STIMULUS Webinar 2020 brings together experts to predict strategies for new consumer and businesses
India’s economy, which grew by 4.2% in 2019, is going to see only 1.9% growth in 2020 according to projections by International Monetary Fund (IMF). However, India is expected to rebound with a vengeance as IMF prophesies a 7.4% GDP growth by India in 2021.
The heartbreaking loss of life, the stern lockdowns, the restricted borders and the severe dipping of world economy has devastated lives and businesses to unprecedented measures. COVID-19 has shown us the fury of nature when over-exploited. It has also shown us the resilience of the humankind when faced with extraordinary adversity.
To reach that number will require taking risks, plunges and inconceivable steps. Only those who can comprehend the new sentiments, styles and demands will be able to navigate the new world order successfully.
To understand, predict and strategize for the new consumer and business world, while injecting positivity during this dismal time, The Global Luxury Group (TGLG), in association with Crosshairs Communication & Women inspiring Network organized STIMULUS, a culmination of 70 experts from various industries such as leadership, Business, Luxury Fashion, Media, Automobiles, Horology, Entertainment, and others. Organised over a short, strenuous period of just 10 days, this high-energy packed webinar garnered eyeballs from thousands of individuals, who were seeking answers to some of the most pertinent questions of our times: Sustainability, Digitalisation, and life after COVID-19. Putting together this massive enterprise, Karan Bhangay (Founder, TGLG) and Stuti Jalan (Founder, Women Inspiring Network) have started a venture, whose results will certainly reverberate in the near future.
Below are some quotes from the speakers during eye-opening sessions.
DAY 1 KEYNOTE
Speakers: Ashish Kashyap, Founder & CEO, IndWealth |
Moderator: Stuti Jalan, Founder, Crosshairs communication
Ashish Kashyap: “The COVID-19 crisis has taught us that everything needs to be digitized and take data into the cloud. You cannot build AI without lots of data. AI and Machine Learning are now here to stay. The acceleration and embracement shall be really rapid. I think there is no debate be it health, education, finance or any other. For people working manually, AI will allow for easier upskilling with low cost education.”
SESSION 1: Business in the Times of a Pandemic
Speakers: Manoj Dawane, Founder & CEO, VTION Media Analytics | Rajeev Arora, Founder, CrowdInvest PLC | Rajul Kulshreshtha, CEO, Madison
Moderator: Anjilee Istwal, Televison Journalist & Anchor- NDTV
Rajeev Arora: “I think travel, tourism, hotels and restaurants are going to be most impacted. I feel for the airlines I fly on, hotels I live in and restaurants I eat at because the number of people in these industries are clueless today.”
Manoj Dawane: “The biggest indicator that we [India] will be one of the best survivors is that our economy is based on domestic consumption and that we have one of the youngest populations. Countries with export quotient higher than the import quotient are going to be affected (more). Will India come out of this in a nice way? I think it’s an emphatic yes. We have to steer it well, be sectorally smart but resilience is guaranteed because of how we’re built.”
Rajul Kulshreshtha: “This is the time for brand building and strengthening bonds with brands. Luxury brands have pivoted. This is what people will remember. However, the opportunity must not be exploited. Do not try to break that ethical code with customers.”
SESSION 2: Earth in Popular Culture
Speakers: Vikas Gupta, Founder, Lost Boy Productions & Ex Programming Head MTV India | Prahlad Kakkar, Film Director | Vickky Idnaani, Fashion & Film Photographer | Sandip Ssingh, Film Maker
Moderator: Vani Tripathi, Actor & Politician
Vani Tripathi: “It takes all sorts of people to make a society. I think humanity basically is going through a jolt. You don’t just need government and corporates to shell out money and help. People within communities, cities and societies are helping daily wagers and migrant workers. Filmmakers would be making stories about workers who walked 700 km in 7 days and still couldn’t enter the village because they came from the disease ridden city.”
