The concept of Supermarkets is not new to Indian consumers.

Actually, the British colonial government introduced the idea of Supermarkets to facilitate its officers with access of all household goods under one roof. Supermarkets in India houses varied shops selling different types of essential commodities along with luxury items. These Supermarkets are mainly concentrated in urban areas or semi-urban areas. Supermarkets operating in India typically has a heterogeneous mixture of large and small individual retailers. Most of these Supermarkets sell branded products of both, domestic and international manufacturers. Supermarkets of India offer products with different price bands for each and every sections of urban society. Supermarkets - the advantages of doing business in India are -

Ranks 5th on global retail development index It is the second fastest growing economy of the world Going to be the third largest economy in terms of GDP in next few years It ranks high amongst the top 10 FDI destinations of the world Fastest growing tourist market in Asia World bank states, India to be world's second largest economy after China by the year 2050 Stable and investor friendly Central Government at the helm of affairs Introduction of Value Added Tax or VAT and tax reforms High degree of professionalism and corporate ethics Excellent Investment opportunities in Indian retail sector and in allied sectors; sure and high returns on investments To invest US $130 billion for the development of infrastructure, by year 2010 To attract US $ 10 billion FDI for infrastructure development by the end of year 2008 Bullish stock markets Hordes of foreign investors are thronging in to invest in Indian retail markets Highly educated English speaking young workforce Vibrant and multi cultured cities Huge opportunity exists, especially in semi-rural and rural areas Till date the second largest employer after agriculture sector, for the huge semi-skilled Indian population Offers highest shop density in the whole world Having almost 1,20,000 shops, across the length and breadth of the country In a nascent stage of development as an organized industry

With increased consumerism post India Economic System reform earnest in July 1991, the Supermarkets in India are regaining their lost importance. Moreover, this consumerism has spread its tentacles to semi-rural areas also, leaving tremendous scope of growth in semi-rural and rural areas also. The Central Government has ultimately realized the need to remove the insulation out of the Indian retail sector. Skeptics opine that opening up the retail sector in India would jeopardize the way of income for the poor small retailers. In fact, the actual story is quite heartening for the small time retailer and its vendors. Both, Indian and international market leaders are pouring into the Indian market to encash on the Supermarkets boom.

WHO GAINS FROM FDI IN RETAIL?

Ramoo 29 November 2011 Articles Tags: FDI
Sukhpal Singh With the Union Cabinet deciding to allow 51 per cent foreign direct investment (FDI) in multi-brand retail on Thursday the way has been cleared

hoto: S Chandan

for the entry of global supermarket giants in India. There are doubts and fears amid hopes for long-term gains

ONE of the conditions for 51% FDI in multi-brand retail proposed is that the players will
source at least 60% of their farm produce requirements from small farmers. A small farmer is defined as one with up to 10 hectares. It is important to understand implications of FDI in food retail for various stakeholders. The more important questions to be asked on the issue of FDI in retail are: Does it really help farmers or small farmers? Does it improve efficiency of food supply chains and help lower food inflation which India is grappling with? And of course, how does it impact traditional food retailers livelihood?

Small farmers may not gain

The operations of domestic fresh food supermarkets in India have not made any difference to the producers share in the consumers rupee so far (one of the arguments of the DIPP discussion paper for permitting FDI in retail) other than lowering the cost of marketing of the producers as supermarkets have collection centres in producing areas unlike the Agricultural Produce Market Committee (APMC) markets (mandis) which are in distant cities. But these supermarkets will buy only A grade produce, that too on open market-based prices, and only a part of the output of farmers, who end up going to an APMC mandi to dispose of the remaining/rejected produce. The chains procure from contact farmers without any commitment to buy regularly as they do not want to share the risk of growers. Thus, the involvement of supermarket chains with producers is low and there is no delivery of supply chain efficiency as many of them have already wound up e.g in Gujarat.

Supermarkets and malpractices

Though the move to open up Indian markets to foreign retailers is meant to benefit small farmers, the condition of having 10 hectares of land will leave most of them out. There are other problems too: Domestic supermarket performance so far
does not give any hope that FDI-driven supermarkets will be any different in terms of benefits to small farmers

Buying and selling power of supermarkets due to market concentration will come in the way of benefits to farmers and consumers. Traditional retailers will suffer a loss of livelihood due to competition from supermarkets Many malpractices by supermarkets will not let farmers benefit Supermarkets do not lead to lower food prices if we see global evidence.

