India, October 5, 2020: The Board of Directors of Retailers Association of India (RAI), at its meeting on 30 September 2020, appointed Bijou Kurien, Independent Consultant and Member - Strategic Advisory Board, L Catterton Asia (a part of the LVMH Group) as the Chairman and Kulin Lalbhai , ED, Arvind Ltd. as the Vice Chairman of RAI.
Over the 15 years since inception, B S Nagesh had lead RAI as the founding chairman. He has been instrumental in bringing all modern retailers in India together to mutually benefit and grow the industry. In his role as the Chairman, he helped lay the foundation for an integrated cohesive industry that sticks together through thick and thin.
Speaking about the new appointments BS Nagesh said, “We have decided to hand over the reins of RAI to new hands. This combination of Bijou as the Chairman, Kulin as the Vice Chairman and Kumar Rajagopalan as the CEO will add tremendously to the work already been done in the industry during COVID-19 times. With Kulin joining, we get a young leader with omni experience who represents the second generation of businesses.”
An alumnus of XLRI Jamshedpur, Mr Bijou Kurien has been associated with the growth of Indian retail for over 35 years. After earning his spurs at Hindustan Unilever Ltd., he joined the founding team at Titan Industries, where he helped build powerful brands in the Watch and Jewellery Industry like Titan, Fastrack, Sonata, Tanishq etc.. He helped create India’s largest exclusive brand retail chain. During his stint with Reliance Retail, he was at the forefront of one of the most ambitious retail ventures ever which dramatically transformed the Indian retail landscape. Currently, he is an independent consultant and member of the Strategic Advisory Board of L Catterton Asia (a part of the LVMH Group). An Independent Director on several listed and unlisted companies, he advises select consumer product companies and mentors a few start-ups.
Mr. Kulin Lalbhai is the Director at Arvind Fashions and Executive Director at Arvind Limited, where he drives new initiatives at the consumer businesses of the group. He has been instrumental in setting up several new retail concepts and also spearheads the group’s digital initiatives. He also plays an active role in the overall Corporate Strategy. Kulin holds an MBA from the Harvard Business School, and a BSc in Electrical Engineering from the Stanford University. Prior to his current role, he has also worked as a management consultant at McKinsey & Co.
About RAI
Retailers Association of India (RAI) is the unified voice of retailers in India. A not for profit organisation, RAI works with all stakeholders for creating the right environment for the growth of modern retail industry in India. We encourage, develop, facilitate and support retailers to modernise and adopt best practices that will delight customers. www.rai.net.in
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RAI is continuing to pursue RBI to mandate Banks to support Textile, Apparels and Retail Sector for Working Capital Requirement. As per the feedback from our Members, Banks have not been forthcoming in sanctioning additional loans in line with the RBI directives. To support our industry's viewpoints RAI started reaching out to PSU Banks.
RAI delegation had fruitful web meetings with:
to apprise them of the immense financial stress faced by the retail sector in the wake of national lockdown due to COVID-19 and to seek their support to pursue GOI & RBI.
Exempting retailers from Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 for the sale of hand sanitizers as Essential Commodity
In order to ensure availability of hand sanitizers in adequate quantity and quality in the country in the wake of coronavirus outbreak, Central Government had notified hand sanitizers will remain under ESSENTIAL COMMODITIES segment till 30th June, 2020 under the Essential Commodities Act, 1955 (Essential Commodities Order, 2020).
RAI has submitted representations to Dr Rajiv Garg, Directorate General of Health Services; Shri Mandeep Bhandari, Honourable Joint Secretary; Ms Preeti Sadan, Honourable Secretary, Ministry of Health and Family Welfare, Government of India & Ms. Leena Nandan, Honorable Secretary, Ministry for Consumer Affairs, Food & Public Distribution, Government of India to Issue necessary orders under Drugs and Cosmetics Act, 1940 and Drugs and Cosmetics Rules, 1945, exempting retailers from the licensing requirement for the sale of hand sanitizers as an essential commodity (till 30th June, 2020 or until such extended period, if any) as per the orders of the Central Government.
RAI delegation also had an excellent meeting with Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, NITI Aayog. Various subjects pertaining to opening of malls and retail stores, challenges faced by retailers at local level and non-availability of working capital support were discussed during the meeting. Post our meeting, RAI has submitted representation to seek urgent support for the retail sector with MHA and RBI. Mr Kant has further spoken to RBI to create RAIs seek of additional working capital from banks and for moratorium. Please click here to find the minutes of the meeting.
RAI delegation had a fruitful web meeting with Shri Yogendra Garg - Principal Commissioner, GST policy wing, CBIC to seek support for the retail industry. Delegation has requested and discussed monetizing of GST credits, seamless utilization of GST credit across states, expedite GST Refund against Inverted duty structure, increase the period for SOR transaction from 180 days to one year, GST payment deferment without interest etc. We have been assured by Mr Garg that he will look into the matters. Mr Garg has also mentioned that department will explore the option of finance against GST credit with banks like SIDBI.
RAI delegation had a series of meetings with DPIIT Secretary- Dr Guruprasad Mohapatra and Joint Secretary- Mr Anil Agarwal. We requested for:
RAI delegation had a very fruitful meeting with the Honorable Minister - MSME - Shri Nitin Gadkari to discuss concerns of MSME retailers. We are pleased to inform you that the Government has now extended Emergency COVID Credit Line Guarantee Scheme (ECLGS) to all business entities registered under GST having a turnover of less than Rs. 100 crore. Retailers are not required to register as MSMEs to avail the benefits which was one of the KEY asks of RAI.
This is a big relief for retailers who are not eligible to register as MSMEs. RAI delegation had met with Honble Minister of MSME Shri Nitin Gadkari to discuss this issue and the Minister assured us that retailers will also be included under the MSME ambit. We, at RAI, welcome this step and thank Government of India for considering our recommendation, which will benefit millions of retailers.
Please click here for detailed guidelines of this scheme
Please click here to download the RAI representation submitted to MSME minister to allow retailers to register as MSME.
RAI delegation had a fruitful meeting with Shri Amitabh Kant, CEO, Niti Aayog. Various subjects pertaining to opening of malls and retail stores, challenges faced by retailers at local level and non-availability of working capital support were discussed during the meeting.
RAI appeals to MHA & DPIIT on ad hoc lockdowns by states
Despite Unlock 3.0 being rolled out across the country, a few state governments & district authorities including Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Tamil Nadu, Uttarakhand, Jammu & Kashmir, among others, have imposed restrictions on the operations of shops & establishments on weekends by imposing ‘ad hoc Lockdowns’ & ‘Weekend Curfews’.
In this regard. RAI has appealed to the DPIIT & the Ministry of Home Affairs, Government of India to instruct state governments to avoid issuing such lockdown orders as they tend to create roadblocks on the path to revival.
Furthermore, RAI has submitted representations to Chief Secretaries and District Magistrates of such states which have issued lockdowns to allow retailers and malls to operate daily for the economic revival of the industry.
RAI represents to FSSAI regarding regulation on Sale of Sweets in loose form RAI has submitted a representation to Hon. Chairman, FSSAI regarding the practical difficulties in the implementation of the order that makes it mandatory for Food Business Operators to declare “Best Before Date” & “Date of Manufacturing” in sweets which are sold in loose form.
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