Stay abreast of the fast moving economic super-power — India!
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Stay abreast of the fast moving economic super-power — India!
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Retail News September 2007 |
Biyani warms up to tie-up with US chain Coffee Bean
After an aborted partnership plan with premium coffee retailer Starbucks, Pantaloon Retail is brewing a fresh alliance with California-based coffee retail chain The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf.
The deal has been signed with the coffee chain through its joint venture company Blue Foods. This will be the master franchisee for the coffee retailer. The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf is owned and operated by International Coffee & Tea and is one of the oldest and largest privately-held chain of specialty coffee and tea stores. Coffee Bean stores differ from other chains, such as Starbucks, in their broad selection of tea.
The portfolio of Coffee Beans would be customised to suit Indian tastes, and the first Coffee Beans outlets will come up in Noida, Hyderabad and several other premium locations.
Coffee Bean operates and franchises more than 390 shops under The Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf. The outlets, found mostly in California and in about a dozen foreign countries, feature a variety of fresh roasted coffees and specialty teas, along with baked goods and blended ice drinks.
September 3, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Infiniti to open 40 stores, invest Rs 900 crore
Infiniti Retail, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Tata Sons, plans to rollout 40 mega and small electronics stores by March 2008 in eight major cities of the country. The company, an electronic appliances and consumer goods retail chain, plans to take this number to over 100 stores by 2010.
According to reports, the company will invest close to Rs 900 crore over the next three years and will be funded by Rs 400 crore equity contribution by Tata Sons to open 40 stores this fiscal.
Infiniti Retail has two formats, the mega store being called Croma ranging in size of 10,000 to 30,000 sq.ft and Croma Zip in the size of 850 sq ft. The company will launch small as well as mega stores in places such as Delhi, Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Surat, Nashik, Baroda, New Mumbai and Pune.
September 3, 2007
Source: Economic Times
The Tata group company Trent, well-known for its Westside chain of stores, has announced a capex of Rs 65 crore for the next year and Rs 250 crore for the next three years. The firm plans to add add four to five Westside stores in 2006-07 and increase the floor space to 3,30,000 sq ft in the next 15 months.
Apart from the metro cities, Westside will also come up in tier-II cities. Two stores of 24,000 sq ft are set to come up in Pune, two in Hyderabad and one in Navi Mumbai. Of the 27 stores in 18 cities, 24 are leased upto a period of 21 years, while three are company-owned.
The company will add 1,75,000 sq ft of floor space in Star India Bazaar, the hypermarket in Ahmedabad. Three hypermarkets will be launched, two in Mumbai and one in Bangalore, said Mr Neon Tata, Managing director, Trent.
August 29, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
RIL enters strategic partnership with Concor
Reliance Industries (RIL) is entering into a strategic alliance with the Container Corporation of India (Concor), India’s largest container train operator.
Both entities are already in advanced stages of talks and an MoU detailing the agreement is expected to be announced shortly. Under this strategic partnership, RIL will have access to several infrastructural facilities of Concor, which includes almost 60 terminals all over the country.
According to sources, RIL intends to utilise these facilities as key warehousing points for its mega retailing venture—Reliance Retail. In addition, Concor will also provide multi-modal connectivity to RIL, through its rail and road network, for the movement of both the bulk commodities and other imports, sourced for its retail venture.
August 25, 2007
Source: Economic Times
RPG scouts for foreign partner in new venture
The Rs 11,000-crore RPG group on Friday said it was looking for a foreign partner for a new retail venture.
RPG Enterprises Vice-Chairman Sanjiv Goenka said that it would invest Rs 1,000 crore for Spencer's expansion and was contemplating IPO to part finance the capex plans. He added that their first mall to be built here at a cost of Rs 300 crore would be the best in South Asia. The group already has retail venture brands, Spencer's, MusicWorld, Cellucom, Books & Beyond.
Goenka unveiling telecom and IT product retail brand, RPG Cellucom's plan, said the company would increase the number of stores to 500 across the country by 2008. RPG Cellucom would cover Asansol, Bardhamman, Kharagpur, Durgapur, Siliguri.
On the tie-up with the USD 350 million Cellucom group, Goenka said it would have an option to take a stake in the RPG Cellucom India if the government allowed FDI in retail.
August 24, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Spencer's talking to global retailers for joint venture
Spencer’s Retail, promoted by the Rs 11,500 crore RPG group, is in talks with international retailers for a possible joint venture (JV) in India. The company is exploring the JV route to introduce new formats
“The JV will not be in the food retailing since our existing formats function in that area. We are talking to a couple of international players. The new venture will be consolidated by the group. Hopefully, we will be able to take a call on the new venture in a couple of months,’’ said Goenka.
Goenka further said the JV would adhere to the FDI guidelines. He added: “We will locate stores in such a way that they do not clash with business of existing stores.’’ Spencer’s currently has 250 outlets in 40 cities. The company will open 500 stores in the next 12 months and 600 stores next year.
August 23, 2007
Source: Business Standard
Pantaloon to Sell Shares; Plans IPO of Finance Unit (Update2)
Pantaloon Retail India Ltd., the nation's biggest publicly traded retailer, said it will sell shares and offer a stake in its finance unit to raise funds for new stores in the world's second-fastest growing major economy.
Pantaloon will raise 12.6 billion rupees ($307 million) selling warrants and shares to founders and other investors, the Mumbai-based company said in a statement to the Bombay Stock Exchange today. The group will sell a 10 percent stake in Future Capital Holdings Ltd., it said. Shares of Pantaloon rose.
Future Group Chairman Kishore Biyani plans to sell stakes in its finance, Internet retailing and media units to raise funds. Pantaloon plans to spend $1 billion to open 4,000 retail outlets by 2010.
August 20, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Reliance Retail to pump in Rs 2,700 cr for AP expansion
Reliance Retail is all set to step up its presence in Andhra Pradesh. As part of this plan, the company will pump in Rs 2,700 crore in the state. Part of it will go to a hypermart in Hyderabad. And the retailer will also open Reliance Fresh outlets across the state.
“We have earmarked an investment of Rs 25,000 crore in the retail segment, of which over 12% will go to Andhra Pradesh by 2010. The state has high potential for growth and is one of the fast growing regions in the country,’’ said Raghu Pillai, CEO (operations & strategy), Reliance Retail.
The company operates 45 Reliance Fresh outlets in Andhra Pradesh, of which 31 are in Hyderabad.
The company had opened its first 1,65,000 square feet hypermart in Ahmedabad this week. It is also looking at opening similar stores in Jamnagar, Delhi, Chennai, Jalandhar and Jaipur.
August 17, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Wal-Mart keen to enter front-end retailing if allowed in India
World's largest retailer Wal-Mart, which on Monday entered into a joint venture with Bharti Enterprises for wholesale business, said it would like to enter front-end retailing if India's policy allowed.
India is the second country after Brazil where Wal-Mart has a cash and carry business. In Brazil, it runs the 'Maxxi' wholesale stores, besides its normal format outlets like the Supercentres.
Bharti Enterprise managing director Rajan Bharti Mittal said his firm would be a natural partner for the US retailer if in future the government policy were to allow foreign companies in front-end retailing.