Key policy initiatives

Until now only 51% FDI in single-brand retail and 100% FDI in wholesale cash and carry trade was allowed. The paper put up by the Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) for public discussion and comments in mid-2010 and the 2010-11 Economic Survey had argued for FDI in food retail trade in India. In mid-2011 an inter-ministerial group also recommended FDI in retail to control food inflation. The following policy initiatives can be taken to safeguard the interests of local stakeholders: Slow down food supermarket expansion
through mechanisms like zoning, business licences and trading restrictions.

Strengthen competition laws and regulation of supermarkets Give legal protection to farmers and suppliers as is done in Japan Permit only formal contract farming, not contact farming Set up an independent retail commission to supervise and regulate supermarkets to protect interests of suppliers, consumers and labour and support to local retailers and

farmers

The noise about benefits to small-holders in highvalue crops (read fruits and vegetables) due to supermarket linkages is exaggerated as these crops account for only 2% of the gross cropped area, and the direct linkage is either absent or pretty weak. This is not likely to change even with FDI in retail.

Establish multi-stakeholder initiatives in food value chains and provide support to small producers and traditional food retailers. Producers organisations and the NGOs need to monitor and negotiate more equitable supply contracts with the supermarkets. Government should encourage producer companies and farmers co-operatives for collective bargaining with supermarkets

Further, due to the sheer size and buying power of foreign supermarkets, the producer prices may be depressed. In the UK there was a negative relation between the relative market share of a supermarket and the price paid to the suppliers in relation to the average price. The UK supermarket chain Tesco paid its suppliers 4% below the average price paid by retailers. There have been a large number of supermarket malpractices across the globe which include payments to be on the supplier list (listing fees), threats of delisting if the supplier price is not low enough, payments and discounts from suppliers for promoting/opening new stores, rebate from producers as a percentage of their supermarket sales, minus margins whereby suppliers are not allowed to supply at prices higher than the competitor price, delayed payments, lowering prices at the last minute when the supplier has no alternative, changing quantity/quality standards without notice, just-in-time systems to avoid storage/inventory costs, removing suppliers from the list without good reason, charging high interest on credit, using tough contracts and penalties for any failure to supply. If it is not misreported, the limit of 10 hectares is laughable as there are hardly 1% farmers who have more than 10 hectares of land. Thus, putting this condition is no good as it is too broad and covers 99% of farmers and, therefore, does not differentiate among farmers at all. Even if it is assumed that it is 10 acres (4 hectares), it will be more than 94% of all farmers (2005-06). How does this conditionality help really small-holders in whose name the permission is being granted? The retail players may work with the top layer (5%) of these farmers and still meet the conditions.

Small retailers to be hit

The supermarket expansion also leads to employment loss in the value chain as compared to 18 jobs created by a street vendor, 10 by a traditional retailer and eight by a shop vendor in Vietnam, a supermarket like Big C needed just four persons for the same volume of produce handled. Metro Cash & Carry employed 1.2 workers per tonne of tomatoes sold in Vietnam compared with 2.9 persons employed by traditional wholesale channel for the

same quantity sold. The spread of supermarkets led to 14% reduction in the share of mom and pop stores in Thailand within four years of FDI permission. In India 33-60% of the traditional fruit and vegetable retailers reported 15-30% decline in footfalls, 10-30% decline in sales and 20-30% decline in incomes across the cities of Bangalore, Ahmedabad and Chandigarh, the largest impact being in Bangalore, which is one of the most supermarket penetrated cities in India. Another proposed condition is that FDI in retail will be permitted in all cities with a population of more than one million. The question to be asked is: How many cites in India are really below one million population and how long? Further, given the size of the supermarket retail stores, they may be located in one city but their coverage in terms of potential clientele will extend to neighbouring towns as well.

Impact on food inflation

So far as the role of FDI-driven food supermarkets in containing food inflation is concerned, the evidence from Latin American (Mexico, Nicaragua, Argentina), African (Kenya, Madagascar) and Asian countries (Thailand, Vietnam, India) shows that the supermarket prices for fruits and vegetables and other basic foods were higher than those in traditional markets. Also, the lower procurement prices through direct procurement from farmers need not lead to lower consumer prices in supermarket chains as procurement prices are more about the bargaining power of buyers and suppliers. Even if it is accepted that supermarkets are able to offer lower prices, the low-income households may face higher food prices because of reasons of distance from supermarkets, and higher prices charged by supermarkets in lowincome areas. Thus, there is no direct correspondence between modern retail and lower food prices and, thus, better food security of the poor consumers. Therefore, the inflation containment logic for FDI in food retail does not stand ground given the empirical evidence from across the globe. Thus, supermarkets would lead to the concentration of market power, with upstream suppliers facing buyer power in terms of lower prices and consumers (buyers) facing higher prices due to lower competition, besides traditional retailers suffering a decline in their business.

