«Allows audiences to engage with thought leaders from the expanding domains of Luxury, Retailing and E-Commerce»
March 12, 2015, Mumbai: Pearl Academy, India’s leading design, fashion and business institute hosted a mega event – ‘What’s Next – Winning Ideas in Creative Business’ to engage with global thought leaders from the creative business industry including Luxury, Retailing and E-Commerce. The event was held at Four Seasons Hotel, Worli – Mumbai and was attended by many enthusiastic creative industry representatives.
Leading CxOs such as BS Nagesh – Non Executive Vice Chairman at Shoppers Stop, Mahesh Murthy – Managing Partner at Seedfund, Biren Vaidya – Managing Director & Creative Soul at The Rose Group, Mukesh Gajra – CEO of KaratCraft.in, Parveen Shaikh – Entrepreneur-Luxury I Youth I Education (Ex-LVMH), Satish Gokhale – Director, Industrial Design, Design Directions Pvt. Ltd., and Neeraj Nagpal, VP-Buying & Merchandising and Sourcing & Supply Chain, Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Ltd. (Aditya Birla Group) attended the event and shared their thoughts on the current and future trends affecting the world of creative business.
Sharad Mehra, CEO, Pearl Academy, said, “What’s Next – Winning Ideas in Creative Business is an initiative that attempts to visualize the rising trends in creative businesses and maps the possibilities available for upcoming entrepreneurs. The aim behind this event is to generate a pool of fresh ideas that would guide aspiring individuals in their endeavors in this industry. Pearl Academy has always worked towards the path of innovation and would continue to foster the spirit of creativity amongst emerging leaders through such events.”
The Luxury Brand courses were launched by Tikka Shatrujit Singh, Advisor – Louis Vuitton I Fendi I Berluti, who was also the Guest of Honour at the event. “ We are excited about introducing more talent to the world of luxury. The industry is extremely dynamic and is always on the lookout for newage talent to add to its think set.”
Biren Vaidya, Managing Director, The Rose Group said, “Luxury is an exciting industry; you are on the treadmill and you have to keep running harder and harder to create that little bit of edge for your customer. The customer wants more; the lifestyle shift that India is witnessing at this moment is what luxury is all about. For the students today all that I want them to know is that no matter what you study, you get trained to sell luxury by teaching yourself to love it and live it, and only then will you be able to sell it to the customer.”
S, Nagesh, Non-executive Vice-Chairman, Shoppers Stop, launched the courses in Fashion & Lifestyle E-Commerce. “It is imperative for a company to channel their resources in a manner that you actually listen to the customer, be a part of their lifestyle, build their aspirations and actually walk that journey with them. It is great that courses like these are getting introduced to actually hone our talent towards that direction.” said B. S. Nagesh.
Mahesh Murthy, Managing Partner, Seedfund, had this to say “In the old world, competition was rising; in the new world, dominance and monopoly is rising. That is why it is very important that you focus on creating a unique and excellent product to fulfill an unfulfilled need and focus on ensuring that that product masters in design. It is important that you create a product that will have the ‘WOW’ factor.”
The mega-event also witnessed the launch of new courses from Pearl Academy across fashion, design and creative business categories. The new courses include UG – Fashion & Lifestyle E-Commerce, PGD – Fashion & Lifestyle E-Commerce, UG – Luxury Brand Management, PGD – Luxury Brands and PD – Indian Couture. Some of these courses are being offered exclusively by Pearl Academy and are not available through any other institution in India.