August 16, 2007
Source: Hindustan Times
Reliance's Retail Unit Plans to Open 500 Hypermarkets by 2010
Reliance Retail plans to open 500 hypermarket stores by the end of 2010 as it seeks to gain a start over local and overseas rivals.
Reliance expects to start 30 hypermarkets, branded RelianceMart, this year, the Mumbai-based company said in an e- mailed release today. The company opened its first hypermarket today in the western Indian city of Ahmedabad.
Reliance Retail is spending as much as $6 billion to set up hypermarkets and smaller convenience stores in the world's second-most populous nation. The company is hoping the rapid rollout of stores will help it gain an edge over local rivals such as Bharti Retail Ltd. and overseas retailers such as Wal- Mart Stores Inc. and Carrefour SA, whenever India permits them to open store chains.
August 15, 2007
Source: Bloomberg
Trent may help Benetton’s Sisley into India
Europe’s famous fashion house Benetton is likely to enter into a distribution partnership for its premium fashion brand, Sisley, with Tata Group company, Trent. This marks the Indian business house’s first brush with a foreign apparel brand and its foray into high street retail. Benetton Group’s deputy chairman and son of Luciano Benetton, Alessandro Benetton, is expected to ink the deal with Trent MD Noel Tata next month.
Benetton has decided to join forces with the Tatas because its wholly-owned India subsidiary has decided to focus on the eponymous flagship brand. India is emerging as the most important market for Benetton in Asia-Pacific. Brand Benetton commands a higher, although affordable, premium here compared to other global markets.
Benetton’s India arm had test launched Sisley in the country last year but could not scale up operations as it remained focused on the flagship brand’s expansion in a fast growing economy. Besides, a partnership with the Tatas may have seemed attractive as it is a formidable name in India which has proved its mettle in apparel retailing through the Trent-managed Westside stores.
Sisley, with over 850 outlets globally, is targeted at the premium end of the apparel market.
August 14, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Spencer’s plans foray into garment retailing
Spencer’s Retail, part of the Rs 11,500-crore RPG Group, is looking at a foray into garment retailing two quarters from now. These would be exclusive stores retailing only apparel.
Spencer’s hypermarkets are retailing ‘basic garments,’ and nearly 16 per cent of its revenues comes from these SKUs (stock keeping units). In addition to increasing garment retailing in hypermarkets, the retailer will be launching exclusive garment retail stores similar to its music and book stores.
RPG Retail currently has a presence across 40 cities with 250 Spencer’s outlets. This includes 11 hypermarkets, seven supermarkets, three Fresh, 55 Express and 125 Dailies. The Group’s other retail presence is in the area of music (Music World), books (Books and Beyond) and RPG Cellucom (mobile phone retail) with a total of 500 outlets, expected to grow to 2,000 by 2009 and 5,000 by 2011.
August 12, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Rahejas to invest Rs 1,500 cr in hypermarkets
The K Raheja group has lined up an investment of around Rs 1,500 crore for setting up 68 hypermarket stores named Hypercity and 250 convenient stores christened Expresscity across the country in five years.
Apart from Hypercity and Expresscity hypermarkets, The group will be introducing a third format which will cater exclusively to hi-end customers. The first such store of 10,000 sq ft, which is yet to be named, would come up in Mumbai by May 2008. It would ideally be a gourmet store housing luxury food items and select grocery items.
The Hypercity offers its customers valued-added services like consumer finance, ATM facility, telecom services, pharmacy, bakery and restaurants etc under one roof while convenient stores, Expresscity, offer daily-use products such as groceries, dairy products, bakery items and meals.
The group is eyeing tier II and tier III cities as well for its rapid expansion plans. Terming Indian market as vast and diverse, Mr Livermore, CEO of Hypercity said that the Indian retail space can easily accommodate retail giants as well as around 12 million kirana stores across the country. “There’s opportunity for everyone”.
August 9, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Apparel makers go window dressing to draw buyers
Step into a multi-brand outlet (MBO) or a department store and you are instantly hit by a barrage of brands, their boards screaming out in bold colours. As the retail space gets increasingly crowded with more brands, apparel majors are going all out to make their brands stand apart from the clutter.
And it is not just the limited space that brands have to deal with, but also the conflicting interest of MBOs and department stores that want to maintain certain internal consistency with their look and feel.
Apparel brands are trying out various combinations of innovative displays, product packaging, bright colours and special lighting to grab and hold buyers’ attention. Arvind Brands , which manages brands such as Arrow, Excalibur, Flying Machine, Lee and Wrangler, uses varied colours, fixtures, fret walls and thematic displays.
Product packaging is another area where brands try to look distinctive and carry bags become an inherent part of the brand identity. The branding initiative also extends to sales persons, who wear the company’s apparel line to be in sync with the brand. Most brands also go for seasonal looks, with the theme of the space changing with each new range of clothing.
The spending on such branding efforts is similar to an exclusive store in a mall environment. So, the next time you go shopping, watch out for the coir hangers, the red display walls and the framed trivia.
September 3, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Big retail gets negligible FDI: Commerce ministry
Despite the controversy over the entry of foreign retail giants, the government has cleared foreign direct investment (FDI) worth only $3.1 million in retail between February 2006 and May 2007.
In a note prepared in response to questions raised on FDI in retail, the commerce ministry said it had cleared 17 projects of single-brand product retailing, a majority of them in the fashion and ready-to-wear business.
| Company | Product |
| Socomec France | UPS systems |
| Etamint | Women’s wear |
| Louis Vuitton | Pens, shoes, travel bags, jewellery |
| Fendi | Bags, dresses, accessories |
| Christian Dior | Travel bags, shoes, readywear, lingerie |
| Hermes | Leather, ready-to-wear apparel |
| Grotto | Retailing ‘Gas’ brand of clothing |
| Moja Shoes | Retailing sportswear and shoes |
| Mitsui Automotive | Retailing Toyota cars |
| Lladro | Retail products under its own brandname |
| Damro | Furniture |
Most of these companies are looking at minimal investments in setting up their retail stores. For instance, Louis Vuitton, which will sell products such as pens, shoes and bags under the premium LVMH brand, will invest only Rs 3.32 crore, Moja Shoes Rs 2.6 crore for a 20 per cent stake and Grotto Rs 3.82 crore for 50 per cent.
The low level of FDI inflow is significant given the widespread opposition to big retail in general and foreign retailers in particular.
September 3, 2007
Source: Business Standard
Food retailers go down different streets to one destination
On a quiet patch of road in the Mukund Nagar locality in Pune, Reliance Fresh, ITC’s Choupal Fresh, RPG’s Spencer’s Daily and Pyramid Retail’s Trumart are present within 100 metres of each other. Just 15 minutes away is one of 14 More branded stores from Aditya Birla Retail.
Reliance Fresh will soon scale up to 15 stores while Choupal Fresh will add nine stores by the end of the year. With Kishore Biyani-led Future Group’s Food Bazaar’s existing operations and Heritage Foods’ Fresh@ set to make an entry as well, a full-blown food war could begin in Pune.
Pune has traditionally been used as a test market for consumer products, but has characteristics that make it a good experimenting ground for retailers too. There is an excellent road network surrounding the city, making the entire supply chain more efficient. It also has a relatively younger and more affluent population than other tier-I cities.
