International Business

INDIA

HERECOMETHE WAL-MART WANNABES

As Indiansflockto giant stores, the Big Bazaar chain is in the lead for now

is under the age of 30, and young India has an affinity for modem shopping. The country boasts 26 malls like Phoenix Mills, which will grow to 60 by December; the country's seven big retailers have 300 new stores under construcdon.

U-SHAPED AISLES
THE LEVEL OF COMPETITION will only

increase once the government eases restricdons on foreign investmentexpected to happen within the next two or three years. Pantaloon's Biyani is preparing a batde plan. The son of a family of Bombaybased textile traders, Biyani, 43, started with one store in Calcutta in 1997. Today he owns 52 stores in 19 cides with revenues projected at $250 nuUion for the year ending in Juneup 90% over last year. In any future batde with foreign compedtors such as Wal-Mart, Biyani thinks he has the advantage of knowing the Indian consumer. One trademark of his stores: vriding, U- and C-shaped aisles that create comers for families to consult about purchases. "Indians Uke to shop in groups and find straight aisles insipid," he says. Biyani now sells every variety of goods under three brands. His 13-oudet department-store chain is called Pantaloons. Then there is discoimt hypermarket Big Bazaar and supermarket chain Food Bazaar. By December, Biyani's stores will occupy 3 million square feet of retail space. Pantaloons' stock price has zoomed from $5 a year ago to $17 today. Skepdcal analysts worry that Biyani is expanding too fast. He's got strong local Stores Inc. or Carrefour here. Indian retau compeddon, too. The Tata Group's WestT'S A SUNDAY AFTERNOON AT the Phoenix MOls shopping center is sdll largely closed to foreign compa- side department store chain is growing as in Bombay, and the crowds are nies, so if s Biyani and his k who are fast as Pantaloon. Other compedtors incrushing. TTie former textile null is a profidng from the rapid growth of the clude Shoppers Stop and the RPG Group's chaodc sprawl of one- and two-sto- mall-hopping Indian consuming class Spencei^s. But Biyani dismisses the wonyry buudings that house 50-plus 105 mulion strong and swelling 10% a warts. A rough-hewn entrepreneur himstores. In the center's open-air year. Retau stores and malls like Big self, he has begun hiring experienced mancourtyard, vendors sell pizzas, popcorn, Bazaar are expected to be 9% of the mar- agers and accountants to drive expansion and rod bread from pushcarts. One estab- ket by 2010, with sales of $23 billion, up and manage inventory. There wiU be lots of new entrants to the business over the next lishment throbs witii more acdvity than from $6.4 bulion last year. two years, he says, but any other. Big Bazaar, the local version of There's plenty of "we vrl have made Wal-Mart, is the modem Indian family's room to grow. Accordmost of our mistakes favorite store. It stocks everything from ing to consultants KSA by then." It's sdll early peanuts and avocados to mops and crock- Technopak India, just days in fodia's retail ery. The ringing of the registers is constant. 3% of India's $180 bilMom-and-pop shops still dominate industry,, ;jid dovm in India, but sales at chain stores and Tlie crowds love it, as does Kishore Biyani, lion retail business is malls are growing fast. the road there is founder and chief execudve of Pantaloon based in shopping bound to be a shakeRetail (India) Ltd., which owns Big Bazaar centers and big stores, 2010 2004 out. Kut if s clearly goand is India's largest retailer. "The mall of vs. 20% in China and ing to be tough to today is Like the temple of yesterday, where 80% in the U.S. The push Kishore Biyani peopleflockedon Sundays," he explains. rest is fragmented, biilion billion The retail revoludon has finally hit In- with 12 million dny offthe top of the retau or 9% of total or 3% of total mountain. D dia, after decades of being rebuffed by its shops catering to the retail revenues retail revenues tradidonal mom-and-pop neighborhood needs of 1 billion Indi-ByManJeetKripalani ans. Yet 60% of India stores. But you won't find Wal-Mart m Bombay

Retail Runup

$6.4

$23

Data: KSA Technopak India

56 I BusinessWeek I April 4, 2005

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