Evolution of Retail in India

by V S Rama Rao on October 14, 2009 While barter is considered to be the oldest form of retail trade, retail in India has evolved to support the unique needs of our country given its size and complexity. Haats, Mandis and Melas have always been a part of the Indian landscape. They still continue to be present in most parts of the country and form an essential part of life and trade in various areas. The PDS or the Public Distribution System would easily emerge as the single largest retail chain existing in the country. The evolution of the public distribution of grains in India has its origin in the rationing system introduced by thee British during the World War II. The system was started in 1939 in Bombay and subsequently extended to other cities and towns. By the year 1946, as many as 771 cities/towns were covered. The system was abolished post war on attaining Independence, India was forced to reintroduce it in 1950 in the face of renewed inflationary pressures in the economy. A detailed discussion forms a part Tracing the evolution of Indian retail would be incomplete without a mention of the canteen Stores Department and the Post Offices in India. The Khadi & Village Industries (KVIC) was also set up post independence. Today, there are more than 7,050 KVIC stores across the country. The co-operative movement was again championed by the government, which set up Kendriya Bhandars in 1963. In Maharasthra , Bombay bazaar, which runs stores under the Sahakari Bhandar and Apna Bazaars run a large chain of co-operative stores. In the past decade, the Indian marketplace has transformed dramatically. However, from the 1950s to the 80s investments in various industries was limited due to the low purchasing power in the hands of the consumer and the governments policies favoring the small scale sector. Initial steps towards liberalization were taken in the period of 1985-90. It was at this time that many restrictions on private companies were lifted, and in the 1990s, the Indian economy slowly progressed from being state led to becoming market friendly. While independent retail stores like Akbarallys, Viveks and Nallis have existed in India for a long time, the first attempts at organized retailing were noticed in the textiles sector. One of the pioneers in this field was Raymonds, which set up stores to retail fabric. It also developed dealer network to retail its fabric. These dealers sold a mix of fabrics of various textile companies. The Raymonds distribution network today comprises of 20,000 retailers and over 429 showrooms across the country. Other textile manufacturers who also set up their own retail chains were Reliance which set up Vimal showrooms and garden Silk Mills with Garden Vareli. It was but natural that with the growth of textile retail, readymade branded apparel could not be far behind and the next wave of organized retail in India saw the likes of Madura garments, Arvind Mills etc set up showrooms for branded mens wear. With the success of the branded mens wear store, the new age departmental store arrived in India in the early nineties. Traditional formats:

1) Itinerant salesman 2) Haats 3) Moles 4) Mandis, etc Established formats: 1) Kirana 2) Convenience / Department stores 3) Company / Multi brand showrooms 4) PDS / Fair Price shops 5) Co-operative stores 6) Pan / beedi shops Emerging formats 1) Exclusive retail outlets 2) Hypermarkets 3) Internal retail 4) Malls / Specialty malls 5) Multiplexes 6) Rural oriented formats 7) Fast food outlets 8) Service galleries etc This was in a sense, the beginning of a new era for retail in India. The fact that post liberalization, the economy had opened up and a new large middle class with spending power had emerged, helped shape this sector. The vast middle class market demanded value for money products. The emergence of the modern Indian housewife, who managed her home and work led to a demand for more products, a better shopping ambience, more convenience and one stop shopping. This has fueled the growth of departmental stores, supermarkets and other specialty stores. The concept of retail as entertainment came to India with the advent of malls. The development of malls is now visible not only in the major metros but also in other parts of the country.

