Images very recently organized a curtain-raiser for the India Retail Forum at Veda, Palladium, Mumbai and when it got over most of left with a fresh wave of renewed optimism and reaffirmed faith in the human spirit to succeed against all odds, such was the wealth of global examples that emerged as we discussed the subject of how historically forward looking organisations have converted challenging times to periods of setting up fundamentals of new businesses or of using the phases to establish and gain competitive advantage. While it has been a core cause for us at Images Retail to feature significant local retailers this past year, it cannot be denied that the younger brothers of the Indian retail family do look up to their big brothers—the corporates for inspiration and insights on growth strategies. Subsequently, it was time again to revisit and recognize the efforts, achievements and contributions of the leading corporate houses to Indian retail. The cover story of this issue is therefore an exercise in putting together a quick snap shot at where the leading corporate have reached so far in their respective journeys as they clear the path ahead and lead the way for Indian modern retail. Also in this issue, our favourite customer care associate from Shopper’s Stop, Govind Shrikhande crisply outlines his vision of retail circa 2020. He expresses our deep desire for a separate ministry of retail. And If I may add-- given his strong insights, vast experience, and the huge contribution he has made to Indian retail-- a lot of us will like to see Govind as a strong candidate for the post of honourable union minister for the retail ministry when the time comes. In the Retail Excellence section we present the amazing profile of Bengaluru headquartered Sangeeth Mobiles that have ridden their first mover advantage in South India and are fast emerging as a national chain, with an eye on breaking the 1000 crore mark very soon. Coming back to the IRF, and if the curtain raiser session was even a tiny morsel of an appetizer, it fired up our craving for more flow of inspiration and thought on modern retail. The sheer level of expectations and excitement, over the presentations, discussions and candid chat session that we expect at the IRF has gone up many-fold. IRF is really special to all of us as it is the biggest retail event in India some say Asia, and even more so this year as it completes its first decade. I believe many of you would be going through this issue at the IRF itself and as you attend you will see how the 6-stream sessions that we have organised this year enable you to choose and plan your sessions, and maximise the IRF advantage. For the readers who are unable to attend we promise a detailed post-event report in the next issue of Images Retail.