Prahlad Kakkar: “One important thing is the business of going back to the basics. We talk about Climate Change and Global Warming but finally we’ve been forced to come back to basics. Having been forced, the learning is that birds are back, we can see the stars, Himalayas can be spotted from Amritsar and we can finally breathe. Are we gonna go back? Or will we reflect on what we need and what we need to throw out?”
Sandip Ssingh: “Having made a lot of biopics, as a producer, I won’t try to make a film on this (COVID-19) situation and I request all my producer friends to not, either. To gain money, fame by making a film like this is not something I would do.”
Viccky Idnaani: “As people from the film industry, we need to use this time to introspect and come up with stories which will be honest.”
SESSION 3: Zooming Ahead with Green Wheels
Speakers: Raghu Nayak, Managing Director, Friendly Group of Companies | Jatin Ahuja, Founder, Big Boy Toyz | Ramesh Somani, Editor in Chief, Exhibit Magazine & BBC Top Gear India | Hemant Arora, CEO, Aston Martin. New Delhi, India.
Moderator: Dr. Sheetal Jain, CEO & Founder, Luxe Analytics
Hemant Arora: “Business today is global. In the luxury automobile industry, there is a lot of dependence on Europe, with supply in the German market and consumption on the other side. With COVID-19, if the industry opens in 1-2 months, I don’t see too much impact. India and China make up 36% of the world’s population. Yes, there will be an impact, but not a traumatic one all round. Everyone has to work together to keep the supply chain on track.”
Jatin Ahuja: “Overall, last year, people haven’t made a lot of money. If you don’t make money, you won’t spend any. After 2019 and now 2020, and 2016 with demonetization, when cash isn’t yours, where it’s not cheques, but rather banks bouncing, this makes one do things differently. If I have a dream to own something, I’d rather do it in advance than delay. When life, money and the bank are unpredictable, that’s how I’ll take my decisions.”
Ramesh Somani: “Earlier, due to shared economy, with Ola and Ubers, many people weren’t buying cars. Today, one feels that pinch. When we come out of this, and we have to travel, you’ll prefer your own car, which is more sanitized than an Uber, Ola or train. I think there is definitely an opportunity.”
Raghu Nayak: “Today’s customer wants to engage with you on a digital platform. That will have an extension on all services we render on digital platforms. Everyone will be confined to phone or laptop. People won’t want to waste their time visiting a retail store. Social media and digital will definitely become more aggressive and engaging.”
SESSION 4: Challenges for Made in India Fashion Brands
Speakers: Tarun Tahiliani, Designer | Abhishek Agarwal, Founder & Director Purple Style Labs
Moderator: Nonita Kalra, Editor, Harper’s Bazaar India
Nonita Kalra: “Is print over? No. Print will survive. Print has survived all this while. What will happen is, everything is going to change. Even the way you consume digital is changing. It’s changing every day. Print will continue as luxury. While you may want a Zara dress, you’ll never throw away your mother’s saree. Print is that. It is that final beautiful point of luxury that you hold, touch and it becomes a legacy. Print will evolve. It won’t die. It will change its format. You will come to us for your time for yourself.”
Abhishek Agarwal: “E-commerce and retail are what we’ll see in the short term for sure. Because we have a lot of organic traffic, it’s allowing a lot of people to browse even though they may not be transacting. As soon as the lockdown is over, the image and carry forward from all this online browsing will impact the transactions.”
Tarun Tahiliani: “If people are now going to buy less and buy better, which I hope they do, I think it’ll change the way you engage with clothes and what they mean to you. Things have to go back to being more precious. This downtime has really made people think about the consequence of their actions.”
SESSION 5: Retail to E-Retail
Speakers: Sujata Assomull, Fashion Advocate, Founding EIC | Sachin Jain, MD, Forevermark | Biren Vaidya, MD, Rose Group | Bhavna Jasra, Principal Artist & Owner, First Impression
Moderator: Smita Jain, Director, Mgluxm, SP Jain School of Global Management
Sujata Assomull: “In Fashion, everyone has stopped talking about products. There are emotions, campaigns. They’re talking about how you can connect and re-wear pieces and their longevity. Fashion purposes will not be at the top of the mind. E-commerce is still not as close to people as Whatsapp or Instagram. It must not be about the product but the emotion of it. Something really big and expensive may seem a bit distasteful at this time and we need to be aware.”
