India Shopping Centre Forum ends on a high note

The 48 hours of this mega event witnessed enriching panel discussions, special master classes by international experts from the industry, a memorable awards ceremony and most importantly, an exhibition displaying the innovations in the industry.

Arjun Sharma, Chairman, ISCF'13 and Director, Select CITYWALK addressed the keynote on confessions of a shopping centre developer - Journey from the first Brick to a Landmark. During his keynote session, Mr. Sharma said; "It is very important to be relevant with changing market and consumer dynamics.

"The need of the hour is to ensure that you remain relevant to the consumer by offering him options to shop at a time convenient to him, offer services which enable him to shop better, be curt enough to tell a non-performing retailer to shut shop and have a clear definition of what they expected the profile of the mall to be hence being bold enough to refuse retailers who did not fit the bill. As industry players we need to gather data segment wise for betterment of the sector."

Amitabh Taneja, Chief Convener, India Shopping Centre Forum and Founder Director, Shopping Centre Association of India set the context for the Indian Shopping Centres Forum by sharing their vision and outlook for the future of Indian Retail Real Estate through a welcome address. In his speech, Mr. Taneja said; "The 2013 edition of ISCF focuses on the retailer developer partnership to create a strong consumption culture in India.

"At a time when Indian real estate majors are betting big on large spaces and Indian retail industry looks ahead towards the next 100 million sq.ft. of modern shopping environment, it will be extremely vital to understand the requirements of global retail chains and involve them in planning and designing not only the next 100 malls but also to rework on majority of the existing but 'not so well' performing assets."

The event advanced with a networking event and a video showreel presenting the mission and vision of this event. Special master classes THE A-Z OF BECOMING A SUCCESSFUL MALL MANAGER was organized covering key concepts of Shopping Centre management and presenting a practical tool kit for shopping centre professionals which were conducted by international expert- Ian Watt, Director, Pioneer Property Zone.