India Retail News Thread

[centralized pandemonium]

Lets post news/views/info about the our retail sector in this thread. Its growing at a huge pace right now. We have threads for auto industry, infotech, telecom etc. Thought this topic too deserved its own thread. Lets also post news relating to malls,shopping complex etc in this thread.

Mods, if you think that this should be in the economy thread, please move it.

[centralized pandemonium]

Pantaloon Retail opens 3 outlets in a single day

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...1501320200.htm

[centralized pandemonium]

Aerens group plans to set up speciality malls

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/...1501300200.htm

[sudipta_rch]

Originally Posted by mainhoonna

Lets post news/views/info about the our retail sector in this thread. Its growing at a huge pace right now. We have threads for auto industry, infotech, telecom etc. Thought this topic too deserved its own thread. Lets also post news relating to malls,shopping complex etc in this thread.

Mods, if you think that this should be in the economy thread, please move it.

I think it is a well deserved thread. Organised retail is coming up in a big way. With international players like Wal Mart thinking of entering the market, the scenario is bound to become more interesting in the months to come.

[sudipta_rch]

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1108373.cms


some key-points in the article -

On Wal-Mart’s India strategy: At the entry level, the MNC is looking at the possibility of forging joint venture partnerships with Indian business houses. “We have initiated discussions with many of them. It’s premature to talk. There are so many of them,” says Mr Menzer.

On retail standards: The MNC is looking at supercentres with space ranging from 60,000 sq ft to 2 lakh sq ft. Would like to offer a wide assortment of general merchandise and a full-line supermarket.

On sourcing: Establish direct link with manufacturers and encouraging development of local food products and consumer goods for domestic and export markets is the line of action. Sourcing from India should double every three years. The potential is vast and Wal-Mart is now looking at high-value products like silk carpets.

On food safety norms: The MNC is keen to bring in technology so that Indian companies produce items of international quality. Indian consumers will also end up enjoying the same quality.

On the allegation that Wal-Mart is a bully and armtwists suppliers: “There’s no doubt that we are tough,” says Menzer. “But that’s because we want our vendors to grow with us.” Wal-Mart brings about supply chain efficiency, which drives down prices. Through joint business planning, Wal-Mart provides suppliers with tools and data to better forecast their sales demand, plan production and delivery schedules. “We share real-time store and product data with our suppliers including sales of individual products by store.”

[drwho]

ok but do post todays news in one post

[centralized pandemonium]

Acer India opens four new Acer Malls in Delhi

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1114561.cms

Altho they are claimed as "malls", IMO they are just gigantic retail outlets.

[Anniyan]

Nilgiris to land at 'God's own country' tomorrow

Nilgiris, the pioneer in the self-service supermarkets in the country, enters Kerala with the opening of its first venture, a 'supermarket and Kapi Kadai' here tomorrow

http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/blnus/02191706.htm

[cncity]

A new store every week and if its not a store then its a new food joint setting up shop in Pune. The first Shoppers’ Stop has been around for four-and-a-half years and had only the Piramyd store for company. But 2005 has seen a spate of launches. About 23.7 lakh sq ft of commercial space is set to hit the market over the next eight months.


The Pantaloon group’s Central Mall has opened its doors to customers so has Food Bazar and more will be coming up this year. Archies has just launched a company owned outlet in the city while Louis Philippe has started its Flagship Store.

Piramal Group’s Trumart has opened its account in Pune. Bookstore chain Crossword opened its seventh store in Pune. Crossword has opened one store almost every year in Pune for six years. The new Crossword store has come up at the Gold Adlabs multiplex. Food chains KFC, Yo China and Not Just Jazz By The Bay have entered Pune wile Pizza Hut and McDonald’s have added more outlets.

Shoppers’ Stop expanded its presence in Pune and opened its second store. The second store is barely three kms away from the existing one and across 40,000 sq ft in Nucleus Mall. Sheetal Choksi, customer care associate and GM, marketing, Shoppers’ Stop says Pune can take in the second store and the company is confident of doing well.

But with increasing competition and more options to customers, Shoppers’ Stop had to organise a Pune Fashion Weekend to attract footfalls and lure them with possibility of walking the ramp in creations of Raghavendra Rathore, Shantanu and Nikhil and Ashish and Smita Soni and Rocky S.

But if the response to the event is any indication then Navneet Sharma, MD, Total Sports Asia, believes there is huge potential for retail business players like Shoppers’ Stop in the city. He was surprised with the response he received in Pune — close to 2,000 entries — even before a big launch has been done. Shoppers’ Stop and the Pantaloons know what they re doing —betting big on Pune.