So, how do the stores stack up? At one end, Reliance Fresh, Trumart, Food Bazaar and Spencer’s Daily are not classical food & grocery stores, each of them between 5,000-8,000 sq ft devoting no more than 20% of shelf space to fresh food. Hence, dry groceries get more shelf space. At More, which has smaller — between 1,700-2,300 sq ft — stores, fresh foods constitute approximately half the shelf space. At the other end of the spectrum, the 1,300-sq ft Choupal Fresh has exclusively focused on fresh fruits and vegetables, with a dash of the exotic, such as dates, passion fruit and kiwi.
Says S Sivakumar, chief executive (international business division), ITC: “Our insight is that purchase cycles are different in fresh food than they are for FMCG products. The latter are really once-a-month purchases, so we decided to stick with just the fresh produce.” This translates into a lower average bill size at Choupal Fresh. The store gets, on average, 900 footfalls a day and generates nearly 700 bills, each worth approximately Rs 200. By contrast, more has a slightly higher average bill size — Rs 250 per bill — and more than 700 bills a day.
The three new formats have also identified gaps in the existing market and each occupies a separate niche. Reliance Fresh has positioned itself purely as a price player, offering discounts of nearly 10-15% on food in the evenings. More positions itself on quality and convenience and their stores are largely in residential, middle to upper-middle class areas. At Choupal Fresh, the positioning is on freshness, width of choice and quality.
So who’s ahead in this race? One parameter that retailers use is sales per sq ft. Back-of-the-envelope calculations suggest Choupal Fresh gets, at Rs 107 per sq ft, more efficiency compared to More’s Rs 98 per sq ft and Reliance Fresh’s Rs 87.5 per sq ft. Customers agree that Choupal Fresh scores on quality. But each format has seemingly worked out its own niche and is happy to occupy it. As competition intensifies, one or more will have to change tack. Who will blink first?
September 1, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Retailers to set up multiple services kiosks
Providing multiple services through single platform kiosks - be it ticketing for airline, railways, private buses, and movies or billing for telecom, electricity, natural cooking gas and financial services - seems to be the new marketing mantra among retail giants.
Reliance Retail, Aditya Birla Retail, Pantaloon Retail, Big Bazaar, Shopper’s Stop, InOrbit Mall, Nirmal Lifestyle, Mega Mall and RPG Group’s Spencers are currently talking to the Shapoorji Pallonji Group to set up the group’s new s-commerce venture ‘Suvidhaa’ kiosk within their malls, hypermarkets and retail outlets.
Suvidhaa s-commerce venture is a new click and a mortar model whereby our kiosk operators will provide services demanded by the customers for a transaction fee of Rs 3 to Rs 5. Shapoorji Pallonji is planning to set up 10,000 shop-in-shops and neighbourhood and convenience ‘Suvidhaa’ kiosks apart from 500 to 3,000 flagship stores in the next three years.
August 22, 2007
Source: Indian Express
Organised retailing needs Rs 3 lakh cr investment: IACC
An Indo-American Chamber of Commerce (IACC) study on the issues affecting the farm to retail process in India said that in order to perk up the growth rate to 4 per cent in organised retailing, the government would need to invest Rs three lakh crore.
Farm incomes in India can double if organised retail enhances farmer realisations on food items from the current 30 per cent to 35 per cent of retail price to the international norm of over 50 per cent, the study said. The Indian government has been targeting a growth rate of 4 per cent in the agricultural sector, the actual growth rate of 1.8 per cent over the last few years is much less than the target.
"The price paid to farmers for fresh farm produce is currently about 30-35 per cent of retail prices as compared to the international norm of more than 50 per cent of retail price. This differentiation is primarily due to the farm sector being predominantly unorganised in India. Organised retailing in F&G segment can drastically improve supply chain and boost farmers' incomes and will bring a more structured growth to the whole sector," IACC, National President, Deepak Pahwa said.
August 21, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Retail biggies testing local flavours
Who’s on the wish-list of Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail? Induben Khakrawala, Gujju Masala and Nilon’s.
Apart from banking on national brands or private labels, large retail chains, including Reliance, RPG and the Piramals, are now turning to lesser known but strong local brands to rake in more moolah. In a bid to penetrate faster and better in local markets with higher margins, the retailers are now increasing the share of local brands at their retail outlets.
Take RelianceMart, country’s biggest hypermart. Reliance Retail plans to focus largely on local brands, including Induben Khakrawala’s namkeens, Lijjat Papad, Wagh Bakri, and Madhur (spices brand). This is in addition to the nearly 100 private labels that Reliance plans to display.
Usually, for retailers, it is more profitable to stock regional brands than national brands. Also, the supply chain is more efficient. The customer prefers to see familiar brands on shelves; the retailer wants accepted brands displayed.
August 20, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Retail majors bet on mobile phone mart
Retail biggies, trying to grab a chunk of the Rs 20,000-crore mobile phone market, are turning the focus now on the ‘customer’ through ‘experience’ stores. Big players like the Future group, RPG, Essar, and Subhiksha have entered the mobile retail market which is growing at the rate of 15-20%. However, there are also standalone concept stores being set up by brands such as Motorola and Sony.
The Future group offers the value format under MBazaar and lifestyle or ‘experience’ stores under MPort, showcasing 100-odd models of phones, and catering to a distinct segment, be it music, camera or business phones. Subhiksha has opened 100-plus exclusive Subhiksha Mobile stores and plans to ramp up sales to two lakh phones a month by March 2008, from 65,000 per month phones now.
The growth is not only centred in metros but also coming from smaller towns like Bhubaneshwar, Nagpur, Lucknow, Nasik and Vishakapatanam. While the average selling price is much higher in a metro around Rs 6,500-8,000, in a small town it’s Rs 4,200.
Mobile telephony is growing at a rapid pace, with seven million subscribers added in June. Replacement cycles on phones are down to almost one year for the youth-mid age users and total subscriber base growing at a fast pace, sales of phones are bound to explode.
Most of the retail chains do not offer after sales service on the mobiles. For after care, the customer has to approach the authorised service centres.
August 18, 2007
Source: The Times of India
In February 2004, RPG Retail was launching its second hypermarket – Giant and had plans to open 20 more Giant hypermarkets by the end of 2006 at a total investment of Rs 10 crore for every store. Since then, things have not gone quite to plan. Giant, now renamed Spencer’s, has opened barely six stores in all in the three years since.
Back in 2004, it was widely expected that the hypermarket would emerge as the dominant model in the fledgling retail space, virtually snuffing out competition from neighbourhood grocery stores. The motto was quite simply: Think Big.
Yet today, what is growing, and rapidly, are the smaller retail formats - convenience stores, food and grocery and discount stores. In a period of just under a year, Subhiksha, with its 1200 sq. ft. discounting format has become the largest domestic retail chain, on the verge of become the first 1000 store chain.
More interesting, the biggest entrants in the space are all thinking small - whether it’s Reliance Fresh, now close to 300 stores, Aditya Birla Retail’s More and ITC’s Choupal Fresh. The Bharti Wal-Mart joint venture will also look at opening smaller stores in tandem with their larger hypermarket and cash and carry operations.
