including Shardul Bakre, Sanjay Manglani, Shagun Singh and Krishna Turakhia (PGDM-Retail Management) will be led and guided in their efforts by Prof (Dr) Swapna Pradhan, faculty- Retail Management, WeSchool.

The competition, Retail Futures Challenge, launched in 2009, is one of the quintessential events at the Congress. It highlights the importance of retail industry links with colleges of higher education, and acts as a showcase of the brightest young talents waiting in the wings to take over their dream roles in the retail industry. The Challenge sees Berlin’s flagship department store, KaDeWe playing a central role in the competition. Each shortlisted team is expected to select a brand from their country not currently stocked by the store and develop a retail entry strategy including a marketing campaign – emphasizing e-marketing channels.

The selected teams will be then given a small capsule space in the store which will feature all six brands in a special area within KaDeWe the week before and during the World Retail Congress.

All the six teams will present their brand entry strategy to a panel of judges before the full Congress audience on 27 September. This promises to be, yet again, one of the standout sessions at the Congress and will provide inspiration, excitement and a spotlight on the future generation of retail leaders Participating colleges other than WeSchool include FIT (Newyork), IULM(Milan). Fashion Retail Academy( London) Rikkyo University (Tokyo), Hongkong Polytechnic University(Hongkong) Welingkar had participated in the Congress previous year too and won the competition in ‘visual merchandising’ in a thrilling finale. PGDM in Retail Management is one of the most sought after courses at Welingkar Institute and is known to give excellent grooming along with global exposures to its students which goes a long way in supporting them to glide into the roles of their choice in the retail industry.

Prof Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, Welingkar Institute when asked about his views on the participation and the winning of Welingkar in the Congress said, “It has been the Institute’s philosophy to give the best possible exposure to its student to ingrain the global perspective into their DNA. Living in times which are overcrowded, and hypercompetitive, the best way to carve out a niche for yourself is to break through the noise, and this can be done by giving more to the customers in terms of quality, service, value and comfort. We are trying to inculcate the same in our students, and such wins at platforms like World Retail Congress confirm that we are heading in the right direction”

The World Retail Congress is an industry-devised, board-level forum launched in 2007 that discusses issues affecting the international retail industry; covering core retail issues as well as social, economic, political and ethical concerns. It is a highly effective networking event that connects retailers, brands and industry experts to help deliver invaluable and business-transforming introductions. The congress gives platform to over 100+ leading retail industry speakers addressing key issues across 40+ presentations.

In the given backdrop of a fast-changing retail world, the Congress intends to address retailers’ concerns on how to re-focus on the basics of good retailing which can help deliver growth, an understanding of what multi channel retailing really means for their brands, the rise in mobile communications and its use by today’s consumers and how to deliver successful international growth and having a real understanding of shopper behaviour both on and off line.