{"id":60477,"date":"2026-09-04T16:49:38","date_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:19:38","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/04\/20th-rai-mmr-hr-conclave-2026-to-drive-conversations-on-talent-digital-transformation-and-leadership\/"},"modified":"2026-09-04T16:49:38","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T11:19:38","slug":"20th-rai-mmr-hr-conclave-2026-to-drive-conversations-on-talent-digital-transformation-and-leadership","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/2026\/09\/04\/20th-rai-mmr-hr-conclave-2026-to-drive-conversations-on-talent-digital-transformation-and-leadership\/","title":{"rendered":"20th RAI MMR HR Conclave 2026 to Drive Conversations on Talent, Digital Transformation and Leadership"},"content":{"rendered":"
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RAI Retail HR Awards 2026<\/em><\/p>\n

Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 4:<\/strong> The 20th edition of the Manning Modern Retail (MMR) 2026 HR Conclave,<\/strong> hosted by the Retailers Association of India (RAI),<\/strong> successfully took place on September 3, 2026 at the Westin Mumbai Garden City, Goregaon. This highly anticipated gathering brought together an impressive roster of CEOs, CPOs\/CHROs, academic experts, and industry thought leaders to explore the theme: The New Retail Talent: Agile, Digital, Human for this year 2026.<\/p>\n

The retail industry has undergone significant transformation, driven by technological advancements, changing consumer expectations, and the rise of new retail models such as quick commerce, omnichannel experiences, and AI-powered operations.<\/p>\n

The theme, \u201cThe New Retail Talent: Agile, Digital, Human,\u201d<\/strong> highlighted the need for professionals who can respond swiftly to changing consumer behaviour, leverage digital tools and data-led insights, while maintaining the human connection at the heart of meaningful customer experiences. It reflected the need for a future-ready workforce that combines agility, innovation, collaboration, and empathy to support the next phase of retail growth.<\/p>\n

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RAI MMR HR Conclave 2026
<\/em><\/p>\n

Against the backdrop of rapid digitalisation and technological advancement, this year\u2019s MMR HR Conclave brought together industry perspectives on how retail HR could respond to changing talent needs, build agile and digitally enabled teams, strengthen competitive advantage through people, and shape a more human-centric future of work in retail.<\/p>\n

Speaking about MMR HR Conclave 2026, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI)<\/strong>, said, \u201cIndia\u2019s retail sector is the country\u2019s largest employer after agriculture \u2014 40 to 50 million people, across metros, tier-2 towns and everywhere in between. Few industries offer that kind of reach, or that kind of entry point: a shop floor is often where someone gets their first job, their first taste of financial independence, sometimes their first real career. Retail also has the potential to be India\u2019s largest employer of women. Manning Modern Retail exists to put the employee at the centre of that story because they are the first customer any retail brand has, and how we treat them shows up in every interaction that follows.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Kavindra Mishra, MD & CEO, Shoppers Stop,<\/em><\/strong> said, \u201cRetail leaders have spent years chasing the perfectly personalised customer journey. But you cannot deliver that consistently with a frontline that doesn\u2019t feel any of that same personalisation coming back to them. The next competitive edge in retail won\u2019t come from another app or another algorithm \u2014 it will come from whichever organisation figures out how to make its own people feel as understood as it wants its customers to feel.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

Harsh Aparanji, CHRO, Landmark Group<\/em><\/strong>, expressed, \u201cOmnichannel retail has redefined expectations \u2014 the same associate is now expected to understand digital tools, manage in-store experience, and bring the warmth that keeps a customer coming back. That\u2019s a real skill shift. Organisations need to build new frontline capability as they invest in the technology.<\/em><\/p>\n

Amit Chincholikar, Group President \u2013 Human Resources, Hinduja Group,<\/em><\/strong> commented, \u201cAcross a diversified group, the hardest HR problem isn\u2019t finding talent \u2014 it\u2019s building one coherent people philosophy that still makes sense whether someone is on a factory floor, a retail counter, or a boardroom. AI and digital tools are changing how fast we can hire, train and deploy people, but they don\u2019t change what people actually want: clarity on where they\u2019re headed, and proof that the organisation is paying attention. Get that right at scale, and agility follows on its own.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n

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RAI MMR HR Conclave 2026
<\/em><\/p>\n

