Posted by: Pankaj Renjhen
Manging Director, Retail Services, Jones Lang LaSalle India

This was my second visit to MAPIC. From the moment I arrived there was significant interest towards retail in India. The session I moderated on Day 1 on emerging economies was extremely well attended and was an excellent showcase to demonstrate what growing economies can offer the global retail environment.

The India pavilion in the conference hall was also very busy throughout the conference. A high volume of service providers visited us, but what was especially pleasing this year were the increased number of retailers who were keen to establish new relationships. We saw 30 retailers such as Wagamama and La Tagliatella expressed interest in opening shops or franchises across India so I look forward to working on some exciting projects in the future.

Many of the retailers I spoke to also wanted to know how their peers or big names such as M&S, Zara were faring. What’s going right and what’s not? Meanwhile rumors were rife of other big names entering India soon like H&M, Uniqlo and other brands from the Inditex stable.

The overall impression I took away with me was that retailers had optimism about entering India. However, retailers need an element of caution – they need to think carefully because whilst the opportunities are large, one size doesn’t fit all. India is a great market but is different from other developed economies so clients will need advice on how to best adapt their strategy in order to maximize success.

I was also impressed with the Jones Lang LaSalle Retail Intelligence platform. It is a great differentiator for us in the market place and I am keen that we work to broaden the scope and make available additional India intelligence.