Retail News May 2008

Big players – Plans and Investments: Wardhawan group, Aditya Birla, Landmark eyes treble Indian, Adidas to open eight more, RPG to tie-up, Marks & Spencer, Shoppers Stop, Videocon eyes, India's Bharti, Big Bazaar,Spencer`s, Bharti to unveil retail brand, Shopper's Stop to Raise $250 Million, Bharti plans 3-tier retail, Vah Magna, M&S, Reliance Retail

General Trends & Information: Mom & pop, Franchised companies, The Easy way to push big retail, “FDI in retail sector, Govt may allow FDI, Inflation blues bites, Inflation hurting, Top global retailers

Regional Trends: Future, Reliance, Delhi hot favourite retail, Bharti Retail, The Loot wants to bring

International: Marks and Spencer, RIL, Marks & Spencer in 49:51 venture, Carrefour to fix local partner, Armani-DLF team, Armani, Cartier, Guy Laroche, Carrefour to Invest

Health & Wellness: Reliance to retail Dr Batra's drugs, Yash Birla

Food & Grocery: Barista expanding footprints, Papa Johns, Spinach readies, Domino’s Pizza

Lifestyle & Luxury Retailing: Organised retail jewellery, Subhiksha outlines plans, Vardhaman Developers to invest

Support Industries: Retail training on a roll

Unique Formats: A decade on, Amway, Shopping through the Dish, Retailers on catalogue, Grabbit to launch apparel vending machines, Manned by women

Big players – Plans and Investments

Wardhawan group plans big investments in F&B, lifestyle

Real estate and retail player, Wadhawan Group is now betting big on food and beverages and lifestyle segments and planning to invest around Rs 3,500 crore in launching new restaurants format and luxury retail expansion plans.

The group has recently entered into a tie-up with Dubai-based Jumeirah Group in order to bring in South East Asian cuisine restaurants for the first time in India, branded as ‘Noodle House’.

According to Srinath Sridharan, vice president & head - strategic alliances, Wadhawan Holdings, “Dish Hospitality Private Ltd, an enterprise of Wadhawan Holdings Private Ltd, promoted by the Wadhawan Group, is planning to set up 35 Noodle House restaurants in India at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore in the next four years.

The cuisine at this restaurant will comprise Chinese, Japanese and Thai, among others. The dining for two at this restaurant will cost around Rs 1,000 to Rs 1,500. Plans are on the anvil to launch Noodle House restaurants as a stand alone format as well as within malls.

Further, Sridharan also informed that Dish Hospitality is planning to foray into the international Markets such as Europe and UAE in order to set up luxury dine-in restaurant called ‘Aurus’. The company has set up a luxury ‘Aurus’ dine-in restaurant in Juhu, Mumbai where a dine-in for two costs over Rs 6,000.

Wadhawan Lifestyle Ltd is planning to set up four US-branded ‘Christian Audigier’ lifestyle apparel and accessories outlets each in Markets such as Delhi, Bangalore, Hyderabad and Chandigarh. Says Sridharan, “We are also looking at setting up two US branded ‘Ed Hardy’ lifestyle apparel stores in India. Each store will have an area size of 2,200 sq ft.”

Apart from this, Wadhawan Food Retail is planning to set up 1,500 branded retail stores, at an investment of Rs 1,500 crore, in the next two years.

May 4, 2008
Source: Financial Express

Aditya Birla Nuvo bets big on apparel retail

Aditya Birla Nuvo plans to extend its footprint in apparel retailing through two subsidiaries for men's exclusive lifestyle and Peter England family stores. Madura Garments, the company's branded apparel division, crossed a turnover of Rs 1,000 in FY08.

The company is eyeing the super premium and luxury segment with plans to open three men's exclusive lifestyle stores in Bangalore, Delhi and Mumbai. Madura Garments will introduce international brands and is expecting a turnover of Rs 4,500 crore in three years.

Vikram Rao, business director (textile and apparel), Aditya Birla Nuvo, said, "We plan to open 10-15 men's lifestyle stores in three years with investments of Rs 600 crore. The foray in luxury retail will provide us an opportunity to trade up and gain a larger market share." Madura currently retails premium shirts up to Rs 4,000 and the new venture will cater to higher price points.

The company will also invest Rs 400 crore in the next five years to open 80 Peter England family stores and consolidate the mass brand business. It plans to launch 10 stores in this financial year, with the first five stores expected to open in 6-8 weeks.

The Peter England family stores, spread across 12-15,000 sq ft, are estimated to clock business worth Rs 1,350 crore in five years.

However, the high real estate costs and long gestation period for new stores impacted the profitability of the branded apparel business. Rao said, "The fashion brands operations grew by 28 per cent and mass brands registered a growth of 23 per cent. But the bottomline was impacted due to the high realty prices as the company made critical investments for retail expansion last year. "The fourth quarter was better as we took measures to improve retail productivity and manage cost pressures."

May 3, 2008
Source: Business Standard

Landmark eyes treble Indian retail business

The Dubai-based Landmark Group expects its Indian retail business to treble in next three years. The company operates chain of Lifestyle department stores and has launched the home decor retail format ‘Home Centre'.

The company has launched 14 Lifestyle stores in India and plans to increase this number to 35 in next three years. It intends to open 15 Home Centres in an attempt to tap the home decor market.

Kabir Lumba, executive director, Lifestyle International said, " We closed last financial year with Rs 693 crore and aim to treble the turnover in three years. Lifestyle retails a mix of brand and private labels, home space is an exciting area as there are few brands."

Lumba maintained that, though the negative consumer sentiments have impacted per store growth, it still is in healthy two digit figure. "There is a dip in sales since 4-5 months but it is not as bad as the last year", he said.

May 2, 2008
Source: Business Standard

Adidas to open eight more 'Adidas Originals' stores

Encouraged with annual growth rate of 30-35 per cent in India, Sports goods firm Adidas today announced to expand its presence by opening eight 'Adidas Originals' stores in the metros within a year.

"We have plans to cover all the major metros such as Chennai, Mumbai, Hyderabad for the opening of 'Adidas Originals' outlets within the next 12-15 months," Adidas India Marketing Private Limited, Managing Director, Andreas Gellner told reporters here while inaugurating second such store.

The company also wants its foothold in tier III and IV cities with opening of its sports performance showrooms during this year. "We have decided to open 150 more outlets by the end of the year, taking the total strength to 450," he said.

On being asked about the appointing any brand ambassador, he said that the company was seriously looking to appoint an Indian personality. "But we are not looking for commercial endorsements. Rather we want non-commercial relationships as we are following in global markets," he said. He said celebrities such as Madonna, Robbie Williams and Gwen Stefani continue to sport trefoil-a symbol of Adidas.

Projecting that India would be among 12 top markets for the company in the next 3-4 years, he said Adidas would be investing 8 per cent of its total sales from the country on marketing initiatives.

However, he refused to divulge details regarding sales from Indian market but added that Adidas globally clocked turnover of 10 billion euros in 2007. According to Gellner, Adidas has 25-30 per cent market share in the country's sports footwear and apparel market while Reebok commands 45-50 per cent.

May 1, 2008
Source: Economic Times

RPG to tie-up with global brands in retail sector

Business conglomerate RPG group today said it will tie up with global retail brands. "We will soon announce a few tie-ups with foreign brands in a few verticals for both single standalone retail chains and in-house shops in Spencers'," CESC Vice-Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said.

Spencer's Retail Ltd is now a part of private power utility, CESC Ltd. Among the verticals, coffee and apparel would be part of the brand tie-ups. Goenka declined to provide details of the tie-ups saying, "it will be announced when we sign the agreement." He said the combined group retail revenue during 2007-08 was over Rs 1,000 crore and he aimed to take it to Rs 1,800 crore in 2008-09.

Each tie-up with global brand would be promoted by separate subsidiary of Spencers Retail.

April 28, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Marks & Spencer may terminate agreement with Planet Retail

UK-based clothing and food retailer, Marks and Spencer (M&S), which recently inked a joint venture with Reliance Retail, is likely to terminate its existing franchise agreement with Planet Retail over a period of time, sources said.

"For the time being, we will continue with our existing agreement, but as and when we have a bigger store in the same city, we will call off the deal with Planet Retail," the source told reporters here on strict condition of anonymity.

M&S would offer employees the option of joining the bigger stores from the smaller stores the option of joining the bigger stores, M&S Chief Executive Stuart Rose said on his visit to India but declined to give further details on the issue. However, the source too declined to give an exact time-frame for the process.

Presently, the UK retail giant has 14 franchisee stores with Planet Retail. The franchisee stores are around 3,000 sq ft except for one store in Delhi which is of around 20,000 sq ft, he said.

"With Reliance Retail, we are planning to have stores of around 20,000 sq ft each," M&S's CEO, India, Mark Ashman said and added that "over time, as we come up with bigger stores in locations near to our franchisee stores, we will absorb the employees in our new stores."

The company's strategy will be such that it does not disappoint either its employees or its customers, he said.

April 27, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Shoppers Stop to invest Rs 1,500 cr to double stores in 3 years

Leading fashion and lifestyle retail department store Shoppers Stop will be investing around Rs 1,500 crore over the next three years to double its outlets to 48, a top company official said.

"We are planning to invest Rs 1,500 crore in the next three years. Of this, Rs 500 crore will be raised through equity and warrants, Rs 500 crore through internal accruals and the rest through debt," Shoppers Stop Managing Director B S Nagesh told reporters here.

