Retailers Association Of India (rai) announces a professional programme in Visual Merchandising &creative Communications in association with Mudura institute of Communications

Retailers Association of India (rai), the unified voice of the Indian retail industry, and Mudra Institute of Communications, Ahmedabad (MICA)
India’s premier institution that provides professional training in communication, have come together to launch a six month Professional Programme in Visual Merchandising & Creative Communications for the first time in India.

Visual Merchandising (VM) is the art of persuasion through presentation, which puts the merchandise in focus and in perspective too. It educates the customers, creates desire and finally augments the selling process.

According to Mr Gibson G Vedamani, CEO, Retailers Association of India (rai) “Unlike the western countries, where Visual Merchandising receives highest priority in retailing, the Indian industry’s understanding and practice of the concept of VM is inadequate. As seasons change, the merchandise collections / planograms too change in a retail store. When such changes take place the store too undergoes a transformation in terms of its visual presentation, appealing to the aesthetic faculties of consumers. This phenomenon of a transformed visual presentation / displays of merchandise accompanied by relevant thematic props, is still at a nascent stage in India. Therefore a Professional Programme in Visual Merchandising & Creative Communications will go a long way to fill this gap.”

Visual Merchandising helps in educating the customers about the product / service in an effective and creative way while enabling a successful selling process – from browsing to buying. Effective visual merchandising helps in drawing the attention of the customer and help him/ her match his / her needs with what’s visually merchandised!

Prof Atul Tandan, Director, MICA observes, “The Professional Programme in Visual Merchandising & Creative Communications offers a programme that blends the business and psychology of retail marketing principles with technical skills. Participants learn, through hands-on experience, how to design and draft a rendering of a display, how to build necessary props and accessories, and how to carry the project through to completion.”

By graduation, each participant will have a portfolio of drawings and photographs of projects he or she has designed and executed. Graduates will be prepared for entry-level positions in department stores, specialty stores, and boutiques as visual merchandisers, window trimmers, and freelance artists.

This full time programme is scheduled to start on 20 July 2006. Students with a Bachelors degree from a reputed university along with a preferred work experience of 2 years would be eligible to join this Professional Programme.

About Retailers Association of India (rai)
Retailers Association of India (rai) is emerging as the unified voice of Indian retailers, working with all the stakeholders for creating the right environment for the growth of the modern retail industry in India.

rai, is the body that encourages, develops, facilitates and supports retailers to become modern and adopt best practices that will delight customers.

rai is the first independent body of retailers in India. rai has a three-charter aim of Retail Development, Facilitation and Propagation. The country’s key retailers have been spearheading the growth of rai. rai’s Governing Board comprises the following people who led the retail revolution in our country – Mr Kishore Biyani of Pantaloons, Mr B S Nagesh of Shoppers’ Stop, Mr Noel Tata of Trent Ltd, Mr Vinay Nadkarni of Globus, Mr Ved Prakash Arya of Pantaloons, Mr Sumantra Banerjee of RPG Retail, Mr Nandan Piramal of Piramyd, Mr Kodandarama Setty of Viveks, Mr R Subramanian of Subhiksha and Mr Gibson G Vedamani, CEO, rai.

About Mudra Institute of Communication (Mica)
MICA is an academic institution set up in 1991 to develop professional communication skills in India. The institute primarily aims at imparting relevant education to young men and women with a view to providing with the expertise to become effective communications professionals.

Further the institute also aims to conduct research in communication as applied to the needs of the industry. What sets MICA apart from other institutes in the areas of business as well as communication studies is its approach and scope of coverage