Sachin Jain: “This is the time to communicate what you are as a brand using social media and other channels. This blatancy of saying buy my products should be pushed further. As brands we need to be more conscious of the current reality and take more time to introduce products.”
Bhavna Jasra: “Luxury has always been about building a story and making people have an autosomal value and attaching themselves to the desire. This is a very beautiful time where we can all use the time to use the viewership. People want to connect to people with products that have an emotional appeal, and brands that handle the sentimentality properly, will be the winners.”
Biren Vaidya: “It’s easier for us to make the consumer feel an ownership over the brand with the way they tag, share and talk about it. This makes it easier for us to build a relationship.”
SESSION 6: The Role of Art in Mobilising World Change
Speakers: Dinesh Vazirani, Co-Founder, SaffronArt | Bose Krishnamachari, Co-founder, Kochi- Muziris Biennale | Shalini Passi, Founder & Director, Shalini Passi Art Foundation | Angelique Dhama, Chief Marketing Officer, Obeetee
Moderator: Puneet Shah, Founder, Akara Art
Angelique Dhama: “Crafts and techniques evolve over time. It adapts to the changing demand. Earlier we were influenced by tradition, then transitional, followed by contemporary. Therefore, we don’t see so much disruption in craft, since it adapts itself.”
Dinesh Vazirani: “Artists today who use alternate mediums, like AI and use a different kind of language to reach out to people as opposed to the physicality of art, are cutting edge, and reinforcing the way we look at art and view art.”
Bose Krishnamachari: “You take your freedom and art always takes it’s freedom, of which you can see the reflection. Graffiti originated in its own form of revolution. If anybody tries to come in the way of creativity, definitely there will be a kind of resurrection from the other side. I’m not worried about artists. They will make great works irrespective of such suppressed time.”
Shalini Passi: “Everyone should reinvent themselves and learn new skills. Innovations are happening in design and art. It’s most important to support the artists as well. If they’re trying to create something new, innovative, they would be supported to adapt to new circumstances arriving after this lockdown.”
SESSION 7: Strategies to WIN in a post-COVID world
Speakers: Devita Saraf, Founder & CEO, Vu Technologies | Aditi Balbir, CEO & Founder, V Resorts | Madhu Joshi, Partner & Chief Marketing Officer, DrumUp Media
Moderator: Shweta Punj, Deputy Editor, India Today Magazine
Aditi Balbir: “We need to figure out what makes customers feel safe. More standards for screening, flexibility, and watch out what consumers are concerned about. By July-August we hope to get out our marketing campaigns to make sure customers know our new processes and post-COVID plans.”
Devita Saraf: “Despite there being a lockdown, we all feel a sense of community due to the extent of technology. If all of us were to lose internet connections, we’d find this time much harder to face. Many people feel AI and tech are very high rung sectors. However, you may be using AI without even realizing it. In general, people need to embrace technology to sustain their careers.”
DAY 2
Keynote-The Changing Landscape of Media
Speakers: Anurag Batra, Editor in Chief, Business World,Ritu Kapur, CEO, The Quint, Shreyams Kumar, Joint MD The Mathrubhumi, Printing & Publishing, Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Penguin Random House India
Moderator: Stuti Jalan, Founder Crosshairs Communication
Anurag Batra, Editor in Chief, Business World: Heading Business World for 6 plus years now, what I have realised is that the COVID 19 lockdown situation has literally made us move our resources and focus on the digital space more as we have witnessed an upsurge in the footfall on our website and digital platforms however, this has somehow not made an impact on the overall revenue. As for what I have learnt from the lockdown – well “Never Say Never”.