Need for regulation

The biggest fear in India is not that FDI in retail per se is worse than domestic corporate investment for farmers or traditional retailers; it is that there may not be adequate institutions and effective governance mechanisms to regulate and monitor operations of the global retailers.

If the monitoring of wholesale cash n carry stores so far is anything to go by, there is no regulation and the norms are flouted openly at the store level by the existing players. They are found to do retail sales in the grab of wholesale as the size of a single purchase (minimum ticket size) was just Rs. 500 or Rs. 1,000 which does not seem to be governed by any regulation. Given the global and Indian experience of supermarkets so far, it is important to slow down food supermarket expansion by mechanisms like zoning, business licences and trading restrictions. Further, there is need to limit buying power of the supermarkets by strengthening the competition laws like the legal protection given to subcontracting industries in Japan in their relations with large firms. These provisions are monitored by the Fair Trade Commission. If contract or contact farming is only another name for subcontracting prevalent in industry, then it is only logical to extend such legal provisions with necessary modifications to farming contracts. Also, provisions for legally binding and clearly worded rules for a fair treatment of suppliers and an independent authority like a retail commission to supervise and regulate supermarkets are required. This authority should ban the buying of products below cost and selling below cost, improve local traditional markets for small growers, delay the pace of supermarket expansion, establish multi-stakeholder initiatives in the chains and provide support to small producers and traditional food retailers. Producers organisations and NGOs need to monitor and negotiate more equitable contracts with supermarkets. The government should play an enabling role through legal provisions and institutional mechanisms like helping farmer co-operatives, producer companies and producer groups to facilitate the smooth functioning of supermarket linkages and avoid illeffects.
The writer is a Professor, Institute of Economic Growth (IEG), Delhi. Email:sukhpal@iegindia.org

The challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector are various and these are stopping the Indian retail industry from reaching its full potential. The behavior pattern of the Indian consumer have undergone a major change. This have happened for the Indian consumer is earning more now, western influences, women working force is increasing, desire for luxury items and better quality. He now wants to eat, shop, and get entertained under the same roof. All these have lead the Indian organized retail sector to give more in order to satisfy

the Indian customer. The biggest challenge facing the Indian organized retail sector is the lack of retail space. With real estate prices escalating due to increase in demand from the Indian organized retail sector, it is posing a challenge to its growth. With Indian retailers having to shell out more for retail space it is effecting there overall profitability in retail. Trained manpower shortage is a challenge facing the organized retail sector in India. The Indian retailers have difficultly in finding trained person and also have to pay more in order to retain them. This again brings down the Indian retailers profit levels. The Indian government have allowed 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the India retail sector to one brand shops only. This have made the entry of global retail giants to organized retail sector in India difficult. This is a challenge being faced by the Indian organized retail sector. But the global retail giants like Tesco, Wal-Mart, and Metro AG are entering the organized retail sector in India indirectly through franchisee agreement and cash and carry wholesale trading. Many Indian companies are also entering the Indian organized retail sector like Reliance Industries Limited, Pantaloons, and Bharti Telecoms. But they are facing stiff competition from these global retail giants. As a result discounting is becoming an accepted practice. This too bring down the profit of the Indian retailers. All these are posing as challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector. The challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector are there but it will have to be dealt with and only then this sector can prosper. - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/challenges-facing-theindian-organized-retail-sector.html#sthash.kuQ5zINr.dpufThe challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector are various and these are stopping the Indian retail industry from reaching its full potential. The behavior pattern of the Indian consumer have undergone a major change. This have happened for the Indian consumer is earning more now, western influences, women working force is increasing, desire for luxury items and better quality. He now wants to eat, shop, and get entertained under the same roof. All these have lead the Indian organized retail sector to give more in order to satisfy the Indian customer. The biggest challenge facing the Indian organized retail sector is the lack of retail space. With real estate prices escalating due to increase in demand from the Indian organized retail sector, it is posing a challenge to its growth. With Indian retailers having to shell out

