In-store Asia 2024: The who's who of retail met in Mumbai

Pioneering expo for the retail industry in India and South Asia

23/07/2024

by Julia Pott

Networking at the In-store Asia 2024 retail expo; Copyright: In-store Asia

The 15th In-store Asia was an overwhelming success! From 13 to 15 June 2024, the Bombay Exhibition Centre in Mumbai was transformed into the vibrant hub of the retail industry. The largest trade fair for retail investment on the Indian subcontinent offered visitors and exhibitors a lively platform to explore new solutions and cultivate valuable business contacts.

With over 5,500 enthusiastic trade visitors, including numerous decision-makers from renowned retail brands, the trade fair exceeded all expectations. In-store Asia presented the latest trends and innovations in shopfitting, visual merchandising, in-store marketing and retail technology. Visitors were impressed by the variety and quality of the solutions and services on offer.

Trends in the Indian retail industry in the convention programme

At In-store Asia 2024, participants were able to discover a wealth of forward-looking ideas and innovations that will shape the Indian retail industry in the coming years. This variety of topics at the expo was complemented by the convention's diverse programme.

High-calibre speakers from retail companies, consumer goods manufacturers, exhibiting companies and agencies shared their latest insights and provided the audience with deep insights into the dynamic development and trends of the Indian retail market.

Key topics such as sustainable retail design, modern shopfitting, promising customer experience concepts and effective brand marketing were highlighted in numerous presentations and panel talks. The challenges of individual retail segments, such as travel retail or shopping centres, were also discussed.

How can retailers inspire travelling customers?

These presentations and panel events at the congress focussed on developments and new concepts in the travel retail industry:

Presentation: Designing a travel experience

Devayani Vijayan, AVP Performance Marketing, Bangalore International Airport Ltd

Presentation: Making the journey as enjoyable as the destination: Evolution of the travelling consumer and their expectations

Naresh Sharma, Chief Executive Officer, IRHPL

Panel discussion: How retail experience design has evolved to capitalize on the growth in traveling consumers

Apurva Priyadarshni, Country Marketing Manager, Dufry India Pvt Ltd
Robin Mathew, Head of Design & Retail Experience, Samsonite
Shireesh Khare, Head Projects, Tata Starbucks

Storytelling, brand communication, customer engagement: must-haves in retail

A small selection from the convention programme illustrates the thematic range of the event. It also shows the dynamism and diversity of the Indian retail market.

Designed for #GoingPlaces – The role of design in brand differentiation

Apoorv Sharma, Retail Head, Mokobara

Evolution in the design of retail destinations in India – How shopping centers are evolving to stay relevant to new age customer expectations

Chandershekhar Kaul, Mall Mechanic & Managing Director, Beyond Squarefeet

Building purposeful brands for millennials

Ankur Chaudhary, VP- Retail & Institutional Business, Honasa Consumer Ltd.

The art of storytelling through brand activations

Siddhanth Sahu, Founder & Retail Specialist, Few Steps Ahead

Spotlight on visual merchandising: the best in the industry compete at In-store Asia

Visual merchandising is a key topic at In-store Asia every year, and numerous experts from the industry gathered in Mumbai. In addition to insightful presentations and panels on the topic of visual merchandising, various specials aroused the curiosity of visitors.

On the evening of the second day, the prestigious VM&RD Retail Design Awards were presented. The awards recognise the best achievements in retail design and visual merchandising in the Indian market. The winners were selected by a jury of renowned design experts from around the world. More than 300 entries from over 40 companies and design agencies competed in 24 categories.

The VM Challenge was an extremely entertaining live show. In the renowned shop window competition, 40 talented visual merchandisers from over 20 companies competed against each other in 6 teams. Creative shop windows on the theme of "Surreal Chic" were created in just 60 minutes.

Four of the biggest retail brands – Skechers, Lifestyle, Pepe Jeans and Ace Turtle – wowed visitors at the Focal Points. With impressive window displays, the world-famous brands demonstrated the power of innovative design in retail.

How visitors, speakers and exhibitors experienced In-store Asia 2024

This was the first year for us at In-store Asia and we are glad that we participated because we saw a lot of footfall and tremendous business opportunity coming our way as a result of the event.

Visitors at In-store Asia 2024; Copyright: In-store Asia

It was good to see a steady flow of brands walking in and had great interactions with the industry. We have had serious discussions on how the retail industry will move forward in India this year, an overall good experience.

I really loved the experience at In-store Asia 2024 and on the panel with a wonderful audience and peers from the visual merchandising community. The booth setups were amazing. A lot of innovation is happening in retail space across all verticals.

At In-store Asia, I think we are talking about the retail evolution, about retail rends. […] It's a great platform for building a good network.

You can come see and explore whatever is new and you will learn a lot. If you have a design in your heart and you want it to come to reality, I think this is the place go to.

Milestone on the way to the future of the Indian retail industry

In-store Asia 2024 confirmed its position as the leading retail event in the region. Participants were able to be inspired or deepen their knowledge through the broad programme, compare products and discover ground-breaking solutions. “In-store Asia 2024 has been a resounding success“, summarises Millie Contractor, General Manager of Messe Düsseldorf India. “The energy, innovation and collaboration witnessed here will undoubtedly propel the Indian retail industry forward.”

If you want to be a part of the dynamic development of the Indian retail industry, then mark this date in your diary: The next In-store Asia will take place from 22 to 24 May 2025.