ENGAGE'23 Celebrates Innovators and Leaders in Retail and Technology

ENGAGE'23, a highly impactful retail and technology summit was concluded on 24 June 2023, at New Delhi's JW Marriott in Aerocity. This event, which attracted a collection of audiences of over 1,000 individuals from different industries, including entrepreneurs, investors, and professionals, exhibited the combined influence of over 100 prominent brands.

Indian actor Jimmy Shergill presented the esteemed ENGAGE'23 Excellence Awards, Which recognized remarkable and outstanding achievements and contributions that have the potential to push and propel the retail and technology sector forward. More than 50 awards were presented at the event.

Varun Tangri, CEO of QueueBuster, expressed his delight, stating, "ENGAGE'23 has exceeded all expectations and has proven to be a monumental success. We are thrilled to have gathered such an impressive lineup of brands, speakers, and attendees. The overwhelming response is a testament to the summit's significance and impact on India's startup ecosystem."



The summit provided a platform for youngpreneurs to showcase their visionary ventures, connect with industry stalwarts, and explore potential investment opportunities. ENGAGE'23 facilitated invaluable networking opportunities, fostering collaborations and empowering entrepreneurs to propel their businesses to new heights.

Ghazal Alagh, Founder of Mamaearth, expressed her enthusiasm, stating, "ENGAGE'23 provided an exceptional platform for youngpreneurs to showcase their creative ventures. The summit was a breeding ground for innovation and collaboration. I am confident that this event has set the stage for the future of entrepreneurship in India."



Badrinath Mishra, Vice President of Network Expansion at ONDC, shared his thoughts and said, "ENGAGE'23 showcased the immense potential and talent within India's startup ecosystem. The summit was a convergence of ideas, expertise, and opportunities. It was an honor to be part of this transformative event." The success of ENGAGE'23 can be attributed to the engaging sessions, high-profile speakers, and enthusiastic participation of attendees. The summit created an environment where ideas flourished, connections were forged, and the future of retail and technology was reimagined.

We've had the pleasure of engaging with some amazing entrepreneurs, including Sangeetha Mobiles, Select Citywalk, and Rozarpay. Explore our article for further insights.

Interaction with Atul Mehta, Senior Vice President Of Sales at Razorpay:

How is India’s e-payment ecosystem moving forward?

Atul Mehta: It has come a long way there. One point of time e-payment just meant you entering your credit card details and making the payment now. People wanted to be done across all the more credit cards, debit cards, net banking, wallet, UPI, etc. So and also the merchants want a very seamless experience.

They want single reconciliation, single settlement, and early settlement and so everybody wants the experience to be smooth, to be fast, and secured, smooth speed secured 3S everybody wants and also the cost to be kept under control, and from the merchant's perspective also want incoming payment, outgoing payments offline, the card in card present, payment in-store payments basically the cost payment that we call them.

They also want payroll, they also want corporate cards also want lending. So bringing all this solution under one room, that’s what we do.

How Razorpay is contributing to the digital transformation?

Atul Mehta: Payments are a money movement. I will not say payment. I will say money movement is a big factor in digital transformation because at the end of the day, every business, whatever they do, deals with money. And what we do is we make this entire thing seamless with just one friend of each other.

How does Rozarpay ensure the security and privacy of its customers?

Atul Mehta: We have the highest level of security standards. We ourselves are TC, IDSF compliant. We, you know, get our audits done regularly and market share.

What is Razorpay's market share?

Atul Mehta: We are the largest in the Internet first payment in India right now and we process more than $100 million of annualized payments.

Interaction with Yogeshwar Sharma CEO & Executive Director:

How has Select city walk evolved since its inception?

Yogeshwar Sharma: We are evolving very nicely because when we started, there was not enough branch to fill the mall and we were really struggling to fill the mall. But slowly, slowly, the markets opened up and the Indian brands really came up. And then international brands like Zara, H&M, all these brands started coming into India and still the pipeline is so long. I'm very happy to say that India's consumption theory is really picking up and it's a reality now. It was only talks, now it's a reality.

What is the role of CRM integration today in the retail industry, what are your views on CRM?

Yogeshwar Sharma: From commodities, we moved to experiences and now the next thing is personalization because you know if you see a lot of brands have started personalizing your names on them.