Even Pantaloon Retail is joining the bandwagon. Less than a month ago, India’s biggest retailer announced that it was setting up a chain called KB’s Fairprice Value, a neighbourhood convenience store that reach 1200 stores in another year. Hypercity CEO Andrew Levermore has picked up the same cues: last week he announced that they were setting up a neighbourhood convenience called Expresscity, each no larger than 4000 sq ft and driven largely by food and grocery and will grow to 250 stores in five years.
August 18, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Are organised retailers finding it difficult to emulate the local kirana stores with their home delivery models? The largest retailer, Pantaloons (through Food Bazaar), does not think it a bright idea to compete with them, discount retailer Subhisksha still fine-tuning its format and even the largest FMCG player, Hindustan Unilever Ltd (HUL), selling off its home delivery brand Sangam Direct. So is door delivery not an attractive business proposition for retailers and manufacturers in India?
Wadhwan Foods, which apparently disagrees with this logic, decided to buy HUL’s Sangam Direct. Having added a non-store delivery format through HUL’s Sangam Direct, Wadhawan Foods Retail is planning to introduce the concept before it launches its Spinach stores in the new markets. Having set up multi-channel distribution systems, Wadhwan Foods would be exploiting the synergies between its store and non-store formats. It would now have the call centres operating on behalf of Sangam Direct or to direct calls to its nearest Spinach outlets to service customers.
Then there is Pyramid Retail’s Trumart which is also eyeing this model for its TruMart stores. With intentions of graduating to an e-commerce model, the retailer is targeting 20 per cent of its total grocery and general merchandise turnover through the home delivery format. There are also plans to introduce a credit card for its shoppers to give the benefit of buying goods on credit. The purpose is to emulate the services provided by the local kirana store, which also tends to sell on credit.
Creating a USP is Subhiksha Retail, which is already facing stock-outs in the Mumbai market. The home delivery format is big for the retailer — 30 per cent of value sales.
While Food Bazaar is not enthused about the format, Future Bazaar, Pantaloon’s recently floated subsidiary in the e-commerce space, is gearing up for this service. But kiranas will continue to pose a challenge for the organised big retailers.
August 16, 2007
Source: The Hindu Businessline
Women setting up franchisee outlets
Call it retail’s tribute to independent women. As several leading corporates are expanding retail footprint, womenpreneurs across India are weaving success stories.
According to Franchising Association of India, the number of women setting up franchisee outlets is going up consistently. Industry experts say there are 75,000 franchisee outlets and around 10-15% are owned and managed by women. The share has increased around 20% in the past two years.
S Kumars Nationwide Ltd’s home linen brand Carmaichel House, which is reaching out to cities across the country, is also inviting women entrepreneurs to take up franchisee offers for company’s retail outlets. At present, the company operates around 22 franchisee outlets and has signed deals for 30 more outlets.
Usually in home textile retailing, the average investment is around Rs 5-6 lakh. Most of the companies also offer loans to individuals for setting up franchisee outlets. The entrepreneurs can earn around Rs 20,000-40,000 per month through these franchisee outlets.
The trend is just not limited to home textile or garment companies. Hero Honda, which recently launched Pleasure, targeting women, is encouraging women entrepreneurs to set up ‘Just 4 her’ outlets. At present, the company has 21 franchisee outlets. All of these outlets are operated and run by women. The company is encouraging women-owned franchisee outlets as well.
August 13, 2007
Source: The Economic Times
Marks & Spencer keen to increase sourcing from India
The UK-based retailer Marks & Spencer is keen to increase the volume and value of sourcing from suppliers in India and boost its commitment to “fair trade.”
As part of the company’s £200-million five-year project ‘Plan A’, M&S is working with some suppliers who work with farmers in Gujarat producing cotton certified by the UK-based Fairtrade organization. The ‘Fairtrade’ mark in return ensures that the farmers get a fair price and the ‘Fairtrade’ premium is invested by them in community development projects.
M&S’ range of clothing launched last March was produced by 50 Fairtrade cotton farmers in Gujarat. According to the company Web site, it is working with over 600 Fairtrade cotton farmers in Cameroon, Mali, Senegal and India.
According to the Web site, M&S’ stores stock “nearly 70 different items and our range currently accounts for one third of the world’s Fairtrade cotton. Customer response has been encouraging with sales of Fairtrade cotton totalling £630,000 during the Fairtrade Fortnight (Feb/Mar 2007).”
August 18, 2007
Source: The Hindu Businessline
Steve & Barry's likely to set up shop in India
The entry of the world’s largest retailer, Wal-Mart, into India seems to be paving the way for others to follow suit. Steve & Barry’s, one of the fastest-growing retail chains in the US, is planning to set up shops in India and China.
Sources said Steve & Barry’s had started putting in place a blueprint for the foray, with an initial investment of Rs 500 crore, which is likely to be scaled up to Rs 2,000 crore.
Avirat Sonpal, managing director, Unisource Group, and vice-president, Steve & Barry’s, in an email reply said: “Our feasibility studies are under way, but we have no firm plans to enter India and China yet.’’ The company is looking at forming a core team that will focus on India and China. The first store is expected to be operational by late 2008 or early 2009.
Started by childhood friends Steve and Barry to sell screen-printing T-shirts for $1 at flea markets across Long Island and New Jersey, Steve & Barry’s currently has about 220 stores and is looking at adding 70 more this financial year. Typically, a Steve & Barry’s store ranges from 50,000 to 100,000 sq ft. Perceived as a value-for-money brand, the prime focus of this brand is the youth.
August 9, 2007
Source: Business Standard
HyperCity Argos unveils plans for catalogue retailing
Entering and creating a new market of catalogue retailing in the country, HyperCity Argos is expected to match the prices of its existing brick and mortar retail format Hypercity, which currently has a single store in Mumbai.
Mr Andrew Levermore, CEO, HyperCity Retail (India), said: “The prices charged for the goods supplied from HyperCity Argos catalogues will be similar to that of HyperCity, as there is going to be 100 per cent overlap of products present in the existing HyperCity in Mumbai.” Besides, it would be expected to have free home delivery of products if sold within the local area of collection centres.
Having announced its entry into catalogue retailing, HyperCity Argos is expected to quickly penetrate into new markets with its ready format unlike the rest of the brick and mortar retail chains of HyperCity.
The company plans to have a test launch of its concept in Thane near Mumbai before rolling it out to the other suburbs of Mulund, Vashi and Airoli and then entering Pune.
In India, HyperCity Argos is expected to have display centres, online and call and collect counters that would cater to customers of a particular region. While the call and collect centres would have 300 sq ft area, display centres would occupy an area of 10,000 sq ft. It would vend general merchandise through its catalogues which would include items from electronic items to home décor products.
Argos stores and catalogue will be called HyperCITY-Argos and will be operated as an SPV in India.
August 18, 2007
Source: The Hindu Businessline
Gazeley plans India foray thru partnership route
Wal-Mart subsidiary Gazeley Ltd is scouting for an Indian partner for its proposed foray into India. The UK-based logistic space (warehousing and others) provider plans to set up shop in Gurgaon in the next couple of weeks. Gazeley’s entry closely follows Wal-Mart’s formal entry to India.