[sudipta_rch]

Govt dresses up retail FDI counter for big blitz

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1116177.cms

The government is planning to carve up retailing into separate categories, setting the stage for flow of FDI into the sector. As part of the organised retailing policy, the government is trying to fashion ground rules before the likes of Wal-Mart and Tesco land in India.

A division of the industry into segments, such as food and grocery, garments and high-value merchandise is being considered to map out appropriate regulations. To ensure that small players are not crowded out, the idea of putting geographical restrictions on large retailers has also been suggested, sources said. ....

[kronik]

I hope this qualifies for this thread, and because i cant find the Indian malls thread.....

Shopping in the new-age

SPENCERS' on Mount Road was always the right place to shop and years later, when a behemoth plaza replaced it, the shoppers keep coming, in larger numbers.

The mall culture, as such, has left the city largely untouched. But this is not so, in other parts of the country. Today, there are some 400-500 malls across the country, with Gurgaon, near Delhi, alone accounting for 20 of them.

In Chennai, Aerens Goldsouk plans to set up a Gold, Wedding and Home Souk in Vandalur on the southern outskirts of Chennai. This would come up in a 7-acre property. Work on the mall would start by November, he said.

Apart from Aerens Goldsouk's plans for Chennai, a couple of other malls are also likely to come up. Pantaloon Retail (India) Ltd is planning a mall on the Old Mahabalipuram Road to cater only to the home needs category. Lifestyle, a departmental store, has bought land in MRC Nagar for a large format mall, while the RPG group plans to open a hypermarket in Vadapalani. Chennai Citi Centre is a mall with a multiplex that is coming up on Radhakrishnan Salai. It has tied up Lifestyle as the anchor tenant while Landmark, a bookstore, is also taking space in the Chennai Citi Centre.

[Luckystreak]

Wal-Mart's suppliers shift base to India
http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...36,curpg-2.cms

When the going gets tough, the Chinese simply cross the Wall. Faced with a higher tax on exports following pressure from the US and the European Union, large Chinese textile suppliers to Wal-Mart are relocating their manufacturing base to India.

And the world’s largest company seems to be loving it. The company says it “welcomes” the shift and plans to double sourcing from India.

Incidentally, Wal-Mart buys goods from India worth $1bn — close to Coke’s total investments here in the past 13 years.

The Chinese are not the only ones packing their bags. Wal-Mart suppliers in Singapore and the Middle-East have also shown interest to shift production to India. The removal of quotas seems to be helping India’s case.

China is already under pressure from the US to revalue its currency which has been artificially kept low against the dollar. It also faces demands from the EU and the US to curb its surging textile exports. Beijing has reacted to it by hiking the tax on exports. If the yuan is revalued, the combined effect of the changes will make Chinese goods costlier.

[Anniyan]

Subhiksha plans to invest Rs150cr

Discount retail chain Subhiksha is planning a mega expansion. The Chennai-based chain is mulling entry into the Delhi and Mumbai markets next year, by when it plans to invest up to Rs 150 crore in establishing 180 new stores.


It will be expanding in the southern region as well, with new stores in Bangalore and Andhra Pradesh

http://sify.com/finance/fullstory.php?id=13808696

[Anniyan]

Camp retail

of the proposed 282 malls expected to come up by 2006 around the country, there are 77 mall projects which are under construction or under serious stages of planning in the six metro cities (Mumbai, Delhi, Chennai, Kolkata, Hyderabad and Banga-lore) and 58 malls in Tier-II cities. According to estimates, more than 25 mn sq ft of organised retail space will come up across the country by 2005.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1125781.cms

[hkskyline]

Monday May 30, 6:33 PM
Hong Kong fashion retailer Giordano plans to open stores in India in 2006

AP - Hong Kong fashion retailer and distributor Giordano International Ltd. plans to open stores in India in early 2006 to take advantage of a boom in consumer spending there.

The expansion would involve a joint venture with a local partner and would start with an initial target of four to six outlets in the first year, said William Yue, Giordano's director of corporate and external affairs.

Yue declined to name the local partner because of a confidentiality clause in the joint venture agreement.

"India has huge market potential for us, especially because incomes there have picked up significantly," Yue said in an interview with Dow Jones Newswires.

Founded in 1981, Giordano, which specializes in casual and office clothing, operates over 1,500 stores in Asia, Australia and the Middle East. The company, whose revenue totaled 4 billion Hong Kong dollars last year, was listed on the Hong Kong stock exchange in 1991.

