Hon’ble Minister Smriti Irani and Mr. B S Nagesh celebrates the unsung heroes of the Retail Industry at TRRAIN Retail Award 2020

by Priya Jadhav

Mumbai, 2020: Trust for Retailers & Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN), a public charitable trust aiming to be a catalyst for change in the retail industry, founded by Mr. B.S Nagesh, Non-Executive Chairman of Shoppers Stop, organized its 9th edition of ‘TRRAIN Retail Awards 2020’ in Mumbai today.

TRRAIN Retail Awards, is the world’s only property that recognizes exceptional customer service of the retail industry. The award ceremony was graced by Chief Guest Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon'ble Union Minister of Women & Child Development & Textile. 

A free-flowing discussion between TRRAIN Founder, Mr. B.S. Nagesh and Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani was also held at the award ceremony on ‘Retail Environment, its growth & future and future of women employment.’ Industry leaders from the sector like Kishore Biyani, C.L. Raheja and Dalip Sehgal, CEO Nexus Malls were also present at the event.

Speaking at the award ceremony, Smriti Zubin Irani, Hon'ble Union Minister of Women & Child Development & Textile said, "There should be no sense of shame in wanting to be a retail employee. When I began my job at McDonald's, my job was jhaadu-pochha (cleaning) and my ambition, when I joined, was to stand at the cashier's position... a retail employee,"

Mr. B.S. Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN addressing the gathering said, “TRRAIN Retail Awards is a testament to the undying dedication, skill, hard work and integrity shown by the front-end retail associates. They are the face of the ever-growing retail industry who entertain and charm the customers and go beyond their way to fulfill customer expectations. TRRAIN celebrates and applauds the real assets of the Retail Industry for their humility, warmth, enthusiasm & commitment towards the customers.”

Chief Guest Smt. Smriti Zubin Irani and Mr. B.S. Nagesh handed over the awards to retail associates across the retail sector, in categories like Apparel, Department Stores, Malls, Specialty Stores and QSRs for their hard work and dedication.). The winners were selected by the jury headed by Ajit Joshi and national jury which included Joydeep Bhattacharya, Hemant Taware and Harshita Gandhi and other jurors after several rounds of evaluation.

Apart from this, Bablu Mandal from Reliance Retail, Manish Sharma from TBZ, and Adil Salim Patnakar from Star Bazaar were awarded for Integrity, Being Human & Person with Disability initiatives respectively.

In his ending note, Mr. B.S. Nagesh, Founder, TRRAIN thanked everyone for their presence and being a great audience today. He also thanked the audience for helping support the next generation of retail industry leaders.

About TRRAIN:TRRAIN is a public charitable trust formed in 2011 by Mr. B. S. Nagesh, with the vision of Empowering People in Retail and works to achieve immediate and lasting change in the lives of retail associates in India. We are solely committed to upgrading the lives of people in retail, both at work and at home.

TRRAIN has undertaken various initiatives to enable retail associates to upgrade their skills through TRRAIN Education Program and build pride and dignity through the TRRAIN Retail Awards and Retail Employees Day. TRRAIN’s initiative on building inclusive retail work force by training and employing People with Disabilities in Retail roles has received tremendous support from the industry.