India's Retail Evolution

As we understand, retailing involves all activities directly related to the sale of goods and services to the ultimate consumer for personal, non-business use. Simple retailing is maturing into a more microscopic and systematized process. The era of rural retail industry could be categorized into two formats: weekly markets and village fairs. Primarily weekly formats catered to the daily necessities of villagers. Village fairs were larger in size with a wide variety of goods sold from food, clothing, cosmetics and small consumer durables. The traditional era saw the emergence of the neighborhood 'Kirana' store to cater to convenience of the Indian consumers. The era of government support saw indigenous franchise model of store chains run by Khadi & Village Industries Commission. The KVIC has a countrywide chain of 7000 plus stores in India. This period also witnessed the emergence of shopping centers with car parking facility. The Modern era has a host of small and large formats with exclusive outlets showcasing a complete range of products. The department stores and shopping malls targeting to provide a complete destination experience for all segments of the society. The hyper and super markets are consistently trying to provide the customer with the 3 V's. (Value, Variety and Volume) Over the last three years, this sector has witnessed an exorbitant growth due to the establishment of numerous international quality formats to suit the Indian purchase behavior, the improvement in retail processes, the development of retail specific properties and the emergence of both, domestic and international organizations. Retailing sector is the second largest employer in the country with almost over 12 million retail outlets in India and only 4% of them being larger than 500 square feet in size. Although retailing in India is fairly fragmented, organized retailing is gaining momentum rapidly growing at almost 25-30% per annum and is forecasted to touch a figure of Rs I,50,000 crore by 2010. The economy is projected to grow at 8.1% in 2005-2006 having grown at a steady pace of around 6% over the last 10 years. Organized retailers are the contemporary formats by which shoppers have the edge of a world class shopping experience. Fine examples of these formats are Pantaloon, Shoppers Stop and Trent. Organized retail may broadly be classified into the following formatsMalls The largest form of organized retiling today. Malls are located mainly in metro cities, in proximity to urban outskirts, this format ranges from approximately 60,000 sq ft to 7,00,000 sq ft and above. They lend an ideal shopping experience with an amalgamation of product, service and entertainment, all under a common roof. Hypermarkets They are typically large, starting from 40,000sq. ft plus are usually located outside the city limits. This format comprises of a multiple division layout, and usually has an" industrial- look" interior. Hypermarkets generally provide daily necessities and grocery like items. Pricing is competitive and they also offer volume discounts.

MBO's Multi Brand outlets, also known as Category Killers, offer several brands across a single product category. These usually do well in busy market places and Metros. Super Markets Large self service outlets, catering to varied shopper needs are termed as Super markets. These are located in or near residential high streets. These stores today contribute to 30% of all food & grocery organized retail sales. Super Markets can further be classified in to mini supermarkets typically 1,000 sq ft to 2,000 sq ft and large supermarkets ranging from a size of 3,500 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft. having a strong focus on food & grocery and personal sales. Discount Stores As the name suggests, discount stores or factory outlets, offer discounts on the MRP through selling in bulk reaching economies of scale or excess stock left over at the season. The product category can range from a variety of perishable/ non perishable goods. Convenience Stores These are relatively small stores 400-2,000 sq. feet located near residential areas. They stock a limited range of high-turnover convenience products and are usually open for extended periods during the day, seven days a week. Prices are slightly higher due to the convenience premium. Departmental Store Large stores ranging from 20000-50000 sq. ft, catering to a variety of consumer needs. Further classified into localized departments such as clothing, toys, home, groceries, etc. Exclusive Store Ranging from a size of 500 sq ft to 5,000 sq ft. & above, this format is owned/ managed by the Company or through its franchise. These can offer single brand as well as multiple bands. Specialty Store These formats focus on a specific product category, Medium sized layout in strategic location. Specialty stores provide a large variety base for the consumers to choose from. Despite the presence of the basic ingredients required for growth of the retail industry in India, it still faces substantial hurdles that will retard and inhibit its growth in the future. One of the key impediments is the lack of FDI. This has largely resulted in limited capital investments in supply chain infrastructure, which is a key for development and growth of retailing and has also constrained access to world-class retail practices. Lack of proper infrastructure and relatively high cost of real estate are the other impediments to the growth of retailing. While the industry and the government are trying to remove many of these hurdles, some of the roadblocks will remain and will continue to affect the smooth growth of this industry.