The company, which has filed a letter of offer with stock market regulator SEBI for its rights issue, expects to receive final observations by June, Shoppers Stop CEO Govind Shrikhande said.

At present, there are 24 Shoppers Stop stores in the country which will be doubled in the next three years, Nagesh said. "We are planning to have at least 48 stores by 2011-12 and the present 1.5 million sq ft area of operation of Shoppers Stop will touch 3.5 million sq ft," Shrikhande said.

The per store area, currently about 40,000-45,000 sq ft, will be increased to around 75,000-85,000 sq feet, he added. "We are looking at having bigger formats of Shoppers Stop," he said.

The company will get into a number of new Tier-II cities like Ahmedabad, Jalandhar, Ludhiana, Amritsar, Vijayawada and Mangalore, Nagesh said.

On challenges before the retail industry, Nagesh said the high cost of operation still remains a concern while there was a hype surrounding the business. Its time the retailers focused on performance, he said. "We will continue to focus on premium category and also on luxury and have high-end brands like Espirit, Mac, Tommy Hilfiger and Lancome," Shrikhande said.

Shoppers Stop unveiled its new logo, which has an international look along with their own anthem, at a press conference here yesterday. The company has also launched its own in-store radio format and tied-up with music content company Blue Frog, which would update customers on new fashion, homeware and others, he said.

The company has launched environment-friendly recyclable bags and distributed 1.5 lakh neem seed sachets.

April 24, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Videocon eyes Rs 10K cr turnover from cash and carry

The Videocon Group is targeting a turnover of Rs 10,000-Rs 11,000 crore from its cash and carry venture in the next four years.

The Venugopal Dhoot-promoted group, which is a leading consumer durables maker and has oil interests, has joined the retail bandwagon with plans to launch 16 stores under the Bolld Cash & Carry brand with an initial investment of Rs 400 crore.

Bolld will have food and groceries, consumer durables, IT and apparel and a range of other product categories.

Sunil Mehta, chief executive officer, Bolld Cash & Carry, said, “The company will invest Rs 2,000 crore in the next three years and we expect a turnover of Rs 10,000-Rs 11,000 crore by the fourth year. We intend to open five stores, measuring 1-1.5 lakh sq ft, in this financial year. The first store is scheduled to be launched in September.”

Videocon plans to take Bolld to Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, Bangalore, Jaipur and Pune in the first stage of expansion.

“The company will introduce private labels in certain categories like consumer durables, in the second phase,” Mehta said. “Our understanding of the local market will enable us to create a pull for the private labels.”

In response to a query whether Videocon would look for partners for the cash and carry venture, Mehta said the company was not looking for tie-ups just now, and that it would undertake logistics and supply chain activities through a group company that already handles their consumer durables operations.

April 20, 2008
Source: Business Standard

India's Bharti Retail opens convenience stores

Bharti Retail Ltd, a subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises, has launched its first food and grocery stores ahead of the roll-out of its wholesale centres that are being set up with Wal-Mart Stores Inc.

Bharti Retail said on Wednesday it had opened three Easy Day stores selling groceries, personal care and household products in Ludhiana in western Punjab state.

Bharti Retail aims to spend $2.5 billion by 2015 in multiple-format stores including hypermarkets and supermarkets, that will compete with Pantaloon Retail India Ltd, the Aditya Birla Group, RPG Group and Reliance Industries.

Bharti Enterprises also has an equal venture with Wal-Mart for wholesale cash-and-carry and back-end supply chain management. The venture will launch the first store by the end of 2008 and aims to open 10 to 15 centres over seven years. The high cost of real estate was a challenge, Managing Director Rajan Mittal told Reuters recently.

The Easy Day neighbourhood stores, measuring 2,500 to 4,500 sq. ft., were offering jobs to vendors of fruits, vegetables and meat, as well as to housewives and retired people, Bharti Retail said in a statement. "These initiatives will help facilitate inclusive growth in communities in which its stores operate," it said.

It may also help mitigate concerns about job losses from the growth of modern retail in India, where only about 3 percent of the retail industry is in the hands of large companies.
The tightly-controlled industry, estimated at about $350 billion, is forecast to nearly double in size by 2015.

April 16, 2008
Source: Reuters

Big Bazaar looks to position itself as value retailer

Big Bazaar is planning to position itself as a value retailer after being hived off as an independent company within the Future Group. While a new company has been floated under the name of Future Hypermarket, the retailer is now considering a new name to represent its discount format.

Speaking to Business Line, Mr Rajan Malhotra, Chief Executive Officer, Big Bazaar, said, “Although we have registered a new company under the name of Future Hypermarket, we intend changing its name. Big Bazaar is not a hypermarket and is more of a value-for-money format and that is what the new company would stand for.”

Currently, Big Bazaar contributes 64 per cent of the Future Group’s total turnover of Rs 7,000 crore. With its standalone status as a company, Big Bazaar is expecting to drive greater efficiencies in its back-end operations.

With amalgamation of formats under various heads ranging from Food Bazaar to Furniture Bazaar, Big Bazaar is looking at distinguishing itself as a ‘value’ retailer in its segment rather than being clubbed with the rest of the existing hypermarkets in the country.

Besides, it is looking forward to re-launching its private label, DJ & C, as a national brand by giving the brand rights to Future Brands (the group vertical handling brands in the group). Targeting the youth segment, DJ&C is today worth Rs 200 crore in Bazaar’s kitty. “We intend re-launching it as a national brand through other retail outlets by the end of this month. We believe Big Bazaar has moved into a mature phase and that is a compelling reason to launch our youth brand at a national level. The DJ&C brand has crossed a turnover of Rs 200 crore and now has enough pull to take it to its next level,” states Mr Malhotra.

Meanwhile, Big Bazaar has roped in cricketer and India ODI captain Mahendra Singh Dhoni as the brand ambassador for its extensive collection of fashion apparel.

April 15, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Spencer`s to open 8 outlets in Nashik

Spencer’s Retail of the RPG Group is planning to open eight new retail outlets at prime locations in Nashik, in the next four-five months.

The company would open the new outlets in two phases. In the first phase within a month, three outlets would come up at Tidke colony, Trimurti Chowk and Indira Nagar. The rest would be opened within the next four-five months, company sources said.

The company is in the process of identifying properties in prime locations of the city. It has already identified properties at Nashik Road and Bhabha Nagar. These outlets will have carpet areas ranging from 3,000 sft to 4,000 sft, they said refusing to divulge financial details.

Spencer’s Retail has around 400 retail outlets in 65 cities across the country.

April 14, 2008
Source: Business Standard

Bharti to unveil retail brand this month: Mittal

Bharti Group, Wal-Mart Stores Inc’s partner for a domestic wholesaling venture, plans to announce its strategy and brand name for a proposed retail chain this month.

Bharti, which is starting the retail chain independently of the Wal-Mart venture, would open its first store as a small supermarket covering 2,000 sq ft of space, Rajan Mittal, managing director of Bharti Enterprises, said in an interview at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona today. The equal venture with Wal-Mart, the world’s biggest retailer, was on schedule to open its first wholesale store by the end of the year and open 15 stores by 2015, Mittal said.

Bharti plans to spend as much as $2.5 billion (Rs 10,000 crore) on the retail venture, which it plans to develop independently of Wal-Mart as foreign investment in retailers is mostly barred.

Bharti expects the retail unit’s sales at Rs 20,000 crore ($5 billion) by 2015, Mittal said. It will set up supermarkets, hypermarkets and convenience stores and sell products including food, electronics, clothing and furniture. The venture may employ as many as 5,000 people.

April 12, 2008
Source: Business Standard

Shopper's Stop to Raise $250 Million to Add Stores

Shopper's Stop Ltd., which runs a chain of department stores in India, will raise $250 million in debt and the sale of shares to existing stockholders in the next three months to set up more outlets.

The retailer plans to raise as much as $125 million in a rights offer and an equal amount by selling debt, B.S. Nagesh, managing director of Mumbai-based Shopper's Stop, said in an interview at the World Retail Congress in Barcelona yesterday.
The company plans to add 4.4 million square feet of retail space in the next three years for a total of 6 million square feet to sell clothing and home decor in the nation, Nagesh said.

The retailer plans to invest a total of $350 million for expansion, with an additional $100 million coming from its own resources, Nagesh said.

Shopper's Stop ruled out any plans to acquire other retailers. "We need to become strong enough to start acquiring companies and if you look at the players, all the players are smaller, equal players,'' Nagesh said. "At this point of time merging of equals or acquisition of equals does not make sense.”

April 11, 2008
Source: Bloomberg

Bharti plans 3-tier retail launch, mulls own label

Bharti Enterprises is planning a "three-pronged" launch on India's retail scene together with world leader Wal-Mart Stores Inc but a short supply of real estate is proving a challenge, managing director Rajan Bharti Mittal said in an interview.

Mittal, speaking to Reuters in an interview late Thursday, said the brand identity of the new venture was still under discussion but the deal was otherwise on track. "We are looking for at a three-pronged strategy with smaller convenience-style stores of 3,000 square feet, supermarkets of 35,000 to 40,000 square feet and hypermarkets of 75,000 to 125,000 square feet," Mittal said on the sidelines of the annual World Retail Congress.

Other considerations were the possibility of launching own label products a few years down the line, he added.

However, finding land for the supermarkets and hypermarkets was proving tough with supply limited and prices high. Bharti said the group was having to negotiate with real estate operators across India, such as DLF and Unitech, in order to corner suitable locations. "Real estate prices are a challenge and one of the reasons why it (the venture) is a little slow," Bharti said. "Prices are softening up which is a good thing because it was becoming noncompetitive ," he added.