more for retail space it is effecting there overall profitability in retail. Trained manpower shortage is a challenge facing the organized retail sector in India. The Indian retailers have difficultly in finding trained person and also have to pay more in order to retain them. This again brings down the Indian retailers profit levels. The Indian government have allowed 51% foreign direct investment (FDI) in the India retail sector to one brand shops only. This have made the entry of global retail giants to organized retail sector in India difficult. This is a challenge being faced by the Indian organized retail sector. But the global retail giants like Tesco, Wal-Mart, and Metro AG are entering the organized retail sector in India indirectly through franchisee agreement and cash and carry wholesale trading. Many Indian companies are also entering the Indian organized retail sector like Reliance Industries Limited, Pantaloons, and Bharti Telecoms. But they are facing stiff competition from these global retail giants. As a result discounting is becoming an accepted practice. This too bring down the profit of the Indian retailers. All these are posing as challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector. The challenges facing the Indian organized retail sector are there but it will have to be dealt with and only then this sector can prosper. - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/challenges-facing-theindian-organized-retail-sector.html#sthash.kuQ5zINr.dpuf The role of supply chain in Indian organized retail is very significant for on it depends the growth of this sector. The Indian Supply Chain Council have been formed to explore the challenges that a retailer faces and to find possible solutions for India. The role of supply chain in the organized retail sector in India should be a shelf- centric partnership between the retailer and the manufacture for this will create supply chains that are loss free. This will also give rise to top and bottom line growth. In the organized retail sector in India the presence of fresh produce (vegetables and fruits) is very small. This is so for the nature of supply chain is very fragmented. This shows the important role of supply chain in the organized retail sector in India. In the organized retail market in India the role of supply chain is very important for the Indian customer demands at affordable prices a variety of product mix. It is the supply chain that ensures to the customer in all the various offerings that a company decide for its

customers, be it cost, service, or the quickness in responding to ever changing tastes of the customer. The infrastructure in India in terms of road, rail, and air links are not sufficient. And so warehousing plays a major role as an aspect of supply chain operations. To overcome these problems, the Indian retailer is trying to reduce trans portion costs and is investing in logistics through partnership or directly. The Indian organized retail sector is growing so the role of supply chain becomes all the more important. It should become all the more responsive and adaptive to customers demand. There is also need for the supply chain to be more cost efficient and collaborative to win the immense competition in this sector. The role of supply chain in Indian organized retail has expanded over the years with the boom in this industry. The growth of the Indian retail industry to a large extent depends on supply chain, so efforts must be made by the Indian retailers to maintain it properly. - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/role-of-supply-chainin-indian-organized-retail.html#sthash.cPRasIhn.dpuf

India is going through a radical economic change. Though it is very infant stage, people can feel the climate is changing. The unorganized retailers takes the lion's share in the Indian retail sector, but the organized retailers are growing at a good pace, and promises an increase of proportion of 9 - 10% by 2010. This is to be the largest sector after the agricultural sector. The increase in the number of consumers twinned with the introduction of organized sector has brought numerous corporate investments in retail sector. The entry of super markets, enormous departmental stores, and shopping malls have encouraged the retailers to look at new business plans of expansion. An economic growth on a monumental scale is offered by the Indian retail sector, equally in the national and international market which in turn will generate a huge source of employment and a variety of options for the consumers. The Ernst & Young's report 'The Great Indian Retail Story', anticipates that the Indian retail sector would come up with 2 million employment opportunities within the year 2010. Benefits to the economic growth:-

Better quality products and services would lead to better competition More exports bring more foreign direct investments Organized Indian retail sector would encourage tourism Along with the employment boom there would be a vast development in the expertise of the human resource There would remain future scope for improvements in agriculture, small, and medium scaled with the help of the Indian retail sector The present employment in the retail business is nearly 4 crores and around 20 crores depends on this sector. There is a scope of better exposure to the international standards with the entry of transnational companies, which in turn is encouraging more & more retail management programs to open up and help bridging the gap of supply & demand of talented professionals for management. - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/employementgenerated-by-indian-organized-retail-sector.html#sthash.0c6qPD0h.dpuf