Other Notable speakers at MMR 2026 included leading HR and retail leaders such as Jordan Doppange,<\/strong> CEO, Celio India; Lakshmi Krishnan<\/strong>, HR Head \u2013 Arvind Fashion; Sudakshina Ghosh<\/strong>, Head HR \u2013 BATA, Nambita Banerjee<\/strong>, CHRO \u2013 Shoppers Stop. They were joined by other distinguished industry experts including Manjula Rao<\/strong>, CHRO \u2013 FirstCry; Mahesh Kudtarkar<\/strong>, Vice President & HR, Reliance Digital \u2013 Reliance Retail; Udhaya Shankar<\/strong>, CHRO \u2013 Comfort Grid Technologies Private Ltd. (The Sleep Company); Parineeta Cecil Lakra<\/strong>, Vice President, HR \u2013 Albertsons Companies India, among many more.<\/p>\n

The finalists of the Retail HR Awards were also felicitated at the end of the summit.<\/p>\n

\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Organization<\/strong><\/td>\nCategory<\/strong><\/td>\nAward Category<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Max Fashion<\/td>\nLarge<\/td>\nBest HR Strategy Driving Business Impact<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Infiniti Retail Ltd \u2013 Tata Croma<\/td>\nLarge<\/td>\nRetail Workforce Innovation of the Year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reliance Retail<\/td>\nLarge<\/td>\nBest HR Strategy Driving Business Impact<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reliance Retail, Azorte | Reliance Retail, Fashion and Lifestyle<\/td>\nLarge<\/td>\nBest HR Strategy Driving Business Impact<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Reliance Retail Ltd, Yousta | Reliance Retail Ltd., Fashion & Lifestyle<\/td>\nLarge<\/td>\nExcellence in Sustainable & Responsible Workforce Practices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Organization<\/strong><\/td>\nCategory<\/strong><\/td>\nAward Category<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Novel Jewels Limited<\/td>\nSmall<\/td>\nRetail Workforce Innovation of the Year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Tata Starbucks Private Ltd.<\/td>\nSmall<\/td>\nExcellence in Sustainable & Responsible Workforce Practices<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Safari Industries (India) Ltd.<\/td>\nSmall<\/td>\nBest HR Strategy Driving Business Impact<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
SUGAR Brands Pvt Ltd<\/td>\nSmall<\/td>\nBest HR Strategy Driving Business Impact<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Spykar Lifestyles Pvt Ltd<\/td>\nSmall<\/td>\nRetail Workforce Innovation of the Year<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/figure>\n
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RAI MMR HR Conclave 2026
<\/em>
The Manning Modern Retail (MMR) HR Conclave has firmly established itself as a leading platform for addressing the evolving challenges and opportunities within retail HR. With its focus on fostering forward-looking conversations, MMR brings together retail HR professionals and industry leaders to exchange perspectives, share best practices, and explore strategies that can strengthen talent and drive sustainable growth in an increasingly dynamic retail landscape.<\/p>\n

About RAI:<\/strong><\/p>\n

The Retailers Association of India is the national body representing India\u2019s retail industry across all channels and formats, from large format and specialty retail to e-commerce, quick commerce, and connected commerce businesses. RAI works with governments, regulators, and industry stakeholders to enable a competitive, innovation-friendly retail ecosystem. Through policy advocacy, industry events, research, and learning programmes, RAI builds the conditions for retail to grow, invest, and create employment at scale. India\u2019s retail future is connected. RAI is building for it.<\/p>\n

Visit:<\/strong> www.rai.net.in | Follow on Twitter:<\/strong> @rai_india<\/p>\n

If you object to the content of this press release, please notify us at pr.error.rectification@gmail.com. We will respond and rectify the situation within 24 hours.<\/em><\/p>\n

\n<\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

RAI Retail HR Awards 2026 Mumbai (Maharashtra) [India], September 4: The 20th edition of the Manning Modern Retail (MMR) 2026 HR Conclave, hosted by the Retailers Association of India (RAI), successfully took place on September 3, 2026 at the Westin Mumbai Garden City, Goregaon. This highly anticipated gathering brought together an impressive roster of CEOs, […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":60478,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[2],"tags":[628],"class_list":["post-60477","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-business","tag-business"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60477","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=60477"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/60477\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/60478"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=60477"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=60477"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/delhinewswatch.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=60477"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}