April 12, 2008
Source: Reuters

Vah Magna Retail eyes rural pie

As most organised retailers focus only on major cities, the Hyderabad-based Vah Magna Retail has set its eyes on the growing disposable incomes in tier-IV cities. “Incomes in these towns have gone up significantly. There is good opportunity. We are going to open Magna stores in all the mandal (formerly taluk) headquarters,” Mr Anjaneyulu Kakkera, Chairman of the company, told Business Line.
Mr Anjaneyulu was the founder of the Trinethra retail network that he sold a few years ago to start Vah Magna. The company, which has a network of 70 retail outlets including two in Maharashtra, would go for a pilot in five districts in the next three months. There are over 1,000 mandals in Andhra Pradesh.

After investing Rs 120 crore in setting up a retail space of 5 lakh sq ft, the company has initiated talks with private equity firms to infuse funds to support the overall plan to reach 25 lakh sq ft (comprising 300 stores) in the next 24 months.

Recently, it opened its fourth format of Vah Magna Super Centre, which is an aggregator of top brands in apparel, food and home furnishing. Other Magna formats are hypermarkets, cash-and-carry and FoodEx supermarkets.

April 12, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

M&S, Reliance Retail likely to sign pact

Reliance Retail, the wholly owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries, is close to finalise a joint venture with UK retailer Marks & Spencer (M&S). Sources familiar with the developments said while no formal deal has been signed as yet, the partnership deal may be signed by next month.

M&S may hold a majority stake in the venture and the final contours of the partnership are being finalised. India allows 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail and 100 per cent in cash-and-carry operations. Multi-brand retail is barred for foreign companies and investors.

M&S is keen on growing its business in India, where organised retail constitutes a minuscule portion of the annual market of $7 billion (Rs 28,000 crore) for retailing. It has recently decided to ramp up its presence and address the large market opportunity that India represents. As part of its strategy, M&S has addressed the mass market by cutting prices of its merchandise by up to 40 per cent.

The company also plans to increase sourcing from India. Reliance Retail has around 540 stores across the country in multiple formats.

April 11, 2008
Source: Business Standard

General Trends & Information

Mom & pop stores shall rule 84% of retail till ’13

Allaying fears of mom & pop store owners, a study by the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier) has found that the unorganised sector will retain around 84% of the retail market till the year 2013.

The share of the unorganised sector will come down with the advent of large-format stores, but any negative impact will wear off with time, the think tank has indicated in the largest study so far on retail sector in India. The study would be submitted to the government on May 9.

Icrier was commissioned the study early last year after the Prime Minister’s Office (PMO) directed the commerce and industry ministry to get an assessment done on the impact of organised and big retail on the smaller mom & pop stores.

Pointing out that organised retail does not have an adverse impact on intermediaries, the study found that unless retail trade is modernised, bottlenecks would continue. Another key recommendation is that the government should rationalise licensing norms to encourage growth of organised retail.

The Icrier study does not talk about the role of foreign direct investment in the retail sector, but is only an assessment of the impact of organised and modern retail on mom & pop neighbourhood stores. Around 2,000 mom & pop stores and 1,000 consumers across the country were surveyed for the study.

One of the most important findings of the study is that mom & pop stores have so far been able to adjust to the emergence of organised retail and malls.
Comparing regions in the south (where organised retail has been around for long) with those in the north (where organised retail is a very recent phenomenon), Icrier has concluded that the impact of modern retail on the profitability of small stores wears off with time.

This finding is interesting since large players, particularly Reliance Industries’ fresh fruit and vegetable outlets, have been a target of protestors alleging such stores snatch the livelihood of small traders and kirana stores.

Icrier has also found that none of the small stores are affected by organised retail to the extent that they want to move out of this business. Even a large majority of the next generation of those owning mom & pop stores have said that they want to remain in this business, despite the advent of organised retail. Then, even customers appear to favour the existence of big guys, saying they would like both organised retail and mom & pop stores to co-exist since they derive value from both. Very few of those surveyed wanted one of the two formats to go.

May 4, 2008
Source: DNA

Franchised companies report 20% higher sales

What is common to cricket, Coca-Cola and Kentucky Fried Chicken? All three have grown through franchising. With the Indian Premier League, franchising has been a success formula in cricket as well, said an expert.

Researched reports indicate that franchised outlets of leading brands sell 20 per cent more compared with company-owned ones, Mr Rod Young, Executive Director, DC Strategy, a global specialist in franchising consulting, told Business Line.

Noting that franchising in India has immense potential, he said the $4-billion industry in India has employed 97 lakh employees. “The nearly two lakh-odd franchisees in India will double by 2010 and this will cut across all sectors,” he said. In the US, the listed companies are also looking at the franchising model, he added.

Mr Young said that a good franchising model is all about providing a good customer experience and global brands are adopting it to tide over issues such as attrition and high rentals. “Franchises understand the lifetime value of a customer. Therefore, every customer is a king.”

However, poor customer experience by the franchisee can spoil the brand, he noted. “Franchising and compliance go hand-in-hand and a good brand should immediately terminate a franchising arrangement if compliance in terms of services is not met with,” he added.

Mr Young said both India and China have seen a growth in the franchising model but it is more successful in India as its legal framework is better. “MNCs looking at India can make the most of the franchising model as it is a capital-raising mechanism, besides retaining equity base and control of the company.”

May 1, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

The Easy way to push big retail

Big retail is fine tuning its strategy to win over critics and corporate social responsibility drives are providing it with the means. ITC and Reliance have already launched projects to recruit street hawkers, the main adversaries of big retail. And now Bharti Mittal has opened a retail innings of its chain, Easy Day, in Ludhiana with something similar.

Bharti Retail Limited, a wholly owned subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises, recently launched its first three EasyDay neighbourhood outlets at Ludhiana in Punjab and the people selling the wares are virtually people from the neighbourhood. The chain has hired meat sellers, fruits and vegetable vendors, housewives, retired people, rural population, physically challenged individuals and youth as part of their sales team.

A spokesman for Bharti Retail said the company was committed to inclusive growth where ever its stores operate so that members of the community where the company operates, benefit from this business.

The company is also imparting intensive and structured education on retail industry not only to physically challenged individuals at the Bharti Academy of Retail, but also training people thus far considered outside the range of employability.

The spokesman added Bharti Retail would initially focus on Punjab as the company would consolidate its presence in one market, before expanding to another region. He added Bharti retail has earmarked an investment close to Rs 200-250 crore by 2015 for its pan-India operations.

Dharmender Kumar, director, India FDI Watch, says the recruitment of a handful of handicapped persons or street vendors was only an eyewash, unless the retail industry discloses the percentage of people it employs from these categories. Just one of 1,000 workers would be a street vendor or a retired person, but organisations try to get the maximum publicity for this. The idea is just to make opposition ineffective and not to save street vendors from unemployment, he adds.

Last year, ITC launched its model of inclusive retail with 150 pushcarts given to street vendors under its Choupal Fresh retail scheme. The strategy was to get headload vendors to sell items on-push carts provided by the company with finance and produce coming from ITC. The scheme also had frachisee provisions.

"ITC had to withdraw the scheme the project after a few weeks. If the companies are really honest about helping hawkers or other marginalised sections, then they should come out with the exact number of such people working in their stores," says Kumar.

ITC officials refused to comment on the matter, while admitting that the scheme was no longer in existence.

April 30, 2008
Source: Business Standard

“FDI in retail sector will not be allowed”

Union Commerce and Industry Minister Kamal Nath said on Tuesday no foreign direct investment (FDI) would be allowed in the retail sector and that the government was open to reviewing the Special Economic Zones (SEZ) Act if the need arose.

He said India would not succumb to pressure from the West during World Trade Organisation (WTO) trade talks and the government was committed to safeguarding the interests of farmers, industry and other sectors.

Replying to a discussion in the Rajya Sabha on the functioning of the Ministry of Commerce and Industry, Mr. Nath said the government was cautious on the issue of FDI in the retail sector and had cautiously decided not allow it. Almost 97 per cent of the retail business was in the unorganised sector and nothing would be done that could lead to job loss or have an adverse impact on those involved in this sector.

April 29, 2008
Source: Hindu

Govt may allow FDI in food retail

The government is considering a proposal to allow foreign direct investment (FDI) in food retail albeit with a caveat that all companies would have to meet mandated export obligations. The Ratan Tata-led Investment Commission has favoured permitting FDI in food retail, especially fresh and processed fruit and vegetables, with export commitments.

“We are considering a proposal to allow FDI in food retail. It should be in such a way that it would boost our agriculture. Our farmers must also get benefits of economic liberalisation,” food processing minister Subodh Kant Sahay told ET.

Suggesting that FDI in food retail be allowed, an Investment Commission report said, “Foreign food retailers could help in the transmission and adoption of better practices throughout the supply chain and could also facilitate access to export markets.”

The commission, set up by the prime minister in 2004 to boost investments, makes recommendations to the government on both policies and procedures to facilitate greater FDI inflows.

Agreeing with the panel’s suggestion, Mr Sahay said there was a need to bring market discipline in procuring agro products from farms. “FDI in food retail is the need of the hour. It would mean use of latest technology in the sector, more yield per hectare and optimum usage of arable land. Allowing FDI will create demand across all levels, from raw material to finished products, and, at the same time, maintaining every level of quality and standards,” he said.