In India, the company plans logistic development and light industrial development projects in areas where there is an element of processing or manufacturing. The company is already looking to recruit and plans to maintain low headcount initially.
Gazeley holds 12 per cent share of the UK logistic space market and will be the second global logistic player to enter the Indian market following Pro Logis of the US. The latter is a major player in supply chain distribution services.
The proposed entry to India is in line with Gazeley’s plans to have presence in the emerging markets and follows the company’s recent foray in China.
September 1, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Garment-on-hanger providers save costs, lend better display for retailers
Garment-on-hanger (GOH) providers are banking on the rising number of retail chains in the country. They deliver garments on hangers ready for display at the shop, which retains crease and saves ironing costs.
Earlier, shops used labour at their own expense. Now retailers can specify particular hangers or hanger characteristics to suppliers for a visually pleasing uniformity on their sales floors.
GOH plays a major role in visual merchandising. According to Mr Sajeev Kumar, CEO, Mainetti India, a service provider, Indian ethnic wear needs to be supported by a GOH theme different from that employed for Western outfits.
August 31, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
For small and mid-sized manufacturing units in the country, it’s time to make hay, till the retail sun shines. Growth in the retail sector is not just about boom time with a handful of blue-chip retail firms.
Almost all proposed and existing retail and cash and carry ventures in India, including those by Reliance Industries, Bharti–Wal-Mart, the Aditya Birla Group and Kishore Biyani’s Future group, are planning to make significant investments in the businesses of their respective vendors and suppliers.
The idea is simple: To ensure that the vendor is able to scale up his operations to match the requirements of the retailer. “It’s not just about investing in the retailer. This obviously is an option we may exercise as per our needs. In fact, we are looking at a model where we will also extend our technical expertise and know-how to our vendors,” says Wal-Mart’s India head Raj Jain. For the world’s biggest retailer, this is a global policy.
Meanwhile, Swedish home furnishings major Ikea has made a virtue of working closely with its 1,300 suppliers to reduce costs on its 9,500 products. This model is critical for the minimalist low-cost and high-volume business model that the company works on. Ikea has a presence in the India, along with Pakistan and Bangladesh, from where it has been working with about 90 suppliers, which it’s looking to expand further.
Homegrown retail major Kishore Biyani has not only mastered the art of involving vendors, but has gone a step ahead. Clearly understanding that real estate will also be a major opportunity, he had floated a realty fund, which partners with vendors in this space.
August 13, 2007
Source: Economic Times
RPG Cellucom opens 4 outlets in Kolkata
RPG Cellucom India Pvt Ltd has unveiled plans for 500 retail outlets across the country by December 2008. The company, which has, currently, 75 retail stores located in five cities across the country, today opened four RPG Cellucom outlets in Kolkata.
RPG Cellucom stores will showcase 200 mobility products and 75 models of cellular phones. These will include brands such as Nokia, Motorola, Sony, Erricsson, Samsung, HP/Compaq, Toshiba, Lenova and Acer, among others. Besides mobile phones, the stores will have on offer PDAs, notebooks, mobile enhancements, mobile entertainment, IT accessories and peripherals and connectivity solutions.
August 25, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Milleret opens 2 outlets in Pune
The Swiss-made Milleret brand of jewellery watches opened outlets in two P N Gadgil stores in Pune on Thursday, and is set to expand its retail base in India to 35 jewellers’ outlets across the country by the end of the year.
The high-end gold and diamond studded watches were launched in Mumbai late last year, and are now available at 18 jewellery stores in Mumbai, Chennai, Goa, Coimbatore, Delhi, Bangalore, Surat, Goa, and Pune. The other cities on the map are Jaipur, Ahemdabad, Baroda, Chandigarh and Kolkata.
The market for jewellery watches in India is estimated to be around Rs 650 crore. Milleret’s diamonds-set-in-gold watches range from Rs 50,000 to Rs 5 lakh, with the limited edition Squeleton (Rs 2.75 lakh) proving the most popular amongst Indian buyers. Around 80 high-end watches were sold last year.
August 25, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
It is raining malls, multiplexes in Chennai
A mall and multiplex wave is set to sweep across Chennai, with over 20 malls planned in the next three years. The city, where India’s first mall, Spencer Plaza, was set up in 1975, is expected to absorb over Rs 3,000 crore in the coming years.
Realty majors such as Prestige Group, Shriram Properties and DLF are in the forefront of mall development in the city and beyond. Bangalore-based Prestige is drawing up plans for a second Forum mall in the city’s artery, Mount Road, while completing the first Rs 350-crore Forum mall at Vadapalani in Chennai, in collaboration with Vijaya Group.
The Vadapalani mall, spread over 17 lakh square feet, will feature a seven-screen multiplex, over 100 shops, two departmental stores, a 1,40,000 square feet hypermarket. The mall is expected to become operational in the first quarter of 2010.
August 31, 2007
Source: Business Standard
Odyssey’s new store at Hyderabad
Leisure store chain Odyssey will be expanding its presence by adding three more stores over the next 8 months.
“We have aggressive expansion plan for Hyderabad. By March 2008, we will launch three more large format stores in the city taking our total retail space to over 1.2 lakh sq ft,” Mr T.S. Ashwin, Managing Director, Odyssey, said at the launch of its fourth store in the city at Vikramapuri here on Sunday.
The newly-opened store had a ‘Candy Corner&# 8217; with candies from all over the world. Mr Ramesh Prasad, Managing Director, Prasad Group of companies, inaugurated the store, according to a release.
August 12, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Indians consuming 3 million pizzas a month
Call it junk food if you like, but people across the country are consuming over three million pizzas a month currently, and the monthly sales figures are projected to double in the next four years.
According to industry data, of the total branded quick service restaurant market of over Rs 1,200 crore, the pizza chains contribute around 50 per cent of the sales. In fact, the two pizza chains that currently dominate the branded pizza quick service restaurant market — Domino’s and Pizza Hut — together account for over 75 per cent share.
Pizza Hut has 134 restaurants across 34 cities in India and has 30 per cent share of the branded eating out market.
Pizza Hut’s close competition, Domino’s, too has grand plans for expanding its operations in India. Currently with 150 outlets and selling over a million pizzas a month, the company plans to sell over five million pizzas through 500 outlets across 50 cities by 2011.
September 3, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
The people of Punjab, known as the largest consumers of milk and milk products, are now drifting towards coffee beverages. In the high streets of the important towns of Punjab like Ludhiana, Jalandhar, Amritsar, Patiala and Chandigarh one can spot more than one national coffee retail chain.
In the past four years almost all the national players like Barista, Cafe Coffee Day and Mr Bean put up their shops. Another player Coffee Costa Coffee entered the Punjab market last week.
The expansion of corporate sector, especially financial services and information technology, in Punjab contributed immensely to the growth of coffee consumption in the region. There has also been an increase in the number of female visitors in the urban centres due to increasing number of working women.
The enthusiasm of Cafe Coffee Day can be gauged from the fact that the company plans to double its presence in Punjab from existing 10 outlets to 20 outlets. According to company officials, they were scouting for new locations and would be through with expansion in the state by the end of the financial year.
