In-Store Asia makes its debut in South India in 2009

18th November 2008, Bangalore, In-Store Asia, the only expo, convention and awards event in the region focused on the practice of Shopper Marketing, will host its fifth edition in Bangalore after successful shows in Mumbai and New Delhi. Over the last four year. The event's foray into the south, to be held at the Bangalore International Exhibition Centre between 5 – 7th March, 2009 will be marked by a significant increase in expo space displaying the latest shopper marketing solutions and technologies, addition of three more categories for the retail design awards and a convention that will bring together speakers from India and abroad to address issue of contemporary relevance for Shopper Marketing.

Commenting on the move to bring the event to South India, Vasant Jante, Project Head, In-Store Asia, said, "After hosting four editions of the show in, what are arguably the nerve centres of corporate India, in Mumbai and Delhi we decided to take the show to the South based on two considerations. One, the south has a healthy base of solutions providers and brands that are extremely active in the Shopper Marketing space and it made sense to bring the show to their door steps. Two, retail, which is what shopper marketing is all about, is not restricted to any particular region and by bringing the show down south we are hoping that we can give access to more people in terms of exhibitors, visitors and delegates."

One possible indicator of the growing importance in Shopper Marketing could be the expo space that has been constantly expanding since the launch of the show in 2005. With solution providers frequently expanding their portfolio of products and services and marketers and retailers constantly looking for innovative inputs to their Shopper Marketing programs, the expo at In-Store Asia has grown year on year to accommodate not only more exhibitors but a wider range from each exhibitor. Subsequently, the expo space at In-Store Asia 2009 will occupy an area of 2,500 square metres, an increase of around 45% as compared to the last show in Mumbai. The Expo itself will be divided into three distinct pavilions - Absolute POP, VM & Storefix, Retail Signs and Dynamic Envirments – to enable a more methodical browsing experience for visitors.

The Convention will continue to focus on bringing together the best ideas, insights and information from the world of Shopper Marketing presented by some of the most advanced practitioners of the art from India and abroad. All the presentations will encourage maximum audience interaction in addition to panel discussions on each day to analyse and understand issues that are top of the agenda in the current retail climate.

The Awards module, VM&RD Retail Design Awards, also sees the inclusion of three new categories - Best Lighting, Best Visual Merchandising and Best Shopfitting – to expand to the scope of the awards objective and make it as all-inclusive as possible. Apart from the three new categories, there are 14 categories by merchandise / service / format, and one category each for Malls & Window Presentations, and all entries in the 12 categories will automatically qualify to compete in the Store of the Year grand awards.