THREE RETAIL STARTUPS TO LOOK OUT FOR IN 2020

Mumbai, February 27, 2020: Retailers Association of India (RAI) hosted the fourth edition of the Retail Startup Awards 2020 presented by Future Group—Co-Founders of the New. The glittering ceremony was held on the first day of RAI’s Retail Leadership Summit 2020 (RLS 2020) on February 26, 2020. The Retail Startup Awards have been instituted to celebrate the spirit of entrepreneurship. They are a recognition of the indomitable spirit that drives entrepreneurs to convert their dreams into realities and ideas into viable business. 

After the final round of presentation, the awards were given away on the evening of the first day of RAI’s Retail Leadership Summit, which saw participation of Indian retail stalwarts like BS Nagesh of Shoppers Stop, & TRRAIN, Janne Einola of H&M, Ramanathan Hariharan of Landmark Group, Rajesh Jain of Lacoste India, Rajiv Nair of Kaya Ltd., and Jamshed S. Daboo - Trent Hypermarket, among many others.

Speaking about the awards, Mr. Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer, Retailers Association of India said, “The Retail Startup awards is an endeavour to recognise retail entrepreneurs who have enormous potential to disrupt their segment or have added value to the consumer group. They help celebrate the efforts of these centres of innovation which provide a fresh breath of air to fierce business environments making our economy strong.”

The preliminary jury Dalpat Jain, CFO, Manyavar (Vedant Fashion Private Limited); Jyothi V K, General Counsel & Vice-President, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. and Dr. Hitesh Bhatt, Director - Marketing & Communication, RAI evaluated the entries on a set criteria and delivered a final shortlist of 10 innovative retail startups. 

The grand jury comprising K Radhakrishnan, CEO, StarQuik (TATA Group); Suhail Sattar, Director, HASBRO Clothing Pvt. Ltd.; Mohit Dhanjal, Business Head- Shirting (B2C), Raymond Ltd. selected the final three.

Having innovative solutions these three retail startups have emerged as the winners of the RAI Retail Startup Awards 2020 :

1. Winner - 1. Befach4x Pvt. Ltd. that has developed an Innovative Hard Water Solution. 
2. 1st Runner Up - Dr. Vaidya's (Herbolab India Pvt. Ltd.), a 3-year-old New Age Ayurvedic products startup
3. 2nd Runner Up -  hyperXchange that sells refurbished gadgets

The final 10 shortlisted retail startups were: 

Ancient Living Products, Befach 4x, Ellementry, Firmroots, hyperXchange, Kapiva (Adret Retail), Matilda Solutions, Rare Planet Handicrafts, Twirl.store, Dr. Vaidya's (Herbolab India), namely.

About Retail Leadership Summit:

Instituted by Retailers Association of India, the Retail Leadership Summit (better known as RLS) is India’s largest gathering of retail leaders, service providers and other stakeholders from the industry. Over the years, RLS has earned the reputation of being the ultimate knowledge-sharing platform, where those in attendance learn about the best practices and trends that they can apply for improving business efficiency. RLS is the only official Summit of its kind, an initiative by the industry, for the industry.

About Retailers Association of India:

Retailers Association of India (RAI) is the unified voice of Indian retailers. RAI works with all the stakeholders for creating the right environment for the growth of the modern retail industry in India. It is a strong advocate for retailing in India and works with all levels of government and stakeholders with the aim to support employment growth and career opportunities in retail, to promote and sustain retail investments in communities from coast-to-coast, and to enhance consumer choice and industry competitiveness.