He agreed the move could be politically sensitive, but economic growth can’t ignore farm sector. “Anti-retail lobby has to believe that FDI would mean inclusive growth in the sector, contrary to the prevailing fear of price war between big retail and local kirana stores,” he added.

After permitting 51% FDI in single-brand retailing, allowing FDI in select food items, fresh and processed fruit and vegetables is the next step. It would include retailing of farm and dairy produce, marine and poultry products, besides fruit and vegetables. While 100% FDI is allowed in food processing, investment is restricted in retailing.

Today, barely 6% of fruit and vegetables produced in the country are processed. The country has targeted 20% processing within the next few years and is keen on enhancing export of these items from less than 1% to 3%.

The government is considering opening up the $330-billion retail market with adequate provisions to protect neighbourhood stores. The commerce department is waiting for the report being prepared by ICRIER on the impact of retail on local kirana outlets. The study was commissioned to the Delhi-based think-tank after Congress supremo Sonia Gandhi voiced her concerns over effects of FDI in retail on unorganised sector.

April 22, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Inflation blues bites into retailers plans

A dip in consumer spending and the possibility of real estate prices softening have halted the expansion plans of India’s modern retailers. Says Future group CEO Kishore Biyani: “Demand for some categories have declined, which may be attributed to inflation. Some small retailers are also postponing their expansion plans.” According to industry experts, small retailers are the worse hit by the inflation.

Some retailers also say they expect real estate prices to fall further. In anticipation, many retailers have chosen not to invest in property right now. Even those who only a month back had announced their expansion plans are now keeping a low profile. And recruitment has taken a back seat as well.

Realty consultants, who had predicted the property prices to stabilise, claim that more retailers are now approaching them for better deals. Says Jones Lang Lasalle Meghraj chairman and country head Anuj Puri: “Prices have been too high for some time now. If this continues it may not be possible for many retailers to buy or rent out certain properties. Some retailers have been negotiating really hard for acquiring property at the lowest possible price, and prices may come down in the near future.”

Vishal Retail chairman and MD RC Agrawal says: “Yes, the growth now looks quite slow and we are considering whether we should go ahead with our expansion plans as aggressively as before. Though our year-on-year profits are quite impressive, but I must say there has been quite a decline in margins in some segments.”

Adds Spinach CEO Pushpamitra Das: “Supply is a problem. We are now bargaining harder with suppliers to make up for the slip in margins.”

April 18, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Inflation hurting margins of retailers

Indian retailers are a worried lot these days. There has been a decline in margins and it's one of the lowest ever, avow some retailers. As inflation touched a 41-month high, chains across the country, especially the smaller players, have been trying every trick in the book to attract consumers, and keep them coming in, even as they struggle to grow profitably.

The first and most critical area has been margins, and retailers have been bargaining harder with their suppliers. Says Pushpamitra Das, CEO of Wadhawan Food Retail that owns the Spinach chain of food and grocery stores in Mumbai, "Margins of all retailers have been affected and that includes us as well. So we are trying to negotiate hard with our suppliers so that we can get goods at cheaper rates and pass the benefits to consumers."

Spinach, like other stores, has been keeping a close tab on its competitors' pricing on a daily basis, and adjusting their rates accordingly, if required. However, lately most retailers have ended up charging almost identical prices for groceries.

Data released by the Department of Consumer Affairs shows that retail prices of grocery products has reached a 39-month high. While sugar and oil increased by 11%, gram rose by around 3%, and vegetables such as onion have become dearer for consumers by 11%. In manufactured items, sunflower oil shot up by 9% and vanaspati ghee (butter) went up 4%, while butter, mustard oil, sugar and groundnut oil became expensive by 1% each.

And while the government took some significant steps to counter rising food prices, retailers are having to do much more to survive this bearish phase in consumer spends. Unable to reduce fixed costs, retailers are trying to control variable costs and thereby bring the total operating costs down.

And while smaller players are finding the going tough, large players like Future Group's Pantaloon Retail seem less ruffled. Kishore Biyani, CEO of Future Group, says, "Demand for low end products has seen a dip while high end products, which are not price sensitive haven't been affected that much. We have still managed to give the best deals to our consumers in all segments." That may have to do with the leverage that more established chains like Pantaloon have with suppliers and manufacturers.

Meanwhile retailers are working on sustaining business through innovative promotional offers. Cross category promotions are now catching up where discounts are being offered on grocery purchases, redeemable against purchase of apparel and household products. Says RC Agarwal, CMD, Vishal Retail, "Most of us are now depending on promotional schemes. Even consumers have become more conscious and they would only go for the retail outlet which offers the best deal, in terms of offers and price."

Many brands on the other hand have marginally reduced the weight of their SKUs than increase prices. When asked whether the retailers have followed the same path for their in-house products, retailers deny any such measure for their private label brands. Explains R Subramanian, managing director, Subhiksha, "I think on an average there has been a decrease of around 10% in the sales of grocery but year-on-year we have grown."

April 14, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Top global retailers say India is most sought-after market

India has been identified as the most sought-after market in a major survey of 300 global retailers seeking to expand outside their domestic markets. New research by C B Richard Ellis, a leading London-headquartered real estate services firm, reveals that 40 per cent of retailers expect emerging markets to provide their main source of growth over the next five years.

The research report said that India was identified as the most sought-after emerging market. Twenty seven per cent of international retailers surveyed have opened their first store in India in the last year or are planning to do so soon. "India is considered particularly attractive because of the size of its market compared to its low presence of international retailers. With foreign ownership rules being gradually relaxed, foreign investment is also now possible, allowing single-brand retailers to own up to 49 per cent of their India operations," the report said.

The Global Emerging Markets Survey (GEMS) explores the views of some 300 retailers worldwide, representing a global portfolio of 25,000 stores, and provides the latest insight into retailer attitudes towards the world's emerging retail destinations.

April 12, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Regional Trends

Future, Reliance, M&M on rural retail roads to Gujarat

After an aggressive buyout by Reliance ended Adani group’s rural retail plans, Gujarat is getting ready to see at least three big boys of Indian retail taking the rural roads for a major push. Future Group, which has just formed a JV with Godrej Agrovet, Reliance and Mahindra are set for a major foray in the lucrative rural Gujarat market.

While Reliance will launch 15 rural retail hubs, Godrej Adhar, powered by the 70% Future Group stake, will increase the number of stores to 20 in the next two years.

Mahindras too are on an expanding mode. The company, which has so far been only in agri-input retailing, will add more products to its retail portfolio. The retail rush is fuelled by prosperity and increasing consumerism in the Gujarati hinterland. According to Piyush Kumar Sinha, professor of marketing and chairperson, centre for retailing, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad (IIMA), Gujarat’s good road connectivity has already erased the rural-urban shopping divide to an extent.

“Almost all the big format retail chains are present in Gujarat’s smaller cities and people from all over the state shop there. It is a myth that rural Gujarat does not spend as much as say people in rural Punjab. The rural spends are as high (in Gujarat),” he adds.

Both Reliance and Pantaloon will adopt the hub and spoke model. The smaller sourcing centres (spokes) that will feed the main centres — hubs — that in turn will provide extension services and retail agri-inputs together with consumer products like apparel, FMCG and durables.

The semi-urban and rural areas of the state may be the gainers of consolidation in the industry that bridges the rural and urban retailing divide. Gujarat is likely to see more action from other long-term agri-retailers, who have ignored the state for more lucrative Maharashtra and Punjab.

Established rural retailers like ITC Choupal Fresh, Mahindra and Mahindra Shubh Labh Stores and DCM’s Haryali Kissan Bazar et al hardly had any presence in Gujarat. However, the companies are re-thinking their strategy for the state, which was not considered an attractive destination for retailing of agri inputs, sourcing agri products or for contract farming.

“Most of the rural retailers started as agri-input providers, be it Tata, DCM or ITC. They have a different model for retail that is based on sourcing agri-inputs. Gujarat was not their core market,” says Mr Sinha.

May 2, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Delhi hot favourite retail destination in India

With the Indian retail industry poised to become a $637 billion sector by 2015, the capital city is emerging as the largest consumer market in the country consisting of a booming middle class.

Delhi has the highest concentration of households with an annual income of $110,000 and per capita income more than double the national average.

"Delhi is a destination for shopping across India besides its own consumption appetite. It is the principal business and commercial centre in northern India, well complemented by industrial areas in the National Capital Region," Minister of State for Industry Ashwani Kumar said at a symposium organised by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) here.
Being the biggest consumption zone in northern India, Delhi has also emerged as a distinguished centre for trade, he said.

"A family in Delhi spends Rs 210,000 per annum on an average, while it saves Rs 50,000. As people prosper further, the savings will further go up, which will result in bigger retail industry," the minister said underlining the importance of the industry in creating employment opportunities.

April 25, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Bharti Retail has easy day in Ludhiana

Bharti Retail, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Bharti Enterprises, launched its first food and grocery stores called Easy Day in Ludhiana on Wednesday, reports the media.

The company, which has a JV with Wal-Mart for cash-and-carry operations and a franchisee agreement for front-end retail, aims to spend $2.5 billion by 2015 for opening multiple format stores.

Easy Day stores would offer a wide range of products for daily usage personal care products, stationery, household articles, hosiery items, daily-need groceries such as processed foods, staples, bakery, dairy products, meat and poultry. Bharti Retail is expected to open its first cash-and-carry stores by the end of 2008 and plans to open 10-15 such stores over the next seven years.

April 17, 2008
Source: Economic Times

The Loot wants to bring the 'loot lo' in South

Mumbai-based multi-brand discount retail chain The Loot wants to bring the ‘loot lo’ to the South in a big way this year.

