New Delhi, Nov. 14 -- "Aap log cut-piece bechnewale hai kya?"

That was the incredulous query from an investor when the Tata Group went into apparel retail 27 years ago, in a country where modern retail was not a concept yet.

On Saturday, Noel Tata, who built and scaled Westside, Zudio and Star Bazaar under the Trent umbrella, recalled the scepticism of the time, when India's consumption engine was yet to turn on, and private labels were unheard of. In the decades that followed, Trent went on to beat at all expectations, the Tata Trusts chairman said at the Hindustan Times Leadership Summit in New Delhi.

"When we first started our first shop, there were only two other shops of significance in India. It was a concept; modern retail was n...