IIM Lucknow‘s Noida campus organises the First Annual CEO Conclave

Press Release

IIM Lucknow‘s Noida campus organises the First Annual CEO Conclave

The theme “building Strategies for Rural India” brings together leaders like DCM‘s Haryali Bazaar, Aravind Eye Care System, Mahindra Rural Housing, ITC‘s Technico Agri Sciences, Reliance Retail and MART

IIM Lucknow‘s Noida Campus organised the first CEO Conclave on the theme “Building strategy for rural India” at the India Habitat Centre. The CEO conclave was an initiative of the students of International Program in Management for Executives (IPMX) and drew a tremendous response from the industry, academicians and students from various institutes.

The conclave was inaugurated by Dr. Devi Singh, Director IIM Lucknow and Mr. Rajesh Gupta, President DCM Haryali Bazaar. Speaking at the occasion, Dr. Singh said that “The next 10 years will see the rural sector driving the growth in the economy. Given the importance of the sector, the students of IPMX worked very hard at bringing to one platform the leaders in the rural businesses to learn what their strategies were and how they succeeded”. Dr. Singh focused on the growing importance of the rural sector and said that the businesses can capitalize on this growth by infusing more resources in this sector.

The speakers at the conclave included the success stories in the rural sector like DCM‘s Haryali Bazaar, Aravind Eye Care System, Mahindra Rural Housing, ITC‘s Technico Agri Sciences, Reliance Retail, Learning Facilitators and MART. The CEOs of these organisations shared their experiences of working with the rural markets, their innovative marketing and sales strategies and their “engagement tactics” with the rural customer. The resilience of the Indian Rural markets, which has given India a growth of 6% even in the worst phase of global economic crisis, can not be underplayed. The CEO conclave looked at the nuances of doing business in the rural sector.

Mr. Rajesh Gupta, President, Haryali Bazaar, in the session on “Business models for sustainable strategies in rural market” said, “Rural market is not the bottom of the pyramid. The rural market is as segmented and complex as the urban market and the traits of a rural consumer are similar to those of an urban consumer and offer similar challenges to marketers. The key to capturing the rural pie are affordability, value and quality”. Haryali acts as agriculture solution provider, agriculture advisory and helps in linking farm sector with markets through supply chain warehousing.

Mr. Anuj Mehra, CEO Mahindra Rural Housing, speaking on the session on “Business Development Strategies for Rural Markets”, said that the Rural markets are highly volatile and the risk of acquiring NPAs is relatively higher. Mahindra finance has developed products keeping rural consumer in mind by structuring products with flexible repayment options. The value proposition behind the business model is “financing dreams”.

Dr. Namperumalsamy, Chairman Aravind Eye Care System, in the session on “Rural Health Care”, said that Private health care is costly and affordability is a question for rural India. He talked about social marketing which aims at making people know that there are diseases which are curable and the treatment is available at affordable prices. He focused on creating a “consumer market out of reaching out to the poor and creating a business model based on product differentiation through consumer affordability”. Aravind Eye Care System provides accessible, affordable, effective, accountable and reliable health care to all citizens irrespective of rural or urban divides.

Mr. Sanjeev Asthana, President and CEO, Reliance Retail Agri-business and supply chain, in the session on “Rural Supply Chain Model” said “Discretionary spending has increased the changing pattern of consumption in the rural sector. It has modernised the traditional Indian lifestyle across the spectrum”. Government initiatives are driving the rural income and main challenges of supply chain remain the fragmented demand and last mile connectivity.

Mr. Sachid Madan, MD, Technico Agri Sciences (ITC) in the session on “Shaping rural markets 2015” talked about the growing market size of the rural sector. He disclosed that the contribution to GDP of industry and agriculture is the same but the public investment is 10 times more in industry. He hoped that availability of consumer finance in rural area will change consumption landscape. He also talked about how e-choupal has tried to bring about a change in rural areas. Mr. Rajneesh Kumar, also from ITC‘s Technico Agri Sciences, in the session on “Trends in Rural Retailing” talked about the importance of large catchments of consumers and large disposable incomes so as to promote organised retail in rural markets

Mr. Kartik Raina, Founder, Learning Facilitators, in a session on “Redefining redistribution models” said that the major challenges involved in addressing rural markets include dispersed markets, smaller lot size, poor credit facility, warehousing problems leading to damages and leakages, and interference of retailers with the market because of credit terms. Organised retail model can capture instant customer reactions; reduce transaction costs and avoid the issue of imitation or fake products.

Mr. Pradeep Kashyap, CEO, MART, in the session on “Shaping Rural Markets 2015” talked about role of government and microfinance in developing rural markets. Replying to one of the questions he also talked about KVIC and how it has been functioning in uplifting the rural economy.

IIM Lucknow‘s Noida Campus

IIM Lucknow Noida Campus is a centre of excellence in the area of executive education. It is the IIML way of contributing to the industry and realizing its vision to remain at the forefront of management thinking and education. The Noida campus is a vibrant nodal centre for post experience management education, research, consulting and corporate training. The 2 main programs of the campus are IPMX and WMP. The CEO Conclave was organised by the students of IPMX.

International Program in Management for Executives (IPMX)

IIM Lucknow, realising the emerging needs of the industry and the changing requirements of management education started its flagship management programme for candidates with substantial work experience - International Programme in Management for Executives. This one year full time residential programme is designed to prepare middle and senior management professionals for leadership roles. The curriculum focuses on imparting a holistic understanding of global business environment and challenges thereof. This post graduate programme provides opportunities for professional growth and personal development through inquiry and insight in an interactive learning environment. The participants of the IPMX course are selected through a rigorous admission process that includes evaluation of leadership potential, career graph, analytical ability, quality of work experience and scores on the internationally recognised GMAT examination.

For more information, please contact:
Sunil Kumar Singh / Nidhi Gupta
Finesse PR
Telephones: +91-11-43056200 (30 lines)
Email: [email protected] / [email protected]