As presented to the Images Retail Awards 2025 Jury – Finalist Case Stories
By redefining purpose, playing with formats, and placing the consumer at the heart of every innovation, Indian retailers have shown that the future is not something to await—but something to design. At the 2025 edition of the Images Retail Awards, finalists in the “Retail Reimagined” category embodied this spirit through powerful stories of transformation. These brands not only introduced new ways to shop but redefined why and how consumers engage with retail spaces. Here are the seven concept stories that stood out.
Adrish: Zero-Waste, Infinite Impact
Award Winner – Retail Reimagined, IRA 2025
In a retail world driven by scale and speed, Adrish has emerged as a quiet, potent revolution. India’s first zero-waste organic retail chain, Adrish challenged conventional commerce by eliminating plastic and reintroducing ancient Indian wisdom into modern consumption. The stores are compact—between 300 to 500 square feet—but densely packed with impact, offering bulk, refill-based formats and curated organic products. Each store acts as a sustainability lab, with features like in-store spice grinding and refill stations for oils and grains.
What makes Adrish unique isn’t just its product mix, but its ecosystem. By actively collaborating with women-led self-help groups and rural artisans, Adrish built a supply chain that’s inclusive and regenerative. Their expansion model is equally forward-thinking, with ‘store-in-store’ formats in partner locations and refill stations in residential complexes and community clubs.
The impact is measurable. Operating across 37 locations, Adrish has recorded a 40% increase in revenue and has eliminated nearly 2.5 tonnes of plastic waste daily. Online and offline customer satisfaction is reflected in an impressive 4.2-star average rating across platforms. Adrish proves that sustainability isn’t a trend—it’s a retail transformation with infinite potential.
Conical Gaufres: Mini Waffles, Maximum Delight
Runner-Up – Retail Reimagined, IRA 2025
What if waffles didn’t need cafés? Conical Gaufres took this question and flipped it—literally. Pioneering a bite-sized dessert revolution, the brand introduced India’s first plug-and-play waffle concept through tiny 20 sq. ft. dessert stations inside restaurants, supermarkets, and even chaat counters. Designed for solo indulgence rather than shared desserts, their stick-style mini waffles—starting at just ₹50—are engineered for impulse consumption and repeat visits.
The format works on a simple yet effective revenue-sharing model, relieving host venues of operational hassle while enhancing their dessert offerings. By requiring minimal real estate and zero kitchen infrastructure, Conical Gaufres offers rapid scalability and strong return on investment for partners.
Beyond the novelty, the brand has built strong repeat ratios and expanded rapidly via host-partner agreements. In a market saturated with me-too desserts, Conical Gaufres stands out by making indulgence fun, fast, and frictionless.
Other Finalists
abCoffee: Brewing an Urban Coffee Revolution
abCoffee didn’t just launch another coffee outlet—they launched a movement. With the tagline “Specialty Coffee for Everyone,” the brand embedded quality, convenience, and culture into every format it touched. From sleek mobile trailers to high-traffic tech park kiosks, abCoffee’s retail reimagination has been swift and savvy.
Their trailer format at BKC, launched in 2024, became India’s first specialty coffee trailer and sold over 600 cups on its first day. This low-capex, high-visibility model became the brand’s highest revenue-generating outlet within a month. abCoffee also leaned into digital, launching a mobile app that today contributes 20% of overall revenues. Within the app, a “subscription card” format accounts for 22% of transactions, encouraging daily and weekly repeat usage.
Brand partnerships also boosted visibility and revenue. Collaborations with malls, petrol pumps, and educational campuses now account for 5.5% of total income—well above the industry average. Their “BOGO Tuesdays” for cold coffee enthusiasts became a viral hit, turning customers into brand evangelists. With a repeat rate 61% higher than the industry benchmark, abCoffee is not just selling beverages; it’s building coffee rituals and habits across India’s urban millennial landscape.
