Pearl Academy of Fashion and Images Multimedia announce the launch of
Indian Retail School (IRS)

Delhi to have country's first industry-led retail training school
Next destination: Mumbai, Kolkata, Bangalore and Chennai
50 institutes in the next five years

New Delhi, 1 February 2005 Pearl Academy of Fashion India Ltd (PAF) and Images Multimedia (IMM), today jointly announced the launch of country's first industry-led training initiative for the retail industry - the Indian Retail School. Indian retail majors including Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Ebony, Globus, RPG Retail, Liberty, Piramyd, Vivek's and Gilli have committed to support Indian Retail school (IRS) by providing practical training opportunities and ensuring jobs.
"The launch of Indian Retail School (IRS) is a new HR concept that will revolutionise the retail sales academia. IRS will impart job-oriented training to increase the quality of manpower for the booming Indian Retail industry, enhancing customer satisfaction and professionalism", said Mr Deepak Seth, Chairman (Pearl Global Limited, IRS & PAF) while announcing the launch of IRS.
The institute is spread across 12,000 sq ft area in the heart of city's busiest retail market - South Extension. IRS will initially offer job-oriented courses in Customer Care (Fashion & Lifestyle), Store Operations/Management, Retail Marketing & Merchandise Management, Visual Merchandising, Supply Chain, Retail Management and Entrepreneurship in retail. These courses will be of different durations, ranging from two-month certification courses to 6 month professional programmes.
IRS is part of the newly instituted business outfit Images Pearl Retail Solutions Pvt Ltd. (IPRS), jointly promoted by Mr Deepak Seth, Chairman Pearl Global Limited & PAF and Mr Amitabh Taneja, Director, Images Multimedia. IPRS has been set up with an objective to provide complete retail solutions to the rapidly growing Indian retail sector. It will have two primary divisions - consultancy and training. For consultancy, PAF (I) Ltd. has signed a license agreement with the Friedman Group of USA, one of the largest retail consultancy firms in the US.
"After the launch of IRS in Delhi, IPRS plans to open centers in all the major cities. Within next quarter, the second one will be ready for launch in Mumbai, followed by Chennai, Kolkatta and Bangalore in the 12-month span. The target is to open 50 centres all over the country in coming five years", added Mr Seth.

In his address, Mr Amitabh Taneja, Director, Images Multimedia said "IRS will be the only job oriented retail training centre in the country supported by retail chains such as Shoppers Stop, Lifestyle, Globus among others. Courses offered by IRS will help to meet the growing demand of people in the retail industry. All these programmes are designed to equip students with modern techniques in the retail and sales processes. With its state of the art retail infrastructure, IRS explores the various realms and aspects of the retail industry."
Excellent facilities, such as a well equipped library, resource centers, training rooms, mock role play shops and a highly motivated and internationally trained core group of dedicated faculty, make this dynamic team a rare combination.

Mr. A K G Nair, Executive Director, Pearl Academy of Fashion in his address said, "Today's youth are aware and conscious of the career opportunities available for them. Retail as an industry is growing fast and offers ample options for a successful career. Indian Retail School (IRS), with its excellent faculty and the latest in the industry caters to the needs of such ambitious and talented youth. To keep up with the emerging global trends, this educational institution also plans to have more international tie-ups in retail education and also depute its faculty and trainers overseas. The school can accommodate about 1,000 students in various courses."

The Indian Retail School has been established with the sole objective of making the retail industry more dynamic by providing the best practices and skills across the breadth of management roles within the industry. The Institute aims at producing talents for the developing retail industry in India. This educational institution caters to four broad industry needs; a Certificate course for students who want to start a career in retail sales, a Management course for experienced retail people who aspire for better prospects, a course for entrepreneurs who wish to make their business venture successful and a higher level specialization course in different retail operations.

About Images Multimedia LTD.:

IMAGES Multimedia Group set its moorings in the fashion & lifestyle arena in 1992 with the launch of its magazine IMAGES Business of Fashion, which is now India's leading voice for the entire branded apparel segment in the country. This publishing organization has played a vital role in organizing the fashion and retail businesses in India and has successfully set up an information exchange via media that equips the trade with the knowledge that drives the fashion and retail businesses across the globe.

About Pearl Academy of Fashion:

Pearl Academy of Fashion (PAF) is a premiere industry oriented design institute in the country. From an institute, which started with 47 students in 1993, the Academy currently has over 800 students on its roll and a well equipped infrastructure spanning 60,000 sq.ft. The Academy has active networking with national and international organizations, besides membership in prestigious bodies like the International Foundation of Fashion Technology Institutes, National Retail Federation, USA and the Fashion Design Council of India.