Mall Construction Retail boom in India is going to result in mall construction of Rs 112 billion over the next five years (2005-10). Current explosion in investments in retail by Indian power houses will result in additional mall space of 110 mn sqft by 2010. Mall construction in the country is expected to grow at [...]

Foreign Direct Investment in Retailing Foreign direct investment (FDI) in retailing still remains a widely debated and a heated issue on India’s economic and political scene. The government stance of protecting local retailers and prohibiting 100 percent foreign direct investment in retailing continued in 2005, restraining international retailers’ entry. However, there was gradual economic reform, [...]

The Distribution Challenge The large geographical area of India and its relatively weak infrastructure are the most important constraints on distribution. India is a land locked country for internal distribution. High proportion of retail business takes place in the ‘unorganized’ sector and in rural areas that may be many miles from paved roads – which [...]

Internet Retailing The benefits of internet retailing are unanimously accepted and acknowledged by most manufacturers, retailers and consumers alike. From manufacturers and retailers’ perspective, internet retailing offers benefits in the form of cost-effectiveness, profitability and easy accessibility and can be utilized across diverse products and services in grocery as well as non-grocery items. Internet retailing [...]

Private Label Private labels are getting retailer attention due to profitability promise. Emulating international counterparts, where private label are increasingly gaining significance, most department stores, supermarket chains, hypermarket chains and discounters in India are promoting private label products. The fundamental reason for this is the much higher margin and profitability on such products, compared with [...]