India SME Forum to award top smart store sellers in South India

Chennai (Tamil Nadu) [India], August 9 (ANI/BusinessWire India): India SME Forum (ISF), India’s largest non-governmental, not-for-profit organisation for small and medium businesses, announces first-of-its-kind seller awards, the ‘Best Sellers of India Awards 2022 – Recognising Phygital Excellence in Southern India’. The award will honour outstanding achievements and excellence of retailers across South India who have leveraged the latest technologies, credit facilities and digital solutions to serve the interests of the consumers with the best possible deals while recording growth. Nominees will be evaluated for their performance from April 2020 to March 2022.

MSMEs, particularly from Southern India, have increasingly transformed their business with the adoption of omnichannel solutions. This has helped thousands of merchants increase footfalls, improve customer experience, enhance the payment acceptance ecosystem, improve store conversions, and generate more sales. In line with this, ISF aims to recognize and celebrate those smaller sellers from the six South Indian states, i.e., Tamil Nadu, Kerala, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh, Telangana and Goa, as well as amplify the best practices of successful entrepreneurs and sellers, enabling millions of aspiring entrepreneurs to segment & grow their businesses.

The awards in each category will be judged by a jury comprising eminent dignitaries including former bureaucrats, Dr Aruna Sharma, IAS, Former Secretary, Govt. of India, Dhanendra Kumar, IAS, Former Chairman CCI and Former Secretary Govt. of India, Ramesh Abhishek, IAS, Former Secretary, DPIIT, Prahlad Kakar, Brand Guru, T K Arun, Editor, Economic Times, Shriti Malhotra, CEO, Quest Retail – The Body Shop, Vinod Kumar, President, India SME Forum and many more. Each entry will be evaluated on the basis of both financial and non-financial indicators such as growth performance, financial soundness, future-proof orientation, and digital journey among others.

A total of 32 awards will be presented to retailers across 8 sectors including Best Smart Store in Electronics, Best Smart Store in Appliances, Best Smart Store in Home and Kitchen, Best Smart Store in Furniture, Best Smart Store in Fashion and Apparel, Best Smart Store in Grocery, Best Smart Store in Sports and Lifestyle, and Best Smart Store in Food and Beverage. These would aim to recognize one winner and one runner-up from each of the 8 sectors who have successfully adopted a combination of in-store and online retail sales.

Additionally, the ceremony will also look at felicitating retailers across 5 special categories – Best Fintech User of the Year, Best OmniChannel Seller of the Year, Best Digital Retailer of the Year, Best E-commerce Seller of the Year and Best SMARTSTORE of the Year. Two awards, one winner and one runner-up, will be given for each of the five categories. 1 Best Seller Award from each of the 6 states will also be presented. The retailers may nominate themselves for multiple categories if they meet the specific nomination criteria.

The nominations for the awards open on August 4, 2022. Those interested in participating can log on to www.indiasmeforum.org/bestsellers and submit their nominations. The last date for submitting the entries is September 10, 2022.

Speaking on this, Vinod Kumar, President, India SME Forum, said, “ISF is always looking for ways to encourage and support the seller ecosystem. We are thrilled to organise the Best Seller Awards for the first time in South India to celebrate those sellers who have innovated with the adoption of smarter ambivalent solutions to keep up with the changing consumer demands. We look forward to the participation of highly successful merchants and amplifying their stories to the whole of India.”
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