The company plans to start around 25 outlets in the south — eight each in Tamil Nadu and Karnataka, five in Andhra Pradesh and four in Kerala — and 70 across India this year. The Loot currently has 30 stores across the country, of which two are in Karnataka (in Bangalore and Mysore) and wants to take the number to 100 by March 2009.

“We are targeting 10 stores this quarter and 20 in the subsequent quarters. We should be in Chennai with two stores by the end of the year,” The Loot MD Jay Gupta told ET. The company hopes to make its Kerala and Andhra debut before the end of the financial year.

The chain has had a good run so far in the South with its Bangalore and Mysore outlets. “We have got a very good response in Bangalore and we plan to open four more stores there. Our Mysore store is, in fact, most profitable, which speaks volumes about the retail potential in tier II cities,” Mr Gupta said.

“We will set up stores in every city that is a state capital, has an airport and wherever the population is above five lakh,” he said.

April 10, 2008
Source: Economic Times

International

Marks and Spencer agrees India joint venture

Marks and Spencer said Friday it had entered into a joint venture with Reliance Retail of India in the hope of establishing the British food-to-clothes retailer as a "major retail brand" in South Asia.

"Reliance Retail is the ideal partner for us to accelerate our expansion and create the opportunity to open much bigger M&S stores," Marks and Spencer chief executive Stuart Rose said in a joint statement.

Marks and Spencer said it would take a 51 percent interest in a new company, M&S Reliance India, while Reliance would own the remainder. Each partner would initially invest up to 29 million pounds (37 million euros, 58 million dollars) in the venture.

The new company would have the right to operate Marks and Spencer stores in India selling items including women's, men's and children's clothing as well as homewares.
It would aim to open at least 50 new stores in India over the next five years, the statement added.

April 19, 2008
Source: AFP

RIL, Marks & Spencer in 49:51 venture

As expected, Reliance Industries (RIL) and Britain’s Marks & Spencer Group plc announced their joint venture on Friday, but what RIL stands to gain from the partnership remains to be seen.

Marks & Spencer is known for high quality clothes, home products and food.
Though RIL is already present in at least two of these three categories, it is not yet perceived as a retailer of premium and luxury goods.

RIL has agreed to be the minority partner in the company, called Marks & Spencer Reliance Retail India, by holding 49% stake.
The joint venture is expected to open at least 50 new stores across the country in the next five years.
Interestingly, Planet Retail, which is the existing franchisee in India for Marks & Spencer, would continue to operate the 14 stores it has.

Planet Retail is the same franchisee company which was earlier trying to get US coffee major Starbucks into India so that its continuation as a franchisee for Marks & Spencer leaves some questions unanswered.

The value of the initial investment into the joint venture will be up to £29 million or Rs 229 crore (in cash or in kind) between the parties, with both parties agreeing to provide further funding in the future.
The joint venture will have the right to operate Marks & Spencer stores in India selling items such as women’s, men’s and children’s clothing as well as homewares.
The chief executive officer of Marks & Spencer Reliance India will be Mark Ashman while the chief financial officer will be Jatin Luthra.

April 18, 2008
Source:DNA

Carrefour to fix local partner by month-end

France’s Carrefour Group, the world’s second largest retailer, is close to homing in on a local partner for its much-awaited Indian foray. A formal announcement is slated by the month-end.

The identity of the prospective partner is being kept under wraps. However, the Carrefour Group, in a written response to ET’s email query, said on Wednesday: “We plan to open hypermarkets in India with a local partner and wholesale stores by the second half of 2009. We expect to select the local partner by April 2008. We will not disclose the name of the group with whom we are in discussions with in India, but we are not talking with Wadia. Carrefour is talking to some of the potential candidates at the same time.”

There is some buzz in the grapevine about the possibility of the Indian partner being the Aditya Birla Group. The Aditya Birla Group, however, has strongly refuted this. When contacted by ET, Aditya Birla Retail CEO Sumant Sinha said: “There is no truth in this rumour.”

Incidentally, Carrefour’s talks with both the Wadias and the DLF had failed. The AVB Group too had roped in some four-to-five senior executives from Carrefour into its own retail operations, Aditya Birla Retail. These big-ticket hirings include former Carrefour China operations head Russell Berman, who is now heading the AV Birla group’s hypermarket format ‘more’.

Carrefour has already floated a subsidiary, Carrefour Wholesale Cash & Carry India, to undertake the group’s cash-and-carry operations (wholesale retail).

April 17, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Armani-DLF team proposes wholesale trade of Armani products

The recently approved Giorgio Armani-DLF joint venture proposes to undertake wholesale trading of ‘Armani’ branded products besides getting into single-brand retail trading of Armani products including apparel and perfumes.

The 51:49 venture between Giorgio Armani SpA and real estate major DLF would set up shops to undertake single-brand retail trading of Armani products such as footwear, leather products, watches, eyewear, jewellery, phones, sport gear and other accessories under the labels ‘Giorgio Armani’, ‘Emporio Armani’, ‘Armani Jean’, ‘Armani Junior’ and ‘Armani Collezioni’, sources said.

Giorgio Armani is engaged in the design, manufacture, distribution and sale of high fashion goods and accessories and has retail stores in 37 countries.

April 15, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Armani, Cartier allowed single brand retailing

Iconic brands Cartier and Armani are all set to enter the country, with the Government approving on Tuesday their FDI (foreign direct investment) proposals under single-brand retailing.

Richemont Services BV plans to set up a new joint venture in India with 51 per cent foreign equity under brand name ‘Cartier’. Richemont Group’s joint venture entails an FDI of Rs 20 lakh. The Group’s interests globally encompass some of the most prestigious names in the luxury industry including Cartier, Van Cleef & Arpels, Piaget, Vacheron Constantin, Jaeger-LeCoultre, IWC, Panerai and Montblanc.

Italian fashion brand Giorgio Armani’s joint venture will also be with 51 per cent foreign equity for retail trading of ‘Armani’ branded products. Sources said that Armani has entered into 51:49 joint venture with real estate company DLF for the proposed venture. The proposal entails Rs 1.02 crore as FDI, an official statement said here.

Sources said that the joint venture would undertake the sale of top Armani brands which will be retailed through DLF’s Emporio Mall, amongst others. This first-of-its-kind luxury mall – Emporio – is coming up in New Delhi, and is expected to be operational around May-June.

The luxury retail market in India is estimated at $3.5 billion growing at a CAGR of 45-50 per cent. The 2007 Asia- Pacific Wealth Report, released by Merrill Lynch and Capgemini, says that India has recorded the world’s second-fastest growth in the number of high networth individuals at 20.5 per cent, making it a lucrative luxury market.

April 9, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Guy Laroche is seeking partners for India entry

The €300-million French couture brand Guy Laroche has framed a two-pronged strategy for its entry into India. The company will be debuting with a women’s ready-to-wear line created by designer Marcel Marongiu. For this, it will be seeking partners for commercial retail of the line, which will be manufactured in France.

The second step will be to scout for manufacturing and distribution licensees for its other products to be sold under the Guy Laroche brand. Despite the entry of well-known brands into India, Guy Laroche seems to have no worries over not having the first-mover advantage.

In an emailed interview from France, Hendrik Penndorf, CEO, Guy Laroche, told DNA Money: “I think, this is just the right time to start business in India; the potential is huge and the future is promising for a French couture brand.”

Officials will soon be in India to gather knowledge of the Indian market and its possibilities.

“A second line of women’s ready-to-wear, a men’s line, underwear, sportswear, fashion accessories such as leather goods, shoes, belts and ties, can be very interesting fields for future partnerships with Indian companies,” says Penndorf.

The company is aiming at standalone boutiques in malls in the main cities. “I also expect to create shop-in-shops in department stores with our future industrial licensees,” Penndorf said.

April 9, 2008
Source: DNA

Carrefour to Invest in India Before Rules Are Relaxed

Carrefour SA, the world's second- largest retailer, said it was worth investing in India before the country lifts restrictions that bar overseas companies from owning stores in the world's second-most populous nation.

India is a "huge opportunity,'' Jose Luis Duran, chief executive officer of Carrefour, said today in his keynote speech at the World Retail Conference in Barcelona, Spain. The Paris-based retailer is holding talks with several potential Indian partners to start a wholesale business and will announce the winner in weeks or months to come,'' Duran said in an interview on the sidelines of the conference. Carrefour also plans to accelerate opening of other formats'' as soon as India's laws allow it, he said.

The French retailer plans to open hypermarkets in India with a local partner and wholesale stores by the second half of 2009. Carrefour previously said it would select the local partner by April 2008.

April 9, 2008
Source: Bloomberg

Health & Wellness

Reliance to retail Dr Batra's drugs

Reliance Retail is learnt to be in talks with the country's largest homeopathic clinic chain Dr Batra's Clinic for a shop in the former's hypermarket chain. According to a source, initial round of talks have already started though the exact model of a possible tieup are yet to be worked out.

However, any prospective tieup is unlikely to see an equity deal. It is learnt that Dr Batra’s Clinic has turned down equity participation proposals from other retail chains in the past.

The Rs 2,500-crore Reliance Retail already has its own healthcare chain — Wellness Store (currently six). Reliance Retail opened its first Wellness Store in Hyderabad last year. Besides a range of healthcare services, it also sells allopathic, ayurvedic and homeopathic medicines.

Dr Batra’s Clinic currently has 54 clinics in 17 cities across the country and is on a strategic expansion mode over the next two years in India and few overseas markets.

