By A Correspondent

Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN), a brainchild of B S Nagesh, former MD, Shopper’s Stop, organized the sixth edition of its flagship TRRAIN Retail Awards 2017 in Mumbai and awarded employees working across retail sector for their exceptional customer service initiatives across categories like Food, Specialty Stores, Department and Malls and QSR.

Specially-abled retail associates were also recogniSed for demonstrating excellence in their jobs as Special Category Winners. A newly instituted HR Initiative category saw massive participation in which HR personnel were recognized for changing their policies to provide better work place environment to associates at the shop floor.

Harsh Mariwala, Chairman, Marico felicitated the winners in a glittering evening along with TRRAIN founder B S Nageshand CEO AmeeshaPrabhu.

A highlight of the TRRAIN Retail Awards this year included a discussion that had Mariwala with Nagesh on leadership, service and excellence. A book titled ‘I Just Did It’, a compilation of stories of retail associates who demonstrated outstanding customer service on the retail floor, was also released.

Said Nagesh: “When we started at 2011, it looked like a monumental task to draw attention of retailers towards the actual engine of growth of their business – the people at the entry level. Six years later, it fills all of us at TRRAIN, with pride about how much we have achieved. TRRAIN Retail Employees Day has become a national event and many international retailers from UAE and Turkey have also joined us in this initiative.” He adds, “We will continue to work with the retailers across the country to continue improving lives of millions of people working in this sector and also jointly find ways to generate more employment as we truly believe that retail as a sector can drive jobs in our economy.”

Added Prabhu: “TRRAIN Retails Awards are all dedicated to retail associates who perhaps have the most challenging job. Thus it is important to recognise their efforts as they are a brand’s face to consumers and if customers are coming back to your stores to shop again and again, it is because of the retail associates at the store level.” She adds, “We are proud to see our TRRAIN family growing with more retailers coming into the fold and urging us to work with them to provide better environment to their employees and make them happy at work.”