Yue said that besides plans to establish a retail base in India, the company is also considering whether the country could become a source base for Giordano's products. "But the main problem for sourcing in India is its transportation infrastructure," he said.

Giordano's retail outlets are focused on China, where it had 671 stores at end-2004, and Taiwan with 236 stores. Hong Kong, where Giordano operates 92 stores, is the company's second biggest revenue center after China. In the rest of the region, Giordano has a presence in Japan and most Southeast Asian nations.

Yue said Giordano is looking to expand, especially into developing countries such as in Africa.

"We believe our product pricing would be relatively acceptable there _ and in Eastern Europe, too," he said.

China, which accounted for 24 percent of Giordano's revenue in 2004, will continue to be the main growth driver for the company's earnings, as well its "emphasis of expansion," Yue said.

"We already have full coverage in places such as Hong Kong and Singapore, so their market potential is relatively smaller compared to China," where there is room to expand, said Yue.

Giordano plans to open 100 new stores in China in 2005 after adding 90 stores last year.

[Suncity]

The more the merrier.

[kronik]

true true.
Sun, you could merge this in the retail thread.

[Anniyan]

300 malls by '06! Is the mania set to hit bumps


India is experiencing a revolution in the retail market. The organised retail market, which is just 3 per cent of the overall retail market, is expected to grow from Rs 28,000 crore to Rs 1,00,000 crore business by 2010 as per an Images-Technopak research report.

The industry will cross the Rs 35,000-crore mark by next year itself. The projected growth rate for organised retail is 25-30 per cent.

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...01,curpg-1.cms

[sudipta_rch]

Package deal: Govt set for FDI in retail

http://economictimes.indiatimes.com/...ow/1131007.cms

The policy for a measured opening of retail sector is very much on reforms agenda for the next few weeks and officials expect the move to fructify before the PM's July visit to US.

On the basis of the policy deliberations between Planning Commission, ministry of commerce and industry and that dealing with food and consumer affairs, officials see the possibility of even 100% FDI being allowed into specific segments of retail trade.

The priority is to build supply chain and retail distribution of products from the farm to the market.

[hkskyline]

Wal-Mart's India hopes rise as Singh says retail market will be opened up soon
Jo Johnson , FT Syndication Service
6/3/2005

NEW DELHI: Wal-Mart's hopes of entering India's $180bn retail market were given a significant boost lately as prime minister Manmohan Singh said the country would soon allow foreign direct investment in an industry still dominated by small family-owned businesses.

"There are many fears, particularly among small traders and small shopkeepers, but I believe we can soon move forward," M. Singh told the Financial Times after an informal meeting with foreign journalists in New Delhi. Pressed as to when the government might act, the prime minister said: "Hopefully this year."

Singh's comments came days after he met John Menzer, president and chief executive of Wal-Mart's international arm, who was in New Delhi to discuss the US group's ambitions to enter the biggest emerging economy still closed to foreign direct investment in both food and nonfood retailing.

"Wal-Mart will happen," a senior government official said, adding that the cabinet might lift the foreign direct investment (FDI) ban before Singh flies to the US for a meeting with President George W. Bush in July. "I wouldn't be surprised if this happens before he goes," he told the FT.

Multinational retailers such as Wal-Mart and French rival Carrefour, both already active in China, believe they can expand the Indian market with their investment and retailing expertise.

Small owner-occupied shops dominate India's retail sector. Large retailers control just 2.0-3.0 per cent of the market, although this share is growing by 25 per cent a year.

The cultural impact of opening the market to foreign investment will be significant in cities such as New Delhi, which has a population of 14m-15m and a fastgrowing middle class, but does not yet boast a single significant supermarket chain. Most food is sold through corner shops, street markets and door-to-door hawkers on bicycles.

India has been contemplating liberalising its retail sector for a number of years, but the process has been bogged down by political concerns. Small traders represent an important constituency for the Hindu nationalist Bharatiya Janata party, now in opposition.

Indian retailers have also claimed that FDI will allow global groups to swamp India with imported merchandise. WalMart says its sourcing from India has been rising at least 30 per cent a year since 2003, making it the fastest-growing procurement market for the company.

In recent weeks Kamal Nath, the commerce and industry minister, has been talking up reform, which may include allowing foreign investors to take stakes of between 24 per cent and 49 per cent in Indian retail ventures.

Wal-Mart and other retailers have made clear they want a high percentage of foreign ownership.