RETAIL RAGE: PAF students who went on the tour

Ask Ritika Lamba about her trip to Germany with her classmates, and her smile will say it all. It lasted for just six weeks last year, but the memories will perhaps be etched in her mind forever.

The 23-year-old, who is in her final year at the Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF), Delhi, was among the 14 students who went to the LDT Institute in Nagold, Germany, as part of an exchange programme.

As the PAF?s retail management course is affiliated to the LDT, one of the modules in the curriculum is on the European retail market. The tour helps students to get an overview of the European retail industry. ?The programme gives students an opportunity to experience superior quality retail operations followed abroad, that are still in their nascent stage in India,? says Anil Kumar Sharma, head of the department, retail, PAF.

From the German textile market to branding policy and strategy, professors from LDT and guest lecturers covered a wide range of topics related to retail during the tour. ?Apart from the German language, we learnt about finance and investment in retail, managing a sports shop, job destinations, salesroom planning, costing and calculations,? says Seema Sarawgi, who was part of the group comprising three boys and 12 girls.

The three-hour long classes, though hectic at times, were a great learning experience for the students. For instance, the per-square productivity of a department store or the effectiveness of a planogram (a diagram showing how and where specific retail products should be placed to increase sales) is unheard of in India, say the students who got many valuable tips from experts there.

The study tour was peppered with presentations, factory visits and practical exercises. They were taken to a shirt manufacturing company and a shoe products factory. One such unforgettable visit was to the fashion house, More and More. At the store, the students were divided into groups and asked to play the role of merchandisers. ?We were given a budget and had to do the buying. Then we were judged on the basis of the quantity of products we bought, the sizes, etc. Basically, we were tested on the way we spent the money,? recounts Lamba, who simply can?t stop gushing about the compliments they received from the store managers on a job well done.

If the students were amazed at the sheer size of the factory outlets, they were equally impressed with the stunning display of products even at the smallest retail outlet in the country. ?In India, we don?t give much importance to visual merchandising (VM), which involves the overall visual appeal of a store. But in Europe, we noticed that even small shops display their products attractively,? says Shesta Shahin, who is currently doing an internship with Pantaloons in Delhi. The tips Shahin picked up as part of the study tour have come in handy at her workplace. ?One of the most useful things I learnt in Germany is that how you display mannequins and how you arrange the lighting in your store and pick colour combinations matter a lot,? she says.

The tour also gave them a chance to interact with students from German and American universities. ?After the presentations, we felt that we were on a par with the Germans and the Americans. In fact, it boosted our morale,? adds Shahin. The students feel that as Indians, they had an advantage over the other overseas students because of their communication skills and a sound knowledge of English.

Needless to say, the trip was not just a great learning experience, but also one that provided them with the opportunity to travel to foreign locales and make life-long friends. Apart from Germany, the group went to Rome, Paris, Venice and Amsterdam. While the Indians got a taste of life in Germany, LDT students got a peep into Indian culture at a Punjabi theme party organised by the group from PAF. ?We still keep in touch with our German friends. One of them even invited us to stay at her place on a weekend,? says Lamba.

As the last leg of their course, the 14 students are currently doing internships at various retail organisations across India. But wherever they might be, the memories of the exciting study tour have bound them together forever.