CRM is a very important tool for recognizing the, the and knowing pattern of shoppers and knowing their shopping behavior. So if every organization, whatever it may be and especially a mall, because we are not directly in touch with the retailer, we are not directly in touch with the consumer, we are in touch with the retailers and retailers have in touch with the consumers. So CRM. So it's very important that the CRM is a very big interesting tool and very important tool.

Be able to service the consumer in a better way and during COVID we learned that people are still able to shop because we knew their names and addresses and there were some needs and we could deliver the products at home. So slowly, slowly Omni channel retail is picking up, and though the mall will still remain a brick-and-mortar and want people to come to the mall the integration of all the channels will happen at some point in time.

What keeps you updated with the latest trends and developments in the retail industry?

Yogeshwar Sharma: Yes, we interact with all the retailers, and retailers come from internationally, locally, and everywhere. So they are very up-to-date. What is happening across in US and America, Russia, Europe, and China, So they have very vast experience. So our job is only to remain in touch with them and learn from them as fast as possible.

Interaction with Subhash Chandra L Managing Director at Sangeetha Mobiles Pvt Ltd:

What inspired you to start Sangeetha Mobile?

Subhash Chandra: Sangeetha was started by my father back 49 years ago so Sangeetha mobiles happened in 1997, India's first mobile retailer in a proper with a bill and warranty that was. That was in 1997, India's first mobile showroom.

From there, now we are 800 stores across South India across Goa, Pondicherry, and Ahmedabad. We are there, 800 stores are company-owned stores. There is no franchising model at all. Our promise to the customer is to deliver anywhere in South India except Kerala. So you place an order, and you get the phone delivered not by a Courier guy.

But the mobile expert from the store will deliver the phone to you within two hours anywhere in South India. He will give you the same experience that the customer gets after the purchase is done in terms of data transfer etc.

Taking the customer through with the experience of the model and explaining the features of the phone etc. Then with regards to beyond our southern states, we delivered to the top 30 cities we deliver in one day. We have tied up with Courier services and we have a late-night cut-off time. So even if you order in the evening, the next day you are sure to get it.

What is unique about Sangeeta?

Subhash Chandra: The unique part about Sangeeta is Sangeeta in fact introduced insurance on mobile phones way back in 1997. Introduced EMI on mobile phones way back in 1997.

Which subsequently is the hygiene today and Apple or Samsung and Apple everybody gives an EMI. So EMI is no big deal. But what is unique again with Sangeeta right now is that all these EMI options are available in the stores. They are not available online. Especially if you do not have a debit card or a credit card, you do not get EMI options in the other online platforms whereas in Sangeeta.

Even if you do not have a debit card or a credit card purely based on your civil score, you can buy anywhere in India wherever you are from the comfort of your home or office. You can buy a phone for up to 24 months with absolutely 0 interest and zero processing fee with zero down payments. You can buy using Bajaj Finance, using IDFC Finance, using HDB Finance.

 Using the zest money, using the Kotak, Mahindra finance, all these things. We are the first ones in the country to get you connected in the online space, in the offline. Everybody has it, everybody has it offline, and nobody has it in online. We are the first ones to do it.

If you break the phone also you get a brand new phone in Sangeetha. Every phone that is bought in Sangeetha, including an Apple, even if it's a 1, 00,000 or ₹1, 90,000 phone, comes with 30 days of complimentary liquid damage, physical damage with 0 costs, and over-the-counter in less than two minutes we will give you the replacement. You pay 30%, we pay 70%.

Anything exciting or new initiative is coming from your side?

Subhash Chandra: See, our ultimate ambition to go public is to get listed. Right now we are 100% bootstrapped. We are 100% family in the company. We have not diluted a single rupee. So our final objective is to go.

The ENGAGE'23 summit offered an exclusive Investors Roundtable, that has brought together esteemed investors and prominent leaders to explore potential opportunities in the retail and technology industries. his roundtable provided a unique platform for entrepreneurs to pitch their businesses and forge valuable connections, paving the way for future collaborations and investments. Attendees had the opportunity to showcase their visionary ventures, participate in thought-provoking panel discussions, and engage in captivating product exhibitions. The summit aimed to propel entrepreneurship, foster investor connections, and redefine the industry's future.