Ritu Kapur, CEO, The Quint: The whole situation has thrown the economy and the entire media landscape into quite a tricky position as though consumption of content is high the revenue generation is low. Also it has to be understood that meaningful content is what will take precedence during and post COVID 19, as content and news has to be relatable. Further, video content will take precedence but we need to focus on creating agile videos which will involve limited resources but having the maximum best outcome.
Shreyams Kumar, Joint MD The Mathrubhumi, Printing & Publishing: The organization has witnessed a sale of 90-95% of the newspapers, and we have witnessed a hike in consumption of overall content on all platforms as people are interested to read good authentic news as credible news does create a lot of traction from the readers. During lockdown my focus has been on staying fit and healthy.
Milee Ashwarya, Publisher, Penguin Random House India: Even though the print segment has witnessed a hit during this scenario, we have also decided to make the audio books and e-books available at affordable rates.During lockdown as an entrepreneur I have been very happy as authors have been submitting their manuscripts on time.
Keynote-Cutting losses, helping during tough times
Speakers : Ankur Bhatia-ED, Bird Group, Priyanka Blah-Founder/Editor-Dram Attic, Avneet Singh, Founder-Medusa Beverages, Chetan
Ankur Bhatia-ED, Bird Group
“The key learning that I take from this lockdown is that to not take anything for granted. Be thankful to god for all the privileges that we have in life and that we are safe with our family. A lot of people are not being able to do so. At this point you can always retrospect “
Priyanka Blah-Founder/Editor-Dram Attic
I dont think hygiene is something anyone would want to compromise upon and it takes a pandemic to remind us about that. What i can tell you from my learnings is that restaurants and bars across will be doing is. They are all already going away from the large format of seating arrangement, overcrowded bars, overcrowded restaurants, having to fight for your drink, push pass people. Those kind of experiences are not going to happen anymore. Also as a learning I think bars should move towards a more sustainable model wherein they do not have to rely on produce from outside
Avneet Singh, Founder-Medusa Beverages
What I learn from this lockdown is that to be self sufficient. We should know how to cook food and do all our basics in our life. Another thing that i learnt is to be content alone. a person like me who is an extrovert so this lockdown can get exhausting but this we are learning this. Health is over wealth. We should take care of our health.
Chetan
The lockdown has been extended, the CA act, the political environment and after that the virus. For last 6 months, the Northeast has lost its tourism and in e 2nd phase we are financially very weak because we work with regional communities and on monthly model. So these regional communities we convert into homestays, we convert into local guides and they basically and they earn at a very low occupancy rate.So I think now the way forward is to motivate and keep our community intact. Secondly the government needs to come into play. North east is always a debatable topic, We are focusing on that the community doesn't lose momentum.
KEYNOTE: Reclaiming Businesses after COVID-19
Speakers: Pria Kataaria Puri, International Celebrity Fashion Designer; Neha Lulla, Celebrity Jewellery Designer; Sahil Malik, MD, Da Milano
Moderator: Abhaya Gupta, Founder & CEO, Luxury Connect
Pria Kataaria Puri: “It is true that established brands which thrive on experiential marketing will have an upper hand (if gone the digital way at the right time) with tapping and converting consumers. However, newbies, who have just entered the industry and whose business also depend a lot on experiential marketing will have to face the glitch as one can never do away with physical store completely. Having said that, I would also say that retail tech will have a huge role to play for fashion luxury brands as 80% of my consumers purchase my apparel line online. Sustainability will have a larger role to play in the long run. Consumers becoming aware has led to a rise in conscious buying, which is why organic and sustainable products are gradually becoming the highlight of the day. Also re-used, pre-owned and rented luxury items will also find a new segment of consumers and avenues being opened up.”
Abhaya Gupta: “While speaking about the purchasing pattern of the consumers post-COVID 19, we will see two segments of consumers emerging strongly in the forefront. The conscious and the aspirational buyer, who will be mindful of their spending and shall only purchase if it is a necessity. On the other hand, we will find premium buyers, who would want to go all out and might want to go on a shopping spree to kind of deal with the happiness of being free and this, in turn, will bring back the much-needed optimism in the economy.