Indian Retail Industry: Current Scenario

Indian retail industry is going through a transition phase. Most of the retailing in our country is still in the unorganized sector. The spread out of the retails in US and India shows a wide gap between the two countries. Though retailing in India is undergoing an exponential growth, the road ahead is full of challenges. What is retailing? The word "Retail" originates from a French-Italian word. Retailer-someone who cuts off or sheds a small piece from something. Retailing is the set of activities that markets products or services to final consumers for their own personal or household use. It does this by organizing their availability on a relatively large scale and supplying them to customers on a relatively small scale. Retailer is a Person or Agent or Agency or Company or Organization who is instrumental in reaching the Goods or Merchandise or Services to the End User or Ultimate Consumer. SCENARIO OF RETAILING IN INDIA Retailing is the most active and attractive sector of last decade. While the retailing industry itself has been present since ages in our country, it is only the recent past that it has witnessed so much dynamism. The emergence of retailing in India has more to do with the increased purchasing power of buyers, especially post-liberalization, increase in product variety, and increase in economies of scale, with the aid of modern supply and distributions solution. Indian retailing today is at an interesting crossroads. The retail sales are at the highest point in history and new technologies are improving retail productivity. though there are many opportunities to start a new retail business, retailers are facing numerous challenges. KEY CHALLENGES: 1) LOCATION: "Right Place, Right choice" Location is the most important ingredient for any business that relies on customers, and is typically the prime consideration in a customers store choice. Locations decisions are harder to change because retailers have to either make sustainable investments to buy and develop real estate or commit to long term lease with developers. When formulating decision about where to locate, the retailer must refer to the strategic plan: * Investigate alternative trading areas. * Determine the type of desirable store location * Evaluate alternative specific store sites 2) MERCHANDISE: The primary goal of the most retailers is to sell the right kind of merchandise and nothing is more central to the strategic thrust of the retailing firm. Merchandising consists of activities involved in acquiring particular goods and services and making them available at a place, time and quantity that enable the retailer to reach its goals. Merchandising is perhaps, the most important function for any retail organization, as it decides what finally goes on shelf of the store. 3) PRICING: Pricing is a crucial strategic variable due to its direct relationship with a firm's goal and its interaction with other retailing elements. The importance of pricing decisions is

growing because today's customers are looking for good value when they buy merchandise and services. Price is the easiest and quickest variable to change. 4) TARGET AUDIENCE: "Consumer the prime mover" "Consumer Pull", however, seems to be the most important driving factor behind the sustenance of the industry. The purchasing power of the customers has increased to a great extent, with the influencing the retail industry to a great extent, a variety of other factors also seem to fuel the retailing boom. 5) SCALE OF OPERATIONS: Scale of operations includes all the supply chain activities, which are carried out in the business. It is one of the challenges that the Indian retailers are facing. The cost of business operations is very high in India. PRESENT INDIAN SCENARIO * Unorganized market: Rs. 583,000 crores * Organized market: Rs.5, 000 crores * 5X growth in organized retailing between 2000-2005 * Over 4,000 new modern Outlets in the last 3 years * Over 5,000,000 sq. ft. of mall space under development * The top 3 modern retailers control over 750,000 sq. ft. of retail space * Over 400,000 shoppers walk through their doors every week * Growth in organized retailing on par with expectations and projections of the last 5 Years: on course to touch Rs. 35,000 crores (US$ 7 Billion) or more by 2005-06 * Major players Food and grocery Fashion Others Food world Shoppers' Stop Vivek's Subhiksha Westside Planet M Nilgris Lifestyle Music World Adani- Rajiv's Pyramid Crossword Nirma-Radhey Globus Life spring

TRADITIONAL RETAIL SCENE IN INDIA India is the country having the most unorganized retail market. Traditionally the retail business is run by Mom & Pop having Shop in the front & house at the back. More than 99% retailers function in less than 500Sq.Ft of area. All the merchandise was purchased as per the test & vim and fancies of the proprietor also the pricing was done on ad hock basis or by seeing at the face of customer. Generally the accounts of trading & home are not maintained separately. Profits were accumulated in slow moving & non-moving

stocks which were to become redundant or consumed in-house. Thus profits were vanished without their knowledge. The Manufactures were to distribute goods through C & F agents to Distributors & Wholesalers. Retailers happen to source the merchandise from Wholesalers & reach to end-users. The merchandise price used to get inflated to a great extent till it reaches from Manufacturer to End-user. Selling prices were largely not controlled by Manufacturers. Branding was not an issue for majority of customers. More than 99% customers are price sensitive & not quality or Brand Sensitive at the same time they are Brand conscious also. Weekly Bazaar in many small tows was held & almost all the commodities were on the scene including livestock. Bargaining was the unwritten law of market. Educational qualification level of these retailers was always low. Hence market was controlled by handful of distributors &/or Wholesalers. Virtually there was only one format of retailing & that was mass retail. Retailer to consumer ratio was very low, for all the categories without exception. Varity in terms of quality, Styles were on regional basis, community based & truly very low range was available at any given single place. Almost all the purchases / (buying) by mass population was need oriented & next turn may be on festivals, Marriages, Birthdays & some specific occasions. Impulsive buying or consumption is restricted to food or vegetables etc. Having extra pair of trousers or Shirts or Casuals & Formals & leisure wear & sports wear & different pair of shoes for occasions is till date is a luxury for majority population except for those living in Metros. Purchasing power of Indian urban consumer is very low and that of Branded merchandise in categories like Apparels, Cosmetics, Shoes, Watches, Beverages, Food, Jewellery, are slowly seeping into the lifeline of Indian City folks. However electronic & electrical home appliances do hold appropriate image into the minds of consumers. Brand name does matter in these white goods categories. In the coming times also majority of organized retailers will find it difficult to keep balance with rest of the unbranded retail market which is very huge. INDIAN RETAIL IS MOVING INTO SECOND GEAR 1) FIRST GEAR: (Create awareness) * New retailers driving awareness * High degree of fragmentation * Real estate groups starting retail chains * Consumer expecting 'value for money' as core value 2) SECOND GEAR: (Meet customer expectations) * Consumer-driven * Emergence of pure retailers * Retailers getting multi-locational and multi-format * Global retailers evincing interest in India 3) THIRD GEAR: (Back end management) * Category management * Vendor partnership * Stock turns * Channel synchronization * Consumer acquisition * Customer relation's management 4) FOURTH GEAR: (Consolidation) * Aggressive rollout * Organized retail acquitting significant share

