Pattern of Growth in Indian Retail Industry

 

The face of the Indian retail industry is changing. A number of changes have taken place on the Indian retail front such as increasing availability of international brands, increasing number of malls and hypermarkets and easy availability of retail space. With the Indian government having opened up the doors for FDI, the entry of foreign retailers into the country has become easier. India has come a long way from the traditional Kirana stores and is on its way to becoming a ‘mall country’. India has a large middle class as well as youth population, which has contributed greatly to the retail phenomenon. The middle class is considered to be a major potential customer group. The youth are perceived as trend setters and decision makers. Tourist spending in India is increasing, which has also prompted the retail boom. The evolution of the Indian retail industry together with the contribution of varied segments such as food& grocery, apparel & footwear etc, have been dealt in detail

Indian Retail Industry

India retail industry is the largest industry in India, with an employment of around 8% and contributing to over 10% of the country's GDP. Retail industry in India is expected to rise 25% yearly being driven by strong income growth, changing lifestyles, and favorable demographic patterns.

It is expected that by 2016 modern retail industry in India will be worth US$ 175- 200 billion. A further increase of 7-8% is expected in the industry of retail in India by growth in consumerism in urban areas, rising incomes, and a steep rise in rural consumption.

The present value of the Indian retail market is estimated by the India Retail Report to be around Rs. 12, 00,000 crore ($270 billion) and the annual growth rate is 5.7 percent. Retail market for food and grocery with a worth of Rs.7,43,900 crore is the largest of the different types of retail industries present in India.

Further more around 15 million retail outlets help India win the crown of having the highest retail outlet density in the world.

According to Indian Brand Equity Foundation, retail trade accounts for 12 per cent of the country's GDP and is expected to approach 22 per cent. A report from McKinsey, 'The rise of Indian Consumer Market', foresees the Indian consumer market growing by four times by the year 2025.

The total concept and idea of shopping has undergone an attention drawing change in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern retailing has entered into the Retail market in India as is observed in the form of bustling shopping centers, multi-storied malls and the huge complexes that offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof. A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing working-women population and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key factors in the growth of the organized Retail sector in India. The growth pattern in organized retailing and in the consumption made by the Indian population will follow a rising graph helping the newer businessmen to enter the India Retail Industry.

Growth

The growth factors in Indian organized sector are various but it is mainly due to the fact that India's economy is booming. Many Indian companies have entered the retail industry in India and this is also a factor in the growth of Indian organized retail sector. Reliance Industries Limited is planning to invest US$ 6 billion in the organized retail sector in India by opening 1500 supermarkets and 1000 hypermarkets. Bharti Telecoms is planning a joint venture worth £ 750 million with Tesco a global retail giant. Pantaloon is planning to invest US$ 1 billion in order to increase its retail space to 30 million square feet. Such huge investment is also a factor in the growth of the organized retail sector in India.

Global retail giants are also entering the retail industry in India and this is also one of the factors in the growth of the organized retail sector in India. The global retail giants who are entering the organized retail sector in India are:

o   Wal - Mart

o   Tesco
o   Carrefour SA
o   Metro AG

The factors for growth in Indian organized retail sector are many and that the reason behind its massive growth. But for this to continue both the Indian retailers and the government will have to work together. 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

Strategies

Right Positioning - The effectiveness of the mall developer's communication of the offering to the target customers determines how well the mall gets positioned in their minds. At this stage, the communication has to be more of relative nature. This implies that the message conveyed to the target customers must be effective enough in differentiating the mall's offering from that of its competitors without even naming them. The message should also clearly convey to the target audience that the mall offers them exactly what they call the complete shopping-cum-entertainment point that meets all their expectations. The core purpose is to inform the target customers about the offering of the mall, persuade them to visit the mall and remind them about the mall. The mall developer can create awareness about the offering among the target customers in a number of ways. Various communication tools available to the mall developer for this purpose may include advertising, buzz marketing (WoM), celebrity endorsement, use of print media, press releases and viral marketing .Once the message is being conveyed through these channels, the mall developer must add a personal touch to his message by carrying out a door-to-door campaign in order to reinforce the message.

Effective Visual Communication - Retailer has to give more emphasis on display visual merchandising, lighting, signages and specialized props. The visual communication strategy might be planned and also be brand positioned. Theme or lifestyle displays using stylized mannequins and props, which are based on a season or an event, are used to promote collections and have to change to keep touch with the trend. The merchandise presentation ought to be very creative and displays are often on non-standard fixtures and forms to generate interest and add on attitude to the merchandise.

Strong Supply Chain - Critical components of supply chain planning applications can help manufacturers meet retailers' service levels and maintain profit margins. Retailer has to develop innovative solution for managing the supply chain problems. Innovative solutions like performance management, frequent sales operation management, demand planning, inventory planning, production planning, lean systems and staff should help retailers to get advantage over competitors.

Changing the Perception - Retailers benefit only if consumers perceive their store brands to have consistent and comparable quality and availability in relation to branded products. Retailer has to provide more assortments for private level brands to compete with supplier's brand. New product development, aggressive retail mix as well as everyday low pricing strategy can be the strategy to get edge over supplier's brand.

Challenges

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.

Problem

India lacks a strong supply chain when compared to Europe or the USA. The existing supply chain has too many intermediaries: Typical supply chain looks like:- Manufacturer - National distributor - Regional distributor - Local wholesaler - Retailer - Consumer. This implies that global retail chains will have to build a supply chain network from scratch. This might run foul with the existing supply chain operators. In addition to fragmented supply chain, the trucking and transportation system is antiquated. The concept of container trucks, automated warehousing is yet to take root in India. The result: significant losses/damages during shipping.

Merchandising planning is one of the biggest challenges that any multi store retailer faces. Getting the right mix of product, which is store specific across organization, is a combination of customer insight, allocation and assortment techniques.

The private label will continue to compete with brand leaders. So supplier's brand will take their own way because they have a established brand image from last decades and the reasons can be attributed to better customer experience, value vs. price, aspiration, innovation, accessibility of supplier's brand.

Conclusion

The retail sector has played a phenomenal role throughout the world in increasing productivity of consumer goods and services. It is also the second largest industry in US in terms of numbers of employees and establishments. The India Retail Industry is the largest among all the industries, accounting for over 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and around 8 per cent of the employment. The Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. But all of them have not yet tasted success because of the heavy initial investments that are required to break even with other companies and compete with them. The India Retail Industry is gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry. The future of the India Retail Industry looks promising with the growing of the market, with the government policies becoming more favorable and the emerging technologies facilitating operations.