April 14, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Yash Birla to enter domestic health & wellness market

The Rs 3,000-crore Yash Birla group has decided to enter the domestic health and wellness market through a new company, Birla Wellness.

In the initial phase, the group would invest Rs 300 crore in the new segment. The group has already formed a joint venture with leading hospital group Apollo Hospitals to enter the hospital segment while it’s close to picking up a controlling stake in Kerala Ayurvedic Health Spa, a leading ayurvedic therapy firm in south India. Birla Wellness would also form a joint venture with a leading Singapore-based health and wellness firm to bring high-end health and wellness products and programmes to the Indian market, sources close to development said.

Currently, the Indian health and wellness market, estimated at Rs 2,000 crore, is on a boom with a year-on-year growth of over 25%. According to analysts tracking the sector, the attitude and preferences of the Indian consumers are changing due to a rise in their disposable incomes, high consumption propensity and exposure to global trends.

Big retail firms are offering wellness products such as medical and nutritional products, fitness equipment, consultation, eye testing, books, and audio video material on health and wellness under one roof. In fact, Yash Birla is not the only group eyeing the booming health and wellness sector. Others like Manipal Group and Dabur India have already entered the market with grand plans for the future.

April 14, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Food & Grocery

Barista expanding footprints in domestic, overseas markets

With the coffee chain business becoming highly competitive, Barista Coffee is brewing strategies to expand footprints in the overseas and domestic markets. Seen as a popular hang-out zone among youngsters, the coffee brand is looking to consolidate its presence in the Indian market.

“We will open 80 new outlets with an investment of Rs 30-35 crore during the current fiscal. This would take the number of our outlets to 300. Of this, 20 would be opened in towns and cities where the company does not have any presence,” Mr Partha Dattagupta, CEO, Barista Coffee, said on the sidelines of an industry function.

The company which has presence in West Asia, UAE, and Oman is looking to open two of its café outlets in Bangladesh.

Speaking on the company, Mr Dattagupta said the business has moved forward since its takeover by Italian coffee major Luigi Lavazza SpA, with the company registering a 30 per cent growth. “We hope to break-even by the end of current fiscal”.

According to the Coffee Board, a Government body, coffee retailing is witnessing a boom in the country and is estimated to grow by about 30-40 per cent annually.
Noting that food and beverage is a high investment business, he said the company operates in three models — high street outlets, corporate and company owned stores.
He said the company would add 10 more exclusive outlets to the existing 11. It will adopt a three-tier pricing strategy depending on the location of the outlet.

The company, which takes an overview of its stores on an annual basis and had shut down 10 outlets last year as these were not profitable, would close 10 more this fiscal
On entering the merchandise business, Mr Dattagupta said less than three per cent of its sales came from the merchandise. He said the company is, however, not making it the core focus.

April 29, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Papa Johns opens new outlet

Papa Johns, the world’s third largest Pizza chain which entered India in 2006, has opened its fourth outlet in Mumbai in Powai, which will be the flagship store in Western India.

With this, Papa Johns has nine outlets in India. Their investment in India is likely to exceed Rs 250 crore in the next our years. JIP Fashion and Restaurant India Pvt Ltd is their franchisee in India.

Mr Myles Felt, VP-International, Papa Johns, said, “The Indian market is growing and provides immense opportunities for multinational chains in the country. Growth in the number of total pizza outlets in last 8-9 years has been 15-20 per cent and I expect it to grow even faster at 25-40 per cent this year and beyond.”

Mr Tapan Vaidya, General Manager, JIP, added, “The flagship outlet in Powai will further consolidate the Papa Johns brand in India. The Powai outlet covers dine-in and delivery and is sprawled over 2,550 sq ft. It will be open from 11am-11pm daily. There is an exciting inaugural offer, wherein, the first 50 customers at the Powai outlet can avail themselves of a free Pizza once a week for one full year”.

April 11, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Spinach readies for Rs 400-cr expansion

Fresh food retailer Spinach has made an outlay of Rs 400 crore to spread pan-India. The move follows the Wadhawan group retail arm taking over a number of ailing retail outlets and nascent formats such as S-Mart in Bangalore, Maratha Co-operative Store (with which it signed a management contract) and home delivery service Sangam Direct in Mumbai and Delhi-based Home Market and Sab Ka Bazaar.

The acquisitions had helped Spinach grow to 165 stores. “We are expanding to 10 more cities this year, with a budget close to Rs 400 crore,” Spinach CEO Pushpamitra Das told ET. The company will fund the expansion through a combination of promoters’ funds and debt.

Spinach is also considering acquiring more retail chains that are in need of financial support. Maratha Co-operative stores, for instance, was plagued by massive inefficiencies, low margins and a total lack of technology infusion before signing a management contract with Spinach in 2007.

“Today, we have not only improved the fundamentals, we are also planning to open 10 more Maratha co-operatives this year,” Mr Das said. At the same time, Sangam, which was earlier a Mumbai-specific home delivery service for FMCG goods, grains and pulses, is now being revamped. It will soon go national and be integrated with Spinach group’s brick and mortar stores.

Due to its growing footprint, the company is tying up its logistics end that will shore up its national sourcing as well as supply chain. Mr Das said talks are on with logistics firms such as Mahindra Logistics, Agility and TCI supply chain solutions.

These firms will deliver fresh fruits and vegetables from the distribution centre (where they are bought from farmers) to the new outlets in these ten new cities. The group is aiming to cut down the time for the produce to reach the store from the distribution centre from the current 18-20 hours, to between 10 and 12 hours.

April 10, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Domino’s Pizza plans Rs 70-crore expansion

The Domino’s Pizza delivery man will be knocking on more doors of fast food lovers in towns such as Panipat, Patiala, Karnal and Mysore.

The pizza chain is spending Rs 70 crore to increase presence in another 10 -15 new cities. The chain expects to have 250 outlets by the end of the year, against the existing 185.

Building capacity

According to Mr Dev Amritesh, Vice-President, Marketing, Domino’s Pizza, an additional Rs 15 crore will be spent in building capacity, commissaries and strengthening supply chain to support its expansion plans. The fast food chain is currently present in 34 cities.

“We have recently launched a value deal, a fun meal for four that works out to Rs 45 per single serve pizza. It’s an interesting and relevant price point for consumers of lower SECs, or SEC B and C,” said Mr Amritesh. Such consumers contribute almost 50 per cent of Domino’s revenues today. The company has also announced a new butter flavoured with special herbs ‘Sicilian Wheat Treat Pizza’. It’s the first time wheat is being used in an Indian pizzeria chain, according to Domino’s. However, atta might be used as a bait for the health conscious elsewhere, at Domino’s they are introducing it for its other virtues, primarily the familiarity of the flour and the preference that Indians have for the taste.

The chain is also likely to spend about Rs 20-25 crore this year on advertising (80 per cent of which will be reserved for TV commercials), of which Rs 5 crore is to be spent on selling the new Sicilian Wheat Treat Pizza.

Domino’s has recorded a growth of 55 per cent in revenues, said Mr Amritesh, adding that the chain hoped to maintain that growth this year too, despite a significant increase in input cost.

April 9, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Lifestyle & Luxury Retailing

Organised retail jewellery set for major expansion

With the entry of Rajesh Exports Ltd, world’s largest exporter and manufacturer of jewellery into gold retaining, the organized jewellery market is set for a major expansion in India.

At present, the market is dominated by Tanishq belonging to the Tata group with a sales turnover of Rs 1200 cr which is expected to touch Rs 2000 crore this year.

The market for organized jewellery retailing in India is estimated at Rs 20 bn and is expected to grow more than 40% per annum. “ We believe that the Indian market offers attractive growth opportunities, given the fact that India is the world’s largest consumer of gold and gold jewellery, accounting for approximately 27% of the global consumption,” according to EMKAY Research.

At present, orgnaised jewellery market constitutes only four percent of the total business which is expected to rise to seven percent in 2010, according to EMKAY Research. Globally, organized retailing comprises thirty percent of jewellery sales.

Titan, which is the biggest jewellery retailer in India with 40% and above market share, can be used as a proxy for the organised retail jewellery market in India. It has already demonstrated a CAGR of 60% (FY06-08) in its revenues from the jewellery business, the brokerage said.

Rajesh Exports Ltd might pose stiff competition to Tanishq in the branded jewellery segment with three categories of retail chains being set up all over India. It has launched Shubh and Laabh stores to tap value and fashion conscious customers respectively.

It has aggressive plans to increase the number of stores (Shubh + Laabh) from 38 at
present to 160 by FY10E. “We believe that REL’s foray into the high margin retail business coupled with its economies of scale will lead to sharp expansion in profit margins in global markets at very competitive prices,” Emkay Research said.

India is the largest consumer of gold and gold jewellery accounting for 27 percent of world gold consumption and 23 percent of gold jewellery consumption. According to latest figures, consumption of gold jewellery is 558.2 Mt annually which constitutes 23 percent of global jewellery consumption and total gold consumption is 773.6 MT at 27%.

May 4, 2008
Source: CommodityOnline

Subhiksha outlines plans to enter Kolkata and Kerala telecom retail

Retail chain and mobile phone retailer Subhikshahas has announced its move to enter the mobile retail markets of Kolkata and Kerala.

Subhiksha already has 700 mobile stores across the country, and is opening more stores to further consolidate its position in the India's dynamic and fast growing telecom market.
Subhiksha competes on price, and offer some of the best prices on various brands of mobiles and accessories, while offering offers to exchange customer's existing handsets as well.