* Beginning of cross-border movement * Mergers and acquisitions Conclusion For a start, these retailers need to invest much more in capturing more specific market. Intelligence as well as almost real-time customer purchase behavior information. The retailers also need to make substantial investment in understanding/acquiring some advanced expertise in developing more accurate and scientific demand forecasting models. Re-engineering of product sourcing philosophies-aligned more towards collaborative planning and replenishment should then be next on their agenda. The message, therefore for the existing small and medium independent retailers is to closely examine what changes are taking place in their immediate vicinity, and analyze Whether their current market offers a potential redevelopment of the area into a more modern multi-option destination. If it does, and most commercial areas in India do have this potential, it would be very useful to form a consortium of other such small retailers in that vicinity and take a pro-active approach to pool in resources and improve the overall infrastructure. The next effort should be to encourage retailers to make some investments in improving the interiors of their respective establishments to make shopping an enjoyable experience for the customer. As the retail marketplace changes shape and competition increases, the potential for improving retail productivity and cutting costs is likely to decrease. Therefore, it will become important for retailers to secure a distinctive position in the marketplace based on value, relationships or experience. Finally, it is important to note that these strategies are not strictly independent of each other; value is function of not just price, quality and service but can also be enhanced by Personalization and offering a memorable experience. In fact, building relationships with customers can by itself increase the quality of overall customer experience and thus the perceived value. But most importantly for winning in this intensely competitive marketplace, it is critical to understand the target customer's definition of value and make an offer, which not only delights the customers but also is also difficult for competitors to replicate.

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. India retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries with revenue expected in 2007 to amount US$ 320 billion and is increasing at a rate of 5% yearly. 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. It has further been predicted that the retailing industry in India will amount to US$ 21.5 billion by 2010 from the current size of US$ 7.5 billion. Shopping in India has witnessed a revolution with the change in the consumer buying behavior and the whole format of shopping also altering. Industry of retail in India which has become modern can be seen from the fact that there are multi- stored malls, huge shopping centers, and sprawling complexes which offer food, shopping, and entertainment all under the same roof. India retail industry is expanding itself most aggressively; as a result a great demand for real estate is being created. Indian retailers preferred means of expansion is to expand to other regions and to increase the number of their outlets in a city. It is expected that by 2010, India may have 600 new shopping centers. In the Indian retailing industry, food is the most dominating sector and is growing at a rate of 9% annually. The branded food industry is trying to enter the India retail industry and convert Indian consumers to branded food. Since at present 60% of the Indian grocery basket consists of non- branded items. India retail industry is progressing well and for this to continue retailers as well as the Indian government will have to make a combined effort. India Shopping Malls Scope of the Indian Retail Market Indian Organized Retail Market Growth Factors in Indian Organized Retail sector Opportunities in Indian Organized Retail sector Challenges facing the Indian Organized Retail sector Role of Supply Chain in Indian Organized Retail Employment Generation by Indian Organized Retail Sector Indian Organized Retail Sector's Impact on Lifestyles Emerging Trends in Indian Organized Retail Sector

 Growth of Retail Companies in India Evolution of Indian Retail FDI in Indian Organized Retail Sector Formats in Indian Organized Retail Sector