G.D.GOENKA UNIVERSITY HOSTS ITS FIRST EVER INTERNATIONAL MANAGEMENT CONFERENCE

New Delhi :The GD Goenka University hosted its first ever International Management Conference on April 25, 2014 at its campus located on the Gurgaon Sohna road in Delhi NCR. The theme of the was, ‘CHANGING FACE OF MODERN RETAIL: THE NEW ECONOMIC ORDER’, with concurrent sessions on e-tailing, technological advancements and the changing face of modern retail, Evolution of supply chain practices and efficiencies in modern retail, New Economic Order and strategic shifts in modern retail, Market dynamics and the changing consumer behaviour in modern retail, Human Resource practices and challenges in modern retail and other relevant areas of retail management.
The retail industry, particularly in Asia is witnessing continual change which has led to retailers to constantly improvise new strategies to evolve, survive and grow. Global retail practices that have evolved over a century are prompting retailers to constantly explore new markets as disruptive technologies, innovative Supply Chain Management and continuous changes in buying behaviour have necessitated a realignment of go-to market strategies.
The conference began with the lamp lighting ceremony followed by a rendition of the Saraswati Vandana by students of the GD Goenka University followed by a screening of a short film about the University. Prof. (Dr.) Pradeep Goel, Dean School of Management then welcomed all the dignitaries and delegates and said that he was very excited about the two day conference as the subject being discussed was very relevant in today’s context. This was followed by an address by Prof. (Dr.) Raj Singh, Vice Chancellor GD Goenka University. While speaking to the gathering Prof. (Dr.) Raj Singh spoke at length on the subject of retailing and said that the entire face of retailing has been undergoing continuous change especially during the past decade.
In his enthralling key note address the informal manner in which Mr. Adrine Mendez, Chief Strategy Officer, The Links India and the Chief Guest of the function regaled the audience with his witty but thought provoking comments. He elaborated in detail about the fundamental difference between upstream and downstream retailing and explained why Amazon was able to achieve such a rapid growth rate as compared to Walmart. The inaugural function came to an end with Dr. Samar Sarabhai, Professor, School of Management delivering the vote of thanks.

In the plenary session which followed eminent speakers, Prof. Badal Mukherjee, Prof. Emeritus, JNU, Prof. Rajnandan Patnaik, Prof. Strategy, IMT Nagpur and Mr. Rohit Bhatani put forth their respective views on Modern Retail practices and perpectives followed by a summing up of the views of the speakers by Mr. Venkat Ram, MD BSI who chaired the session. The session was then thrown open for questions and a healthy debate ensued. Later in the day concurrent sessions on e-tailing, technological advancements and changing face of modern retail, Evolution of supply chain practices and efficiencies in modern retail, New Economic Order and strategic shifts in modern retail and Market dynamics and changing consumer behaviour in modern retail were conducted.

The conference will continue on 26 April with a plenary session on Retail Strategies and Market Development chaired by Mr. Pankaj Rai, Quality Austria and will have Mr. Robin Kalita, IRCTC and Mr. Ashish Dhir, Wisedege as the speakers. This will be followed by concurrent sessions on Human resource practices and challenges in modern retail, New Economic Order and strategic shifts in modern retail and Market dynamics and changing consumer behaviour in modern retail.
The two day conference aims at providing a platform for the expression of new thoughts in the retail sector by bringing together business leaders, professionals, academic scholars and policy makers. This in turn would help identify and implement futuristic strategies which retailers can apply for better sustainability and growth.
The GD Goenka University offers Undergraduate and Postgraduate degree/diploma programmes in Management, Fashion & Design, Hospitality, Engineering, Law, Education, Architecture, Communication, Humanities & Social Science and Medical & Allied Science. Committed to promoting excellence in education, the University is the latest feather in the GD Goenka Group a pioneer in the field of education with two decades of experience in this realm. Students in the University are taught by the finest faculty and are provided with state of the art facilities and infrastructure making the University one of the finest educational destinations in the country, offering every student a World class environment to optimize their potential