Neha Lulla: “In the current lockdown situation, jeweler apps that allow you to shop jewelry online will see a hike in sales. However, only virtual stores will not work for jewelry over all because with the purchase of jewelry the look and feel good factor is associated very strongly and consumers still prefer walking into the physical store and then make a purchase that might possibly turn into a family heirloom. On the same lines, it would be right to say that consumers might want to purchase vintage luxury but overall usually they are not too keen on pre-owned, re-used or rented jewelry.”
Sahil Malik: “Consumers will be keen on opting for affordable luxury post-COVID 19. As for the digital landscape and social media handles acting as a platform of sales, well for us at Da Milano it acts more like a distribution channel for having far and wide reach for our product and our content. However, brands in the leather industry survive mainly on experiential marketing in physical outlets/brand stores which in turn generate higher consumer engagement where the consumer has the feeling that they are the top priority for brands. As for sustainability, well I feel that even though it is here to stay in the long run, the concept itself is at a very nascent stage and consumers need to be more educated about this concept.”
SESSION 2: Integrating Aesthetics with Sustainability
Speakers: Yogesh Chaudhary, Director, Jaipur Rugs | Sandeep Nair, Co-Founder, Audire s| Seetu Kohli, Interior Designer | Jahan Tahiliani, CEO, Ahilia Homes
Moderator: Pierre Arnaud, MD, Ultraconfidential Design
Yogesh Chaudhary: “The customers would want to have more customisations from brands, a lot more offerings. Sustainability is going to be very important storyline for every product. People want to spend time at their home with their loved ones, people would like to spend a little extra but would prefer conscious.”
Jahan Tahiliani: “One of the intents of architectural design for home is to foster interaction and to bring people together and not the other way round. Shared co-working spaces and other public areas might see the social distancing element. However, I don’t think homes would have any change, though certain things within our home may change.”
Seetu Kohli: “Sustainability has been taught since decades, and I have been wanting to do it. But life has been so fast and with commercialisation and capitalism and you want to do your business. Wanting to sustain your business, in the bigger picture, you forget sustaining the world. And, I guess this has been a good knock on the head as we realise in our own ways that we cannot call the shots every time. If we don’t learn now, today it’s the pandemic, tomorrow it will be plastic and situations like these will keep on occurring. We owe this to our next generations and we owe this to our world.”
Sandeep Nair: “We are already using a lot of very smart technology with the homes that we deal with. We are looking at smart sensors that control the light density, we are also using smart blinds, and curtains etc. that manage the light and help reduce the energy cost. Using these technologies in almost every home would have a significant impact on the energy consumption. Home theatres or audio appliances have seen a huge transformation over the last couple of decades, in terms of design and energy consumption. In totality, the impact of energy accomplisher appliances around the world is huge.”
SESSION 3: Leading with a Fairer Hand
Speakers: Amulya Tipirneni, Founder, The Earth Love | Pragati Sureka, Clinical Psychologist | Bandana Tewari, Lifestyle Journalist & Sustainability Activist
Moderator: Neena Malhotra
Bandana Tewari:
Question – How do you think women entrepreneurs can ensure uplifting other women?
“By not pretending to be like a man. We struggle with the patriarchy anyways. As in Fashion, the top-level management are men and the people we work with are women. So, we not only face the patriarchy in the top level but also the patriarchal mind-set of the women we work with. Women are empathetic human beings – which differentiates us from men. We know how to get into someone’s shoes.”
Pragati Sureka:
Question – How do you see coming out of this scenario (COVID-19)?
“I think for me it would be self-sufficience. I didn’t know I don’t need to go for a cup of coffee to my favourite café while going for a swim. Being a pscychologist, I always thought face to face interactions are always better than on the web, but that is changing. I think I’m getting digitalised.”