With four additional Subhiksha mobile stores operational in Kolkata, and over 70 new stores slated to open over the next 3-4 weeks, Subhiksha is aiming to shake up the Kolkata market.

Kerala has around 11 Subhiksha mobile stores operational, in cities like Kochi, Trissur and Calicut. Subhiksha plans to open another 51 stores during the year, across  various towns in the state, to strengthen its presence in telecom retailing through its stand alone stores and the inclusive shop-in-shop model in its own supermarkets.

R Subramanian, managing director, Subhiksha Trading Services says, ''Our entry into Kolkata and Kerala telecom retail markets is part of our commitment to bring greater value to consumers across the country. Consumers will benefit hugely from the best prices and the range of products offered at Subhiksha Mobile stores''.

Telecom retailing in Kolkata and Kerala is an extension of the company's product range of groceries, fruits and vegetables, fast moving consumer goods (FMCG supermarkets) and pharmacy.  Retail chain and mobile phone retailer Subhikshahas has announced its move to enter the mobile retail markets of Kolkata and Kerala.

Subhiksha already has 700 mobile stores across the country, and is opening more stores to further consolidate its position in the India's dynamic and fast growing telecom market.
Subhiksha competes on price, and offer some of the best prices on various brands of mobiles and accessories, while offering offers to exchange customer's existing handsets as well.

April 26, 2008
Source: Domain-b

Vardhaman Developers to invest Rs 400 cr in jewellery malls

Vardhaman Developers, which are set to launch Mumbai's first jewellery mall Jewel World, will build four more such malls with an investment of over Rs 400 crore, a top company official said.

"We hope to launch Jewel World by June and are planning to build four more jewellery malls in Mumbai before we start expanding in India," Vardhaman Developers Managing Director Rajesh Vardhan told PTI.

"The investments in the four malls will be upwards of Rs 400 crore and will be raised by the company through its own resouces," Vardhan added. The four malls are likely to come up in the suburban Mumbai areas of Borivli, Mulund, Ghatkopar and Santa Cruz.

Jewel World, which proposes to be a one-stop-shop for all kinds of jewellery in the traditional Zaveri Bazaar market here, probably has the most expensive lease rentals.

"The lease rentals for Jewel World is Rs 475 per square feet, almost double the general malls and a tad more than the high street malls," Vardhan said. "With conservative estimates, we expect Jewel World to witness a Rs 2,000 crore turnover in the first year of operations," Vardhan said.

Built in the historical Cotton Exchange building at Zaveri Bazaar and spread in an area of 30,000 sq feet, Jewel World has weeded out all issues of safety with a three-ring security, automated shutters, bank and vaults and ample parking space. The mall has been built by Vardhaman Developers Ltd in association with Bherumal Shamandas Jewellers.

The first phase of development had an investment of Rs 40 crore, apart from the Rs 28 crore the company paid to acquire the building. "Almost 80 per cent of Jewel World has been booked, including local and national brands. Jewellers from Dubai, Italy and US too are in talks with us for setting up shop," Vardhan added.

April 13, 2008
Source: Economic Time

Support Industries

Retail training on a roll

With 30-35% growth in the organised retail sector, cos are opening academies to meet their manpower needs. In an attempt to tide over the shortage of trained manpower, India's nascent organised retail sector is investing in training academies.

Recently, two companies — Bharti Retail and Vishal Retail — announced the launch of retail training academies in Ludhiana and Delhi respectively. The two facilities are expected to churn around 5,000 trained persons every year.

"Talent crunch is one of the grave impediments in the progress of Indian retail sector. To address the problem, we have planned to come up with our own institutes," said Manmohan Agarwal, chief executive officer, Vishal Retail Ltd. The training institute run by the company is called the Institute of Management Excellence (IME).

Opened some months ago, Bharti Academy of Retail, meanwhile, has already trained about 1,800 local people from diverse sections of society. "The training module has been designed exclusively for Bharti Retail whose projected manpower requirement by 2015 is 50,000," said a company official, adding that since the academy was set up to make the local community more employable in their retail stores, no fees are being charged from the students.

To be sure, the new schools are in addition to the existing academies including Spencer's Pragati, Subhiksha Retail Institutes in Mumbai, Delhi, Bangalore and Hyderabad, and Future Learning and Development Academies in Ahmedabad, Bangalore and Kolkata.
Encouraged by the response, the academies are planning to expand and open more branches in the months to come. Reliance Retail has already announced plans to set up a retail university, which will come up later this year.

With the sector's projected manpower requirement set to touch 500,000 by 2010, experts claim that the problem demands immediate attention, lest it affect the growth of the industry.

Before setting up their own schools, the retail majors tried overcoming the trained manpower crunch problem by tying up with various institutes that offer courses in retail management. For instance, Pantaloon Retail India Ltd (PRIL) tied-up with 14 institutes including the Wellingkar Institute of Management, Mumbai, before setting up its own training institute.

Interestingly, Sanjay Jog, head (HR) at Pantaloon Retail does not believe that there is a manpower shortage in retail. "By starting these institutes, companies are merely fulfilling the responsibility of creating their own resources."

Nihar Ranjan Ghosh, senior vice-president (HR) at RPG Retail sector said that a majority of fresh recruits have no experience and need to be trained in the retail processes. To facilitate this and to upgrade the skills of existing employees, Spencers set up Pragati, where newcomers undergo two months' training.

According to experts, with the organised retail sector projected to grow at 30-35 per cent annually for the next few years, the institutes will readily churn out store operators as well people for HR functions, store management, distribution and logistics, information technology and store layout, store design, supply chain, visual merchandising and marketing.

April 27, 2008
Source: Business Standard

Unique Formats

A decade on, Amway feels it has just started out

Amway, which will complete a decade of direct selling in the country next month, says that the company has taken a long-term view in India and in the first decade of operations, has set a strong foundation for growth.

“We do think that we have just started out in India. We have built the right product portfolio and positioned ourselves for growth in the country,” said Mr Bill Pinckney, Managing Director and Chief Executive Officer of Amway India Pvt Ltd.

According to him, the company was keen to get its act right and there was a need to adapt the business for the Indian market. He added that the direct selling industry will boom in the next 10 years as the middle-class segment expands.

Providing a comparison, he said that while the direct selling industry in India stood at Rs 3,000 crore currently, it was at Rs 15,000 crore in a developing economy like Mexico, which has a population of 90 million. The huge gap, he said, could be put down to the fact that the industry was a late entrant in India, starting out in 1998.

In an effort to reach out to a wider cross-section of consumers, Amway has launched a range of products under the Great Value brand aimed at the mass market. The launch of the range, comprising coconut oil, amla hair oil, shaving cream, hair cream and disposable razors, follows close on the heels of the launch of the Attitude range of cosmetics in December last. The latter, priced about 30 per cent lesser than the company’s super-premium Artistry range, is slotted in the premium category.

The Great Value range is priced on par with other brands available in the retail segment, said Mr Pinckney, adding that the brand value built up over the past few years would help the company sell the new line in the market.

Speaking with journalists on a company-sponsored trip to the manufacturing site of Amway’s largest contract manufacturer, Sarvotham Care, in Baddi (Himachal Pradesh), he said the company was bullish about its growth prospects and was targeting a turnover of Rs 1,000 crore in calendar year 2008. It had recorded a sales turnover of about Rs 800 crore in 2007.
When asked about a perceived dip in its presence in the marketplace with one coming across fewer business owners, he said this could be attributed to the fact that the company had been able to develop a base of customers and a percentage of sales was now being conducted on the basis of referrals over the phone.

The company’s products fall into four categories: health and wellness products, cosmetics and skin care, personal care and home care. Mr Pinckney said that the company would be expanding its product portfolio with the launch of some surprise products later this year.

May 6, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Shopping through the Dish

As a child one wanted to buy a Cadbury’s chocolate bar right when it was being advertised on television. Today with technology advancement, it may actually be possible to do so.

What if you could buy advertised products through your television remote and a direct-to-home (DTH) service provider such as Tata Sky or Dish TV?

Currently there are two ways one can shop from home — either through the Internet or by placing orders for TV-advertised products via post or phone. Channels would sell items that were then bought by calling the numbers displayed on screen and paid for either by VPP or cash on delivery.

However, with TV emerging as the number one source of entertainment and with the emergence of new technology, the next round of integration is just a step away.

Shopping on DTH: How does it work? DTH encompasses services including pay-per-view, on-demand viewing and interactive features. These interactive services support the possibility of developing shopping carts for individuals. Based on the kinds of products on sale, one can categorise them into groups such as grocery, personal care, food and beverages, music and books.

The TV remote control can be enabled for use as a tool to navigate and select required products through the interactive screen. A final list of products along with individual prices can be displayed and payments can be effected through credit/ debit card gateways routed through the DTH provider.

Unlike the Internet, secure transaction can be guaranteed as DTH in general is available in encrypted form for every user. Plus, each channel is beamed directly from the satellite to the receptor dish in one’s home. As the signals are strong with clear quality, there is no scope for data loss during transmission of one’s credit card details.

The logic for DTH shopping is similar to that of Internet shopping as far as the merchandise to be sold is concerned. Any item that is standardised – either by brand name such as electronics (Nokia, Sony Ericsson, Apple) or by retail chains themselves such as Reliance Fresh (groceries, personal care items) – can be sold through DTH, provided the service provider gets all the stakeholders into the loop. These include retail outlets, movie theatres, railways, airlines, credit and debit card companies, banks and logistics firms (for product delivery).