Inspired by promising returns of the retail coffee chain business, a Ludhiana-based entrepreneur Mandip Grewal of Bakes and Beans diversified from the steel business to the retail coffee chain.
The boom in the shopping malls in Punjab would further accelerate the growth of coffee outlets. Costa Coffee plans to open 15 new outlets in high streets and shopping malls in the region by the next financial year.
September 3, 2007
Source: Business Standard
Dominoes focus on dine-in model
Dominoes India, the pizza chain, plans to focus its energies on setting up more dine-in model restaurants in the country. “Based on consumer insight, we realised the importance of having a dine-in model. So, our strategy for the next four years will be to focus equally on both delivery and dine-in models,” said Mr Ajay Kaul, CEO, Dominoes Pizza India Ltd.
Among the 150 stores, the last 50-60 outlets set up were all dine-ins, with seating capacities of around 80. The Rs 500-crore organised pizza quick-service format is growing at 50-60 per cent every year. By the end of the current fiscal, Dominoes plans to add 50-60 outlets at an investment of Rs 80 lakh per store. The company has also set a vision for itself till 2011 by when it plans to open a total of 500 outlets, both delivery and dine-in, and become a Rs 1,000-crore entity in the country.
September 1, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Fast food chain Jumbo King plans 500 outlets by March 2010
Enthused with the response and brand name it has been able to generate in the last six years, the Mumbai-based fast food chain Jumbo King Foods Pvt Ltd is moving fast. It plans to open about 500 food joints across the country by March 2010 to increase its turnover ten-fold to the tune of Rs 200 crore.
Of these, 120 fast food joints will be opened by March 2008, including 20 in Gujarat, said Managing Director Mr Dheeraj Gupta. The chain, started in August 2001, currently has 30 outlets in Mumbai, selling 40,000 vada pavs priced affordably between Rs 8 and Rs 16 apiece.
In Ahmedabad and Surat, where Jumbo King started four joints in two days, it has introduced four new products, not available even in Mumbai, at present.
Jumbo King is following an exclusive franchisee model with networking and stringent quality control. With a one-time investment of Rs 15-18 lakh, the franchisee can clock an annual revenue of nearly Rs 40 lakh, breaking even in the first three to four months. Jumbo King is not setting up any company-owned stores as the franchisee stores tend to break-even faster.
The company is also in talks with public and private sector companies such as the Indian Railway Catering and Tourism Corporation Ltd and GVK Industries Ltd, for opening outlets at railway stations and airports, and also with Bharat Petroleum Corporation Ltd and Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd for kiosks at petrol pumps along the highways.
With more outlets being opened, the company is planning to set up zonal hubs to cater to the supply needs in a radius of 400 km each, tie up with storage facilities and transportation needs along the whole value chain.
August 21, 2007
Source: The Hindu Businessline
Foreign lingerie makers plan to tap Indian market
Global lingerie brands like Benetton and Etam have chalked out plans to tap the Rs 3,800-crore Indian market, which is currently growing at 12 per cent and is expected to touch Rs 6,700 crore by 2011.
To cater to the changing needs of the fashion conscious Indian damsels, Benetton will shortly launch its inner wear brand Undercolours - in the country with the opening of its stores.
"The market estimates indicate that the premium lingerie segment will do well in the urban areas. Our Undercolours range will comprise innerwear, nightwear and swimwear for women," Benetton India Managing Director Sanjeev Mohanty said.
He said since Benetton has been in the country for over 16 years now, it has an advantage of cornering strategic retail spaces for the brand. The promotion campaign would focus on visual merchandising and large format retail stores.
According to Technopak estimates, the current market size stands at Rs 3,800 crore, is growing at a rate 12per cent by which it is expected to touch Rs 6,700 crore by 2011.
The market is largely dominated by domestic players like Sonari, Goversons, Vajolet, Red Rose, Underlines, Chic, Daisy Dee. International brands currently present in India includes Jockey, Lovable, Triumph, Vanity Fair, Liberti and Bodyline.
Straps which has around 20 stores in India, of which 11 are located in Delhi and NCR, is planning to double the number of stores by March next year. Also, French lingerie brand Etam, which recently opened its 12th store in India in association with Future Group's Pantaloon Retail, expects to open 43 points of sale by the year end.
September 2, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Italian brand Tod’s plans to enter India
Italian accessories brand Tod’s, which is known for its high-end leather shoes, is planning to enter India through a 51:49 joint venture with Bhukhanvala Holding Pvt Ltd.
The joint venture company, Tod’s Retail India, has approached the Foreign Investment Promotion Board for retail trading under single brand, sources said. The permission is being sought for Tod’s Hong Kong and its affiliate Tod’s International BV to acquire 51 per cent of shareholding in Tod’s Retail India amounting to Rs 5.7 crore.The proposal would come up for discussion on Friday.
The acquisition would enable Tod’s to bring its range of products to India. The Tod’s group sells shoes and luxury leather goods under the brands Tod’s and Hogen and also deals in casual wear under the brand name Fay.
Tod’s recently reported consolidated sales of €316.4 million in the first six months of 2007, an increase of 15.7 per cent compared to the same period of 2006. The company’s products are made in the group’s own factories, a total of seven for shoes and two for leather goods, and in a limited number of specialised laboratories.
August 31, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Primus Retail buys Weekender for Rs 95 crore
Retail chain Primus Retail has acquired clothing brand for youth and children, Weekender, for about Rs 95 crore, as part of its plans to enhance product portfolio through the inorganic route.
Weekender belongs to the Jagadish Hinduja family, owners of Gokaldas Images and has been in the clothing line for youth and children. It has a licensee arrangement with Disney and Warner Brothers in its portfolio. Currently, it has more than 50 stores with an annual business size of Rs 45 crore.
The Bangalore-based Primus plans to renovate the existing Weekender stores besides adding more in the next 12 months, a company release said. “We want to create a new look and feel for the brand. With our reach and infrastructure, we hope to grow the brand more than 100% over the next 18 months,” Mr Bhat said.
Primus has more than 150 retail stores across 40 cities. It operates exclusive stores and factory outlets for brands like Levis, Adidas and Nike. It also sells MTV gear and Adidas accessories to around 3,000 mom-and-pop stores across 200 cities.
August 24, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Wills Lifestyle planning 60 new look stores
Wills Lifestyle, the lifestyle retailing division of ITC, is planning a major image makeover this financial year through a range of new-look stores to offer product innovation in synchronization with changing consumer preferences.
US-based FRCH, an international architecture and design firm serving the retail, entertainment, restaurant, corporate and hospitality markets has been hired to design the new format stores.
The firm will assist Wills Lifestyle in terms of architecture, interior design, graphic design and brand strategy to help create distinct customer experiences.
Wills started linking up with designers last year. Currently, sales of designer-based ranges contributed close to 15 per cent of Wills Lifestyle’s overall sales.
Wills Lifestyle posted a sales growth of 52% in 2006-07.
August 24, 2007
Source: BharatTextile.com
HCL’s Chennai digital lifestyle store
HCL Infosystems today inaugurated the HCL DIGILIFE store in the city. This is the company’s 40th store across the country and fourth in Tamil Nadu.