Shoppers Stop 2.0: Luxury Retail, Future-Ready
As one of India’s most iconic department stores, Shoppers Stop knew that staying relevant meant more than a brand refresh—it required a complete reinvention of its experience. With Shoppers Stop 2.0, the retailer introduced a new-age phygital fashion ecosystem where store design, technology, and curation work in seamless tandem.
Pilot stores under this new concept feature elevated visual merchandising, intelligent trial zones, and integrated touchpoints for online-offline fulfillment. Customers can begin their journey on the app, transition to in-store styling pods, and complete purchases via mobile checkout. The stores also house newly introduced Gen Z fashion brands and a global beauty portfolio in line with global aesthetics.
The results are tangible. The reimagined stores have reported a 30% rise in omnichannel adoption, higher dwell times, and improved cross-category sales. Net Promoter Scores have improved significantly, and customer feedback indicates a strong appreciation for curated experiences. In blending heritage with innovation, Shoppers Stop 2.0 signals a bold new chapter for Indian luxury retail.
Reliance Fashion World: Big Format for a New Bharat
With Reliance Fashion World, the retail giant introduced an experience-led value fashion format specifically designed for middle India. Spread across 10,000–15,000 sq. ft., these destination stores integrate affordability with aspiration. Zones are curated by category—ethnic, casual, formal, and seasonal wear—with digital touchpoints guiding customers through personalized journeys.
Gamified trial rooms, localized inventory, and regional merchandising differentiate the format from conventional stores. In Tier 2 and 3 markets, where fashion is both social and celebratory, Reliance Fashion World offers a holistic retail destination—part store, part style studio, part community hub.
Early pilots show strong conversions, elevated brand recall, and increased footfalls compared to traditional formats like Reliance Trends. With higher private label penetration and improved dwell time, Reliance Fashion World is redefining what value fashion means for the next 500 million shoppers.
Wow! Momo Eats: A QSR Goes D2C
In a crowded QSR market, Wow! Momo made a strategic leap by launching “Wow! Eats”—a proprietary ordering app that goes beyond delivery. The app introduces features like personalized menu discovery, loyalty programs, and gamified engagement, all built to increase stickiness and brand preference.
Unlike aggregator platforms, Wow! Eats enables the brand to control customer experience and boost margins. The impact has been immediate: app orders have grown 3X faster than orders via Swiggy and Zomato. Customer satisfaction scores have risen by 25%, and dine-in outlets have seen faster table turnover thanks to QR code-based ordering from the app.
By building its own digital highway, Wow! Momo has future-proofed its growth and deepened its relationship with customers, proving that tech isn’t just an add-on in QSR—it’s a strategic moat.
Park Avenue: The New Identity for the New Gentleman
Legacy brands often struggle to keep pace with generational change. Park Avenue, Raymond’s iconic menswear label, met this challenge with a bold reimagining that expanded the definition of modern masculinity. The new Park Avenue stores blend fashion and fragrance, offering a holistic experience under one roof.
From interactive digital styling tools to global-standard visual merchandising, the brand has overhauled both its identity and environment. The transformation has led to a 20% increase in average ticket size, a younger customer base, and significant cross-category sales, particularly in grooming and fragrances.
With an eye on inclusivity and personal expression, the new Park Avenue doesn’t just clothe the modern man—it speaks to him in a new voice, one that’s refined, expressive, and ready for the world.
Conclusion: Retail as a Canvas for Change
The finalists under the “Retail Reimagined” category of the Images Retail Awards 2025 reflect a powerful truth: retail is no longer just a place to buy—it’s a space to believe, belong, and be surprised. From zero-waste grocers and dessert kiosks to coffee trailers and phygital fashion ecosystems, these brands have demonstrated that innovation isn’t always loud—it’s just unmistakably clear. As retail continues to evolve, these concept stores offer a compelling glimpse into what’s possible when commerce meets creativity.