Amulya Tipirneni: “I think we really have a got a chance of a lifetime. We shouldn’t go back to how things were before the lockdown. Do better changes, stay more indoors and do what’s right for this planet. I see myself coming out of this as being comfortable with uncertainty, stronger, clearer. I will revamp the entire way I will take my company Earth Love & reorganize its values, it will be a much better place.”
SESSION 4: Influencing a New World Order
Speakers: Barkha Singh, Actor & Content Creator | Roshni Chopra, Actress | Kartik, RJ, My FM | Meenakshi, RJ, My FM
Moderator: Puja Talwar, Good times
Barkha Singh: “Maintaining originality and being your true own self is very important especially when you are a content creator and being called an influencer. If you are putting up a façade or trying to portray yourself as something else, after a point of time people are going to see through that.”
Roshni Chopra: “Social media consumption has definitely increased. Social media content has increased. But with collaborative or branded content, I think influencers should be sensitive as you cannot post or promote a product or brand when the audience can’t get their hands on it. So it’s interesting to see the content to be less sponsored and more authentic.”
RJ Meenakshi: “What I have learnt through the lockdown is never say never, because we could have never thought that this is going to happen. And you should maybe always have a back-up plan as you don’t know when things might go wrong.”
RJ Kartik: “I upload a Monday morning motivation video on my social media every week and now during quarantine the work has increased as I have to do it all by myself. As a content creator you have be very sensitive and also consistent with your content. Consistency and good quality content will drive traffic to your page.”
SESSION 5: Navigating through post Covid-19 for Luxury Watches
Speakers: Mitrajit Bhattacharya, Founder, The Horologists & The Corner Room Project | Rahul Kapoor, Founder, Only Luxury Consultancy, Monaco | Sarosh Mody, Director, Luxury Watch Works
Moderator: Abhaya Gupta, Founder & CEO, Luxury Connect
Sarosh Mody: “As far as the traditional watch wearers were concerned, a lot of change has been seen in the last two years with the brick and mortar systems or the trade fairs. Internationally a lot of brands have started to conduct fairs on their own and the watch industry has been consolidated through groups like Swatch Group, etc. Brands have started engaging more regionally.”
Rahul Kapoor: “We have been holding a very small forum called ‘Independence of Time’, wherein we have been inviting select 5 brands to India to meet clients. We started with 30 guests in 2018 and now we have over 380 guests. So the regionalisation of these particular exhibitions and large format fairs is happening. They are also scaling down and opening the customer base.”
Mitrajit Bhattacharya: “After dealing with the short-term problems post-COVID, there are some long-term changes for the watch industry. First, digital will be the front and center of the whole operations, from the sales points to the marketing. We will have to develop that core competency around digital. Secondly, crisis can also develop new avenues of growth, depending on where you left the organization before the crisis. You can get into market expansion, product extension and partnerships in technology. And most importantly, you can get into mergers and acquisitions.”
SESSION 6: The Role of Fashion & Icons in Spreading Positivity
Speakers: Sophie Choudry, Singer, Actor & Former VJ | Eesha Amiin, Bollywood Celebrity Stylist | Rocky S, Founder & Creative Director, Rocky Star
Moderator: Karan Bhangay, Founder, The Global Luxury Group
Rocky S: “It [Fashion] is going to be very mindful. Sustainable fashion is the next big thing. People are going to be very mindful of their choices. People wouldn’t want to spend unnecessarily. They want to spend on something that they can reuse. As designers we need to be very intelligent while making and creating fashion. People might splurge for the first few days [after COVID], but later on they will realise that they need more value over volume.”
Sophie Choudhary: “The whole taboo of celebrities repeating their clothes is going to go down. Rather it would be interesting to see how they re-wear them.”
Esha Amiin: “Sustainable and pret is the way ahead. People want to know how you can style a piece in several different ways and create new looks from your wardrobe without having to splurge on shopping. Everyone is more aware and want pieces which are value for money or rather classics which will last longer and I think that is a great thought.”