HCL plans to take the chain to 100 by the end of the calendar year. Of the 40 stores, 5 are company owned outlets. The company plans to offer a comprehensive range of digital lifestyle products from digital cameras to music players, computers, LCD TVs, camcorders, gaming consoles, gaming PCs and so on. The company is targeting Tier II towns for better reach. Industry estimates peg the current potential of digital lifestyle market at over Rs 2,500 crore. It is estimated to touch Rs 10,000 crore by 2010.
September 1, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Timbor Home bets on growing market for modular kitchens
Timbor Home Pvt Ltd, the Ahmedabad-based manufacturer and marketer of modular kitchens, is launching wood-less, eco-friendly doors in the country in markets such as Gujarat, Maharashtra and Karnataka next month. The new offering was a major effort to tap the Rs 5,000 crore door-manufacturing market in the country.
It is adding 46 new stores, to its existing 54 exclusive franchisee stores in nine States, to increase its share of 12 per cent in the Rs 200-crore modular kitchen market. Its stores are connected online to the company’s plant in Ahmedabad to provide solutions to specific needs. The company imports all its hardware mainly from the US, France and Germany, and markets its products under the brand name Timbor Cucine, by modifying Italian modular kitchens to suit the ‘wet’ cooking and food habits of the Indians.
Timbor’s modular kitchens are priced between Rs 20,000 and Rs 5 lakh.
August 24, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Genesis Colours to form luxury retail JV
Genesis Colours, the marketer of Satya Paul brand, is forging a luxury retail joint venture with Sports Station International (SSIPL). The JV –Genesis Luxury – will roll out retail chain across India, exclusively dedicated to luxury brands.
The two partners are exclusive Indian licensees for some of the world’s biggest luxury brands, which will get transferred to the new company. While Genesis Colours holds licence for Canali in India, SSIPL is licensee for luxury labels such as Paul Smith, Aigner, Rosetti.
The proposed venture will ride an investment of Rs 18-20 crore in the first year of operation that will go into setting up of stand-alone single luxury brand outlets and shop-in-shops in key metros such as Delhi Mumbai, Bangalore and Hyderabad. Subsequently, the chain will enter other key cities. Over three years, the JV plans to have 50-70 outlets in all major Indian cities, with 6-10 exclusive retail stores for each of the JV’s licensee brands.
August 23, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Dollar millionaires fuel luxury furniture market
There are over one lakh dollar millionaires in the country and more than 60,000 of them furnish their homes with uber luxury items.
From a Hickory chair that cost about Rs 50,000 to Glant furnishings (priced at about Rs 3,000 a metre) to floral arrangements from Natural Decorations Inc that carry price tags of Rs 4,000 to 25-inch mattresses that would make the wallet lighter by Rs 50,000, the lifestyle of the rich and famous in India is now on par with millionaires in the US or Europe. Indian homes are now familiar with Stickley and Bernhardt furniture, Simon Pearce unleaded crystal glassware, Sahelia luxury bed linen and Merida Meridian rugs. Renaissance Homes, a Delhi-based lifestyle store, is the exclusive distributor for top-end furniture brands such as Baker and Henredon, Bernhardt and McGuire.
Industry observers estimate that the home interiors spend of rich Indians would be about 30 per cent of the cost of their homes. Mr J. Sasidar, CEO of Bangalore’s Mon Chateau, a store that sells American luxury lifestyle products, says Indian homes are increasingly resembling those of rich Americans and Europeans.
Anjaleka Kripalani, who founded Renaissance along with her sister in 1995, has seen the premium furniture market grow from about 0.01 per cent of the furniture market about a decade ago to two per cent now.
The size of the total furniture market in India is estimated at Rs 1,000 crore, with the home market constituting about 65 per cent. The premium and luxury segment of the market combined accounts for 30 per cent (21 per cent premium and 8 per cent luxury) of the home furniture market, according to Technopak Advisors, a business consulting firm.
The furniture market in India is likely to witness an accelerated growth, with a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of about 30 per cent, according to Mr Puneet Khanna, Senior Consultant, Technopak Advisors.
August 15, 2007
Source: The Hindu Businessline
Farmers seek reopening of retail chains in UP
Nearly 3,000 farmers Sunday formed a human chain on the main thoroughfare of Lucknow, demanding the reopening of grain and vegetable retail stores including those of Reliance Fresh that were closed following an order by the Uttar Pradesh government last month.
Farmers sought the revival of the Mayawati government's earlier farm policy that aimed at boosting the agriculture sector by facilitating entry of corporate houses into direct procurement of agricultural produce from farmers through introduction of contract farming.
The chief minister had justified her order to close down retail chains, saying farmers were opposed to the entry of retail giants and had held violent protests. However, the memorandum noted: "It was the state's misfortune that some undesirable people managed to convince the government that both farmers and common public were not in favour of the new policy."
September 2, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Big retail seeking farmers’ help in UP
Corporate retail chains are trying to garner the support of consumers and farmers to pressure the UP government to reverse its decision to ban corporate retail.
As part of the exercise, executives of one of the retail chains will undertake a series of road shows in 7-8 large districts of the state to mobilise opinion among consumers and farmers in favour of organised retail.
Though the UP government is expected to display some leniency towards retailers and allow them to run stores (of course with some riders), retail companies say it does not serve their purpose.
In fact, in the wake of recent developments in UP, some retailers, such as Reliance, have decided to go slow on their roll out plans even in some other states.
August 31, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Left, Reliance keep mum on retail row in West Bengal
Reliance Retail officials as well as the Forward Bloc (FB), one of the ruling Left Front partners in West Bengal that is opposed to Reliance Fresh outlets, chose to keep mum on Wednesday, a day after the state government assured security to the firm's retail stores.
The RRL proposal to enter the retail scenario in West Bengal created a rift between the Communist Party of India-Marxist (CPI-M) spearheaded by reformist Chief Minister Buddhadeb Bhattacharya and the party's ally FB.
Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) has received clearance from West Bengal's Food Processing and Horticulture Department for its agro-retail business in the state. The company plans to set up six national distribution-cum-processing centres (NDCs) in Kolkata, Siliguri, Malda, Haldia, Kharagpur and Asansol.
According to a proposal given by RRL, Reliance Town Centres (RTCs) to be set up in West Bengal districts would be a mix of hyper/super-markets, convenience stores, entertainment parks, multiplexes and other public utilities.
These centres would procure fruits and vegetables and distribute them to Reliance Fresh outlets. Most of these outlets, covering 2,000 to 5,000 sq ft of area, would be set up on rented premises in and around Kolkata.
August 29, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Forward Bloc warns of bloodshed over Reliance's entry
The Forward Bloc, a senior partner in West Bengal's ruling Left Front, on Saturday warned there would be "bloodshed" if Reliance entered the agricultural retail business in the state.
"We will not allow the entry with the help of police of Reliance in the agri-retail business in this state. There will be bloodshed if any attempt is made (in this regard by the Left Front government)," senior Forward Bloc leader Naren Chatterjee told a rally of the party's labour body, Trade Union Co-ordination Centre here.
The Forward Bloc, which controls the state's agriculture department, has refused to issue a licence to Reliance on the ground that its retail project would harm the interests of farmers and small traders.
