TRRAIN Retail Awards 2026 Honour Inspiring Stories from India’s Retail Workforce
The 14th edition of the TRRAIN Retail Awards 2026 was held on March 12, 2026, at The Lalit Mumbai in Mumbai. Organised by the Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN), the awards recognise the contributions of retail associates working across India’s retail sector.
The Trust for Retailers and Retail Associates of India (TRRAIN) organised the 14th edition of the TRRAIN Retail Awards 2026, highlighting the role of retail associates working across the country’s retail industry.
The awards ceremony took place on March 12, 2026, at The Lalit Mumbai in Mumbai. The event was attended by Nitin Paranjpe, Non-Executive Chairman of Hindustan Unilever, who served as the Chief Guest.
Speaking during the event in conversation with B. S. Nagesh, Paranjpe said:
“I opened the first page of the ‘I Just Did It’ brochure that I got and read the foreword written by Ameesha Prabhu, CEO of TRRAIN and she ends it very well, in the end human power is the competitive advantage that retail has and I think this group of winners here demonstrates that people still make a difference.”
Retail industry leaders present at the ceremony included **Anuj Puri, Co-Founder & Chairman of ANAROCK; Dalip Sehgal, CEO of Nexus Select Malls; Damodar Mall, CEO of Reliance Grocery Retail; Satyaki Ghosh, CEO of Raymond; Gopal Asthana, CEO of Tata Cliq Luxury; Hari Menon, Co-Founder & CEO of BigBasket; Kavindra Mishra, CEO of Shoppers Stop Ltd.; Rajneesh Mahajan, CEO of Inorbit Malls (India) Pvt Ltd.; and Vineet Gautam, Founder & CEO of 91 Brands, among others.
The TRRAIN Retail Awards 2026 recognised 23 individuals and 9 teams representing cities across India including Ahmedabad, Bareilly, Bengaluru, Chandigarh, Chennai, Delhi, Hyderabad, Kannur, Kochi, Kolhapur, Kolkata, Ludhiana, Mumbai, Nashik, Pune, and Thane.
Among the individual national winners were Geeta Kornani from IKEA India (Gold), Abhijeet Vilas Dhurve from Multiplier (Silver), and Pranjal Panday from Ready to Wear by Raymond (Bronze).
Team awards were also presented in categories including Customer Service Excellence by Team, HR Initiative of the Year, and Sales Excellence by Team, recognising contributions from leadership teams, human resources teams and sales teams.
Reflecting on the purpose of the initiative, B. S. Nagesh, Founder of TRRAIN, said:
“Retail associates in India work tirelessly to serve customers and support the success of retail businesses. Yet their efforts frequently go unrecognised. Through the TRRAIN Retail Awards, we aim to shine a spotlight on their invaluable contribution and build greater dignity and pride within the retail workforce,” he further added.
Ameesha Prabhu, CEO of TRRAIN, said:
“The winners of the TRRAIN Retail Awards 2026 have been chosen from 200 applicants across 100 companies in 20 towns/cities. Each entry represents a story of perseverance, growth and commitment to service. The objective of the awards has always been to recognise retail associates for their unwavering commitment to delivering exceptional customer service and for fostering a culture of service and customer centricity in the retail and service industry.”
The TRRAIN Retail Awards recognise frontline retail associates for customer service at the community level. Over the past 13 years, the awards have received over 3000 stories from approximately 130 cities and have recognised more than 300 retail associates.
The initiative has also been adopted by IGDS, a global association for department stores, to select outstanding associates in the department store sector. Award ceremonies linked to the initiative have been organised in Rome, Toronto, Tokyo, Dubai, and Seoul in 2025.