20th RAI MMR HR Conclave 2026 to Drive Conversations on Talent, Digital Transformation and Leadership

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, CPOs/CHROs, academic experts, and industry thought leaders to explore this year’s theme: The New Retail Talent: Agile, Digital, Human.

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.

The theme, “The New Retail Talent: Agile, Digital, Human,” highlighted the need for professionals who can respond swiftly to changing consumer behavior, 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.

Against the backdrop of rapid digitalization and technological advancement, this year’s 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.

Speaking about MMR HR Conclave 2026, Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India (RAI), said, “India’s retail sector is the country’s largest employer after agriculture — 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’s 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.”

Kavindra Mishra, MD & CEO, Shoppers Stop, said, “Retail leaders have spent years chasing the perfectly personalised customer journey. But you cannot deliver that consistently with a frontline that doesn’t feel any of that same personalisation coming back to them. The next competitive edge in retail won’t come from another app or another algorithm — it will come from whichever organisation figures out how to make its own people feel as understood as it wants its customers to feel.”

Harsh Aparanji, CHRO, Landmark Group, expressed, “Omnichannel retail has redefined expectations — 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’s a real skill shift. Organisations need to build new frontline capability as they invest in the technology.

Amit Chincholikar, Group President – Human Resources, Hinduja Group, commented, “Across a diversified group, the hardest HR problem isn’t finding talent — it’s 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’t change what people actually want: clarity on where they’re headed, and proof that the organisation is paying attention. Get that right at scale, and agility follows on its own.”

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

The finalists of the Retail HR Awards were also felicitated at the end of the summit.

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.