The Indian organized retail sector's impact changed the lifestyle of the Indian consumers drastically. The evident increase in consumerist activity is colossal which has already chipped out a money making recess for the Indian organized retail sector. With the onset of a globalized economy in India, the Indian consumer's psyche has been changed. People have become aware of the value of money. Nowadays the Indian consumers are well versed with the concepts about quality of products & services. These demands are the visible impacts of the Indian organized retail sector. Since the liberalization policy of 1990, the Indian economy, and its consumers are getting whiff of the latest national & international products, the with help of print & electronic media. The social changes with the rapid economic growth due to trained personnels, fast modernization, enhanced availableness of retail space is the positive effects of liberalization. The growth factors of organized retail in India are:Increase in per capita income which in turn increases the household consumption Demographical changes and improvements in the standard of living Change in patterns of consumption and availability of low-cost consumer credit Improvements in infrastructure and enhanced availability of retail space Entry to various sources of financing

The non-food sector, segments comprising apparel, accessories, fashion, lifestyle felt the significant change with the emergence of new stores formats like convenience stores, mini marts, mini supermarkets, large supermarkets, and hyper marts. Even food retailing has became an important retail business in the national arena, with large format retail stores, establishing stores all over India. With the entry of packaged foods like MTR, ITC Ashirbad, fast foods chains like McDonald's, KFC, beverage parlors like Nescafe, Tata Tea, Caf Coffee and Barista, the Indian food habits has been altered. This stores have earned the reputation of being 'super saver locations'. India will be an unique business arena in whole of the global economy, for the social and economic parameters would overrule the big bang of the vivid competition. Previously mastered by the unorganized retail sector, India opened up late as an economy in 1990 until then the idea of retail formats were spread by the government. - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/indian-organizedretail-sectors-impact-on-lifestyles.html#sthash.sUvKX9Y0.dpuf

The emerging trends in the Indian organized retail sector would help the economic growth in India. There is a fantastic rise in the Indian organized retail sector in a very short period of time between 2001 and 2006. Eventually, out of the shadows of the unorganized retail sector, India has a chance of tremendous economic growth, both in India and abroad. The emerging trends in the Indian organized retail sector are also adding up to the development of the Indian organized retail sector. The relaxation by the government on regulatory controls on foreign direct investments has added to the process of the growth of the Indian organized retail sector. The infrastructure of the retail sector will evolve radically in the recent future. The emergence of shopping malls are increasing at a steady pace in the metros and there are further plans of expansion which would lead to 150 new ones coming up in India by 2008. As the count of super markets is going up much faster than rate of growth in retail sector, it is taking the lions share in food trade.

The growth of the Indian organized retail sector is anticipated to be heavier than the growth of the gross domestic product. Alterations in people's lifestyle, growth in income levels, and encouraging conventions of demography are proving favorable for the new emerging trends in the Indian organized retail sector. The success of this retail sector would also lie in the degree of penetration into the lower income strata to tap the possible customers in the lowest levels of society. The demands of the buyers would also be enhanced by more access to credit facilities. With the arrival of the Transnational Companies (TNC), the Indian retail sector will undergo a transformation. At present the Foreign Direct Investments(FDI) is not encouraged in the Indian organized retail sector but once the TNC'S get in they inevitably try to oust their Indian counterparts. This would be challenging to the retail sector in India. The trends to follow in the future: The Indian Organized retail sector will grow up to 10% of total retailing by 2010. No one single format can be assumed as there is a huge difference in cultures regionally. The most encouraging format now would be the hypermarts. The hypermart format would be further encouraged with the entry of the TNCs. - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/emerging-trends-inindian-organized-retail-sector.html#sthash.PMFPDUkx.dpuf Growth of Retail Companies in India exhibits the boom in the retail industry in India over the years. The increase in the purchasing power of the Indian middle classes and the influx of the foreign investments have been encouraging in the Growth of Retail Companies in India. Growth of Retail Companies in India : Overview

Growth of Retail Companies in India is still not yet in a matured stage with great potentials within this sector still to be explored. Apart from the retail company like Nilgiri's of Bangalore, most of the retail companies are sections of other industries that have stepped in the retail sector for a better business. The Growth of Retail Companies in India is most

pronounced in the metro cities of India, however the smaller towns are also not lagging behind in this. The retail companies are not only targeting the four metros in India but also is considering the second graded upcoming cities like Ahmedabad, Baroda, Chandigarh, Coimbatore, Cochin, Ludhiana, Pune, Trivandrum, Simla, Gurgaon, and others. The South Indian zone have adopted the process of shopping in the supermarkets for their daily requirements and this has also been influencing other cities as well where many hypermarkets are coming up day to day.