However, there are some challenges to be overcome for this model to be implemented. Evident ones include

• Real time interaction and updates – with retail chain inventories, tickets

• Providing encryption for payments

• Delivery and logistics

The best way to mitigate these challenges is to collaborate with organisations already providing these services. For airline tickets companies like Yatra.com or makemytrip.com can be partners. For retail chains, it will lead to sharing of their real time inventory management systems.

What DTH players have to realise is that they do not have to provide any of the physical services themselves. They would merely provide a gateway to these services via the dish.

Who is the real beneficiary of these services? Of course, organisations providing the products on sale would benefit, as would banks and credit card companies. But undoubtedly the real beneficiary would be the customer and a DTH provider for who this service would be a new revenue stream.

Sitting in the comfort of his house a customer can shop, thereby saving valuable time and effort. Also things would be much cheaper when sold through this medium, as retailers would not have to stock items and display them in the retail format. Instead, they would be stocked in a warehouse or in some cases purchased only after the order has been placed. These savings in cost can be passed on to the customer in order them to encourage him to shop on the DTH.

Retail chains can save critical retail space for items that cannot be bought over DTH such a fresh fruits and vegetables or clothes. Additionally, their cost of merchandising is much lower. Customers would pay for the purchase before delivery and hence the retailers can work on the concept of ‘negative working capital’ that will keep their cash flows flexible.
The computer and Internet still have low penetration in India. But television is a medium most consumers are comfortable with. Also the reach of DTH is expected to far exceed that of the Internet coverage in the country. Hence, it would be a better bet to go shopping on the dish for all the stakeholders.

April 24, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line

Retailers on catalogue blitz to increase footfalls

As retailers in India look at ways and means to garner more footfalls, catalogues are slowly emerging as a force multiplier to the marketing initiatives undertaken by various formats. Catalogue marketing, though in its infancy, is seen as an effective marketing tool for formats to target audiences beyond the restricted catchment area. Thus players like Croma, Big Bazaar and Hypercity have initiated catalogue marketing programmes with an eye to increase not only brand visibility but also offtake of certain categories.

Big Bazaar will shortly launch a customised catalogues of what’s on offer within a particular store. Big Bazaar CEO Rajan Malhotra says that the format will be launching the catalogues across 50-55 stores in smaller towns and cities. “Catalogues are add-on media and we think it works best within a particular catchment or city,” he says.

Ajit Joshi, CEO, Infiniti Retail, which runs Croma, says that catalogues reduce the transaction time on the floor. “The purchases are family-oriented and evenings are the peak time at our stores. So, catalogues enable one to exactly zero in on the desired item to take a look before purchasing it,” says Mr Joshi. So for purchasing a LCD or a washing machine, which may take about 45 minutes on the floor, catalogues help reduce transaction time, which means fast turnaround during peak hours. Croma brings out a catalogue every alternate month, with offers on around 200 products for a specific period.
Catalogues, as a promotional tool, offers two benefits — it helps create brand recall and allows retailers to promote certain offers and promotions for products. “It helps in advertising new product range on offer and services like extended warranty schemes,” explains Mr Joshi. Hypercity used catalogue to good use when it started operations way back in 2006, says Hypercity CEO Andrew Levermore.

“By using catalogues, retailers can eliminate catchment limitations and hope to cater to a bigger audience,” says AT Kearney principal (consumer & retail practice) Hemant Kalbag. Big Bazaar had initiated catalogue programme some years back, but discontinued it as the format grew bigger and using mass media became a viable option. “But now promotional effort is also necessary. It complements our mass media activity. Catalogues help in local area activation as the categories within a store has grown with a lot more SKUs added than before,” explains Mr Malhotra.

Typically, catalogues are distributed as newspaper inserts, stocked within the store or distributed in and around the catchment area. But using a blanket bombing approach to distribute them often doesn’t lead to desired results. What’s needed is a more focussed approach where retailers can use their existing database and customise accordingly.

“For any retailer with a large customer loyalty scheme database, mailing these leaflets to this base is very effective. Newspaper inserts are helpful if you want to target a specific customer profile. The worst results in our case come from a blanket delivery of leaflets into an area,” says Mr Levermore.

There are possibilities of creating synergy between catalogues and other mediums like phone-ins and internet, but in India it is still sometime away. “When it involves high-ticket purchases, customers still want experience the product before purchasing.

Certain consumer segment, as the market evolves, can look at phone-in or internet after browsing through the catalogue,” explains Mr Kalbag. In the Indian retailing arena, trial and error is the norm. Looks like catalogue marketing will also go through stages of evolution as well in the time to come.

April 21, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Grabbit to launch apparel vending machines

Buying apparel through a vending machine may soon become a reality, coming as a Godsend to brands and retailers who do not have a store to sell their wares in malls.

The idea to vend apparel through machines is being purveyed by Grabbit Franchisee Lette, a vending service provider, which is in talks with brands like Raymond and Spykar to launch the apparel vending machine very soon, a top company official said.

This would help brands and retailers who do not have a presence in malls to sell their products through vending machines, Grabbit Franchisee Lette's Managing Director, M D Nayar, told media here.

"We have already tied-up with Nari for the roll-out of its products which would be commenced soon," Nayar said.

Nari is an ethnic-wear brand owned by Raju and Karan Ahuja.

Grabbit would commence operations with ethnic wear and swim suits before branching into other segments, Nayar said.

"We have already launched vending machines for jewellery and have tied-up with brands like Kisna for diamonds and Agni for gold," he said. Cosmetics are also being sold through these machines.

On the company's revenue model, Nayar said that the company would buy the goods at a discounted rate from brands and then sell them through the vending machines at the maximum retail price (MRP), he said.

April 20, 2008
Source: Economic Times

Manned by women

Big retail chains such as Reliance Fresh, Spencer's Daily and Big Bazaar have competition. Not from a rival business group, but from a Kolkata-based enterprising woman - Aparna Banerjee.

An alumni of the prestigious Xavier Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) in Jamshedpur, Bihar, Aparna, 36, retails her goods under the name of Project Sukanya. Interestingly, the goods are not sold from huge showrooms, but from 54 roadside mobile kiosks, manned by 141 women who work in shifts. Another 3,500 women directly benefit from this project by making products such as handicraft items, edibles like papad , pickles and jams. Packaged spices and ready-to-eat lunches are also sold. And in the next six months 500 more 'boucarts' would be deployed across 18 districts, again manned by women.

"When I got the idea of these mobile kiosks, my first step was to finalise the design and patent it under the Intellectual Property Rights Act.," says Aparna. The project was the result of extensive research based on material gathered from 62 villages across India during her studies on Anthropology at Calcutta University.

"I did my MBA in Logistics and Supply Chain Management from XLRI and realised during that time that I wanted to become a social entrepreneur. I then did a course in Anthropology to get a grip on human rights. I realised that women need financial independence to get freedom from restrictions, abuse and social taboos," says Aparna, who struggled to complete her studies under great financial constraints.

She realised that marketing was the bottleneck of small-scale enterprises and blocking cash within a supply chain was not advisable. "I found that retail was the only option. But setting up huge retail space was beyond my capabilities. I hit upon the mobile kiosk idea and worked on it for two years, getting all required permissions and licences to place them on the roads. No loophole was left open. The carts are manufactured at our own unit," she adds.

When Aparna sent her pilot Project Sukanya to the Prime Minister's Office (PMO) in 2005, the PM encouraged her to go ahead, assuring assistance in case of hurdles. When apprised, Chief Minister of West Bengal, Buddhadeb Bhattacharjee, also instructed his secretariat to offer support.

The attractively-designed sleek kiosks, which are placed at major crossings in the city, easily catch the eye. The apron-clad women manning them are polite and knowledgeable about the products. Kakoli Das, 24, is one of the smiling faces at the Rashbehari kiosk. "We don't have any problems with the police regarding parking of our kiosk. Our paperwork is watertight. The customers, too, are friendly. We get repeat clients on a regular basis now."

The turnover for the Project, which started rolling in early 2007, has already reached Rs 1.05 crore. The target is to touch Rs 50 crore by 2009. Project Sukanya has a 20,000 sq. ft. common facility centre at Topsia. The rural women who supply the products come here with their samples.

All women within the project are, as Aparna puts it, "those in need of a livelihood". Jayanti Chatterjee, 49, from Baharu village in South 24 Parganas district, responded to one of the first advertisements placed by Sukanya in a newspaper and approached Aparna for a job. A school dropout, Jayanti had done menial jobs for over three decades and had managed to send her six siblings to school. However, they all went their ways once they were well settled, leaving her to cope with an ailing mother. Jayanti, who is in charge of the Sukanya Tollygunge kiosk, today earns a regular Rs 3,000. She and her mother now reside in a rented one-room unit in Kolkata.

Swapna Dutta, 50, was dumped by her husband during the initial years of their marriage. She managed to educate her son up to higher secondary by doing odd jobs. However, when he secured admission to an engineering college, Swapna found herself helpless.
The Sukanya project came to her rescue and she pays the tuition fee from her regular monthly salary of Rs 2,800.

On the anvil for Aparna is a rural initiative. Project Sukanya is set to adopt a village, offering alternative livelihood development. Sukanya is also set to spread its wings beyond West Bengal with 30 new outlets. Groups of needy women have already been identified in States such as Kashmir from where consignments of saffron and apples have already arrived to be sold from the mobile kiosks. Here too, it is women who are at the back and front ends of operations.

April 11, 2008
Source: Hindu Business Line