The 4th Images Retail Awards (IRA) 2007 felicitated India’s top performing companies and professionals in the business of retail. The annual event was hosted by Images Group at The Grand Hyatt, Mumbai.
The 21 award categories sought to cover all verticals of India’s evolving retail industry. (For the entire list, see below)
Kishore Biyani – the man who gave the country several unique retail concepts like value chain Big Bazaar, fashion and lifestyle department chain Pantaloons, seamless mall Central, and a plethora of retail estate to almost all major verticals of retailing under The Future Group umbrella – won the IRA ‘Retail Face of the Year’ honour. It was Biyani’s fourth podium finish in a row for the title. This year, contenders for this award included Sunil Bharti Mittal, BS Nagesh and Mukesh Ambani. The chairman of Images Group, Amitabh Taneja, presented the award to Biyani.
Actors Shekhar Suman and Dia Mirza were the anchors for the function, witnessed by over 2,000 denizens from the Indian retail industry, along with renowned retail professionals and experts from across the globe. The celebrity group also had Indian cinema actors – Anupam Kher, Bhagyashree, Mahesh Bhatt, Padmini Kolhapuri, Pooja Bhatt and Zeenat Aman. The audience was treated to performances by singer KK, drumming virtuoso Sivamani, and jazz pianist Louis Banks.
The Images Retail Awards was the culmination of India Retail Forum (IRF) 2007, Asia’s premier business of retail meet held on September 4, 5 and 6 at Renaissance Hotel, Powai, Mumbai. The last day of IRF saw a panel discussion by over 50 CEOs from the retail industry mediated by world-renowned speaker Reg Athwal.
The Images Retail Awards adhere to international benchmarks in deciding the top honours, with global consulting firm IRIS as knowledge partner. The process involves self-nominations as well as a countrywide industry poll to short-list the nominees. The information is then set out in easy flowcharts to a high-profile jury to cast their votes for different parameters and submit the same to IRIS to finally audit the entire selection process and finally submit the results to the organisers, Images Group.
The awards
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Large-format Multi-Product Store
Winner: Big Bazaar
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Exclusive Fashion
Winner: Levi’s
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Catering Services
Winner: Barista
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Food & Grocery
Winner: Food Bazaar
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Beauty Care & Fitness Centre
Winner: Kaya Skin Clinic
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Leisure
Winner: Crossword
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Entertainment
Winner: FAME Adlabs
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Consumer Durables & Electronics
Winner: HCL Digilife
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Forecourt Retailing
Winner: Hindustan Petroleum
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Retail Company of the Year
Winner: Pantaloons
Most Admired Retail Face of the Year
Winner: Kishore Biyani
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Innovative Concept
Winner: VLCC
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Pharmaceutical Retailer
Winner: Fortis Health World Lifestyle
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Rural Retailer
Winner: Indian Oil Corporation (Kisaan Seva Kendra)
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Home/Office Equipments
Winner: Home Town
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Telecom/Mobile Services
Winner: Airtel
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Employee Satisfaction
Winner: Titan Industries
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Retail Marketing Campaign
Winner: The Mobile Store
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Supply Chain & Logistics
Winner: Madura Garments
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Socially Responsible
Winner: PVR Cinemas
Most Admired Retailer of the Year – Retail Design & Visual Merchandising
Winner: PVR Cinemas