Reasons for the fast Growth of Retail Companies in India:

The retail companies are found to be rising in India at a remarkable speed with the years and this have brought a revolutionary change in the shopping attitude of the Indian customers. The Growth of Retail Companies in India is facilitated by certain factors like existing Indian middle classes with an increased purchasing power rise of upcoming business sectors like the IT and engineering firms change in the taste and attitude of the Indians effect of globalization heavy influx of FDI in the retail sectors in India - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/companiesgrowth/#sthash.pruqzcFe.dpuf

This site provides detail information on Formats in Indian Organized Retail Sector. The site also focuses on the current structure of Indian retail industry. Formats in Indian Organized Retail Sector and its subsequent successful operation is credited to India Economic System reform earnest in July 1991. Formats in Indian Organized Retail Sector is at its nascent stage. The Central Government have ultimately realized the need to remove the insulation out of the Indian retail sector. Skeptics opines opening up Indian retail industry would jeopardize way of income for the poor small retailers. In fact, the actual story is quite heartening for the small time retailer and its vendors.

It is the second fastest growing economy of the world Potential to be the third largest economy in terms of GDP in next few years It ranks high amongst the top 10 FDI destinations of the world Fastest growing tourist market in Asia World bank states, India to be worlds second largest economy after China by the year 2050 Stable and investor friendly Central Government at the helm of affairs Introduction of Value Added Tax or VAT and tax reforms High degree of professionalism and corporate ethics Excellent Investment opportunities in Indian retail sector and in allied sectors; sure and high returns on investments To invest US $130 billion for the development of infrastructure, by year 2010 To attract US $ 10 billion FDI for infrastructure development by the end of year 2008 Bullish stock markets Hordes of foreign investors are thronging in to invest in Indian retail markets Highly educated English speaking young workforce Vibrant and multi cultured cities Huge opportunity exists, especially in semi-rural and rural areas Till date the second largest employer after agriculture sector, for the huge semi-skilled Indian population Offers highest shop density in the whole world Having almost 1,20,000 shops, across the length and breadth of the country In a nascent stage of development as an organized industry Formats in Indian Organized Retail Sector Supermarkets Hypermarkets Department Stores Modern format individual retailers Shopping malls Specialty Chains - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retailindustry/formats/#sthash.E4HiL2Gn.dpuf

In the last 10 years, a huge growth has taken place in the consumer durables retail market. Taking the present situation into account, one can see that the demand for consumer durables has been increasing. The increase in demand for consumer durables retail is because of the increase in disposable income levels in families, since most families are based on a double income these days. The rise in the levels of family income have transformed the visage of the Indian lifestyle which means that most companies view India as a prime destination for consumer durables retail. Most of the the consumer durables retail market comprises of television sets, audio systems, VCD players, washing machines, microwave ovens, air conditioners, toasters, juicer-mixer-grinders, and so on. Though Indian consumer durables have been increasing in demand within the domestic market, it has tough competition from international consumer durables companies such as Sony, Samsung, LG, and Philips. In fact, according to the Indian Retail Sector analysis 2006-07, the size of the Indian consumer durables industry in the retail sector stands at US$ 4.5 billion. Among consumer durables retail goods, flat-screen television and frost-free refrigerators have been in huge demand in recent times. In 2005 alone, 9 million TV sets and more than 4 million refrigerators were sold in India. The performance of the consumer durables retail is critical to the growth of the retail industry of India. There are new ventures being forayed into by the big Indian companies. For instance, we have the Speech and Software technologies, from the Tata Group which is working towards the launch of consumer durables in India. The Tata Group is going to work in collaboration with Woolworths - an Australian company. Such steps in the consumer durables retail sector would definitely facilitate the need for Foreign Direct Investment. However, some international retailers have already started investing in the Indian consumer durables market, such as Metro, Spa International, and Dairy Farm. Among Indian companies, Pantaloons is looking forward to start its saga of consumer durables retail. The commodities would constitute color televisions, washing machines,

refrigerators, and microwave ovens. The chain of goods will be available in Big Bazaar, which is owned by Pantaloons. It is quite a challenge to maintain the consumer durables retail market in India because of the unprecedented challenges that are attached with it. However, the consumer durables retail market in India are here to stay because of the new age tastes of the modern consumer in India. - See more at: http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/productsegments/consumer-durables.html#sthash.IK1aN9F4.dpuf ========================================================= == http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/product-segments/consumerdurables.html ========================================================= ===