Reliance's agricultural retail project envisages the setting up of complete retail infrastructure, ranging from farms to retail outlets.
August 25, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Reliance Fresh, Spencer’s told to shut shop in UP
In a move that could dampen the retail plans of big corporations, the Uttar Pradesh Government has ordered the closure of modern organised retail chains in Lucknow and Varanasi.
At the same time, it has set up a five-member committee led by Cabinet Secretary Mr Shashank Shekhar Singh to review all aspects governing such outlets.The decision was triggered after Reliance Fresh and Spencer’s retail stores in Lucknow were attacked by a group of traders, followed by reports of similar incidents at outlets in Varanasi.
However, the decision of closure would not be applicable to the malls even though similar products were sold through them, the Government clarified.
August 24, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
Future Group to tie up with Cleartrip
Kishore Biyani’s Future Group is in talks with portal Cleartrip to roll out travel retail outlets across 60-odd malls and hypermarket chains in the country over 12-15 months. To start with, four Cleartrip branded outlets have come up at Big Bazaars in Mumbai to gauge consumer reaction for buying travel-related products and services in a hypermarket environment.
When contacted, Cleartrip COO Stuart Crighton told ET that test-marketing of the retail model is currently on. “We may look at ramping up our presence to over 66 retail outlets by 2008-end,” Mr Crighton said.
This would give Cleartrip physical presence in 40 cities across the country, including several tier-II and III cities which are experiencing major growth in domestic travel.
Plans include exclusive product offerings through its retail outlets. Given the high footfalls in hypermarkets, the firm’s biggest challenge would be to convert footfalls into sales. According to Mr. Crighton, the cost of acquisition of a customer through a retail format is likely to be substantially less than in the case of the online model.
Cleartrip was launched in July 2006 with the backing of a host of venture capital funds, including Kleiner Perkins Caufield & Byers and Sherpalo Ventures, having raised around $11million through two rounds of funding. The Indian online travel space is estimated to be worth around $2 billion in 2007, with booking of air tickets accounting for around 80% of the business.
August 31, 2007
Source: Economic Times
Celebrating festivals, the e-commerce way
A recent promotion campaign on ebay lured brothers to shop online for rakhi gifts and get something free in return. The items on offer were cricket memorabilia or even a signed autobiography of Sachin Tendulkar. E-commerce retailers were also aggressive in wooing women to shop online for rachis.
Individual sellers such as Ghasitaram’s ran promotion campaigns offering deals and bargains where on buying rakhis women could get free mithai and tika packets. They could also buy a rakhi hamper which comes bundled with flowers, dry fruits and rakhis and other such combinations. All this is available at Rs 200 upwards and with a promise of assured delivery within four days of placing order or on Rakshabandhan day itself.
Needless to say, the promotion campaigns have been a huge success.
Rakhi is the most important gifting event for online retailers followed by Diwali, Christmas and Valentine Day. Rakhi sales have seen a growth of over 35 per cent compared with last year. It accounts for a 100 per cent increase in total sales, whereas during Diwali the increase is 40-50 per cent. Interestingly, most of the orders come from the domestic market.
The growing popularity of e-commerce sites is not difficult to comprehend. Consumers mostly come online looking for value deals or merchandise that is not easily available. With online players promoting major festivals aggressively by offering great deals to customers along with service guarantee such as 100 per cent money-back offer and free gifts, anytime delivery, customised messages on gift items among others, customers can savour the experience of shopping while at home.
August 29, 2007
Source: Business Standard
E-ticketing yet to catch on with A-I, Kingfisher scores a perfect 100%
Air-India (A-I) comes last among Indian full-service carriers in selling tickets through the Internet. According to the International Air Transport Association (IATA), the carrier sells 7 per cent of its tickets through the Internet.
The IATA, which has more than 270 members in 140 countries, aims to make every member switch to 100 per cent e-ticketing by May next year as part of its “simplifying the business” (StB) programme. Indian Airlines is, however, far ahead of A-I and sells 64 per cent of its tickets through the Internet.
Among the private carriers, Kingfisher has achieved 100 per cent e-ticketing, while Jet Airways sells 84 per cent of its tickets through the Internet. Cumulative figure for airlines in India is 78 per cent.
E-ticketing is a process through which the ticketing agents (or travel portals) have access to the central reservation system of the airlines. This helps a carrier save on printing charges, transportation and storage charges, and costs of setting up an establishment.
According to industry estimates, the amount saved comes to Rs 200-400 per ticket. Air-India, which sold around 5 million tickets last year, could have saved Rs 100 crore to Rs 200 crore.
Globally, e-ticketing operations have seen a growth from 16 per cent in June 2004 to 84 per cent in August 2007. Most American and European carriers sell more than 90 per cent tickets through the Internet. However, some carriers like Malaysia Airlines and Saudi Airways are still lagging.
August 29, 2007
Source: Business Standard
New chapter opens for online retail
Cashing in on the boom in the country’s retail sector, leading booksellers as well as publishers are now turning online to boost sales.
After setting up book cafes that offer customers facilities to sip tea, listen to music or browse the net apart from buying books, new-age book stores are now looking to expand their customer base through online sales.
Book Cafe is primarily focusing itself on receiving online orders from different parts of the country and then delivering the books at the customer’s doorstep, whatever it costs the company does not matter! Shop at www.Bookcafe.In and get books delivered at your doorstep.
For the best results in online marketing, the firm has tied up with Sify and Rediff for the vertical shopping as their customer base is increasing everyday from Shillong and Nagaland to Chennai and Andhra Pradesh. They are trying to bring about a change from ‘breakaway model to clickmodel’ of book purchasing.
According to estimates drawn by the Central Statistical Organisation Statistics, 2006, the total books, music and gift retail industry in the country that is currently pegged at Rs 11,500 crore has witnessed an increase of 17.3 per cent from last year.
August 27, 2007
Source: Business Standard
Logix rolls out car sale portal
A year from now, you could buy a car online. The Internet is revolutionising the auto business in the country. Over 40 per cent of prospective car buyers do their research on the Internet before buying a car.
“Online car selling will begin 12 months from now,” said Mr Sanjay Soni, Managing Director, Logix Microsystems, launching auto portal Carazoo.com on Tuesday in the city.
Dealers have taken to the medium as it offers them cost savings – a scheme or campaign can be launched at a fraction of the original cost per thousand.
Car buyers also will find the convenience of the “online auto supermarket” a better option to making trips to showrooms. The consumer will benefit as dealers compete online and greater discounts can be offered.
Following the trend set by various firms such as Indiacar.com, Carwale.com, Indiamart.com, Carazoo.com features comparisons, consumer reviews, blogs, e-brochures and insurance tips.
It features 17 makes and 77 models of cars, including second-hand cars. On the site, interactive ads using animation allow the surfer to take the car for a virtual spin, experience a 360 degree interior view, zoom into the headlight and even view it in all the available colours using the ‘paintbrush colouring’ feature.
Four auto manufacturers are being roped in. And with partnerships with over 50 dealers, the firm expects to sign up with 250 in a few months. Logix has invested Rs 6 crore and expects the site to break even after a year.
August 22, 2007
Source: Hindu Businessline
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