At Random

“Spencer’s has hardly been affected by the downturn”
“The retail industry at large should have now experienced the reality that ‘consumer’ is the most powerful word. She now enjoys more choices than ever before and has access to an unperturbed flow of information that influence her at every stage” says Samar Singh Sheikhawat, vice president...

"A Powerful Retailer delivers outstanding value on a sustainable basis"
Some businesses see an economic slowdown as a crisis, while some see latent opportunities in depressed sentiments. Among the latter set is the wellness services chain Kaya Skin Clinic, the subsidiary of Marico Ltd., which has expanded ...

"Spar Hypermarket spurs its growth with thoughtful aggression"
Foreseeing the potential of modern food retailing in India, Spar International, one of the world’s largest food retailers, rolled out its hypermarkets in India through a license agreement with Max Hypermarkets India Ltd...

"Constant innovation and new products keep the excitement going"
According to a recent report by Federation of Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (FICCI) and Ernst and Young, the market for “wellness” services in India is estimated at Rs 110 billion and has been projected to grow at an...

"Groom your customers with enriching lifestyles"
Taking into consideration the upheavals of recent times, retail majors are focusing on fresh investment budgets to expand large format value retailing concept stores. Primarily because the Return on Investment...

"We believe in steady and profitable expansion"
HyperCity Retail India Ltd, part of multi format retailer Shoppers Stop Ltd, is high on its reasonably-paced expansion for at least three hypermarkets in the financial year 2009-10...

"Retail today is about touch and feel"
Dynamic lifestyle, growing brand-consciousness and a strong desire to embrace the West while sticking to an indigenous culture; these are but a few elements capturing the essence of the Indian consumer. Hardly surprisingly, many conglomerates are...

"Our consumption has not taken a serious dent"
The economy is showing signs of revival, thanks to government's measures to boost economy, followed by initiatives from the Reserve Bank of India. While the bulls are back on Dalal Street, fears of a deflation also appear to be fading...

"Western models cannot succeed in India..."
He is no more in the army of Vishal Retail. However, he continues to claim the venture as his brainchild. He says he entered the arena at the age of 10 when his father, owner of a small kirana store under the name Vishal in Cuttack, Orissa, used to lay the responsibility of the store on his shoulders...

"While the US gives the world 'supply chain management', 7Eleven and Japan give 'demand chain management'!"
NEC India Pvt Ltd, a joint venture between NEC Asia Pte Ltd and NEC Corporation Japan, was established in New Delhi, India in August 2006. Leveraging on NEC's unique capabilities...

"India's per capita biscuit consumption is only 2.1kg"
It has been fifteen years and Priyagold, the leading brand of biscuit manufacturing company Surya Food & Agro Ltd has managed to hold against the goliaths of the market and has nurtured its national aspiration, with a single mindset of making...

"People want more value for money during recession..."
When no single retailer is ready to lose reputation and market share by ignoring the quality of products, evaluating the products delivered by vendors becomes necessary and results in the search for parties or organizations...

"Mass volume satisfies hunger pangs with non brand outlets..."
At a time when financial slowdown has caused most of the retailers to go cautious in their expansion plans, India’s leading food retail chain Comesum Food Junction plans to add 10 more outlets to its existing 20 outlets...

"Most retailers still use EDC terminals for credit payments"
Pine Labs, a leading retail technology provider in India, is home to a number of pathbreaking softwares for payment, loyalty, retail automation, prepaid solutions and VAS. Known for its point of sale services which are...

"We are launching products every week"
With an aim to increase its presence across India, Delhi-based wellness products manufacturer and retailer Nature’s Essence has set aggressive expansion plans for 2009. From a company worth Rs 50 thousand eleven years back...

"Recession has helped us..."
In a major development to country’s luxury apparel retailing, India has found a new player in the form of Vee India Retail which opened its maiden store branded Pocket Store at Pitampura in Delhi on 14th of this month. The store retails over...

Dispersion of funds will ease the pressure on developers, retailers
Born as an exporter of sun dried shrimps to Burma in 1894, ABAD Group enjoys leading presence in the business and industrial landscape of Kerala. Presently, the Group is engaged in a diversified range of business activities that encompasses...

India faces acute shortage of trained personnel
Organised retail is the largest employment generator in India outside agriculture. Bharti Wal-Mart Training Centre, India’s first special skills training centre aimed at bridging the shortage of skilled workers for cash-and-carry and organised...

People are in the saving mode: Director, FnS
The 1.5 billion Indian cutlery market is predominantly dominated by players like Kishco, Crystal and Venus. However, 2005 witnessed yet another innovative player introducing a contemporary consumer twist to the segment—Delhi-based Forks...

"Real estate properties are still charging heavy"
Noida-based Footwear retailer Vi-Ga recently announced its maiden foray into market outside India. The company’s first overseas store is to be operational in Nepal in February this year. IndiaRetailing traps Vi-Ga CEO, Vinayak Mahtani in...

"Retailers, who do not upgrade, will perish"
In the early days, the Indian mobile phone retail industry was highly fragmented and unorganised. Mobile handsets were expensive, the grey market dominated and there were few showrooms around to showcase mobile products...

"Growth chart of unorganised footwear retailers is more robust"
Sumit K Lal, Director & GM, ECCO Shoes, on how to address the issues of burnout in the footwear sector...

"We want to to be a Rs 10 billion company"
Lite Bite Foods was conceptualised with the idea of rolling out a pan-India chain of food and beverages services outlets under different formats and brands. The venture is jointly promoted by three...

"We will not be affected by other players"
Laundry and dry-cleaning, an occupation having been associated with lower castes since the last 3,000 years in India, is a business worth crores today. Laundry retail outlets may be a common phenomenon...

"We don’t want to play discount game"
With an annual growth rate of 35 per cent in home décor market, the concept of home-beautification stores is fast emerging in India. Entry of new domestic and international branded retail products...

‘Single-store approach and 100 per cent growth are something that we are looking at this year’
Retail, a nascent industry in India has not really adopted technology in a big way until recently. This scenario is now slowly but surely changing, with the competition increasing due to the entry ...

Sanjay Dalmia, chairman, GHCL: "We are not interested in linear growth
An evolving lifestyle, more intense brand-consciousness, and an urge to adopt from the West while sticking to an indigenous culture, are a few elements that capture the essence of the Indian consumer.

Reliance Autozone: Building a brand-neutral workshop
BMWs and 800s, Tatas and Toyotas, Hyundais and Hondas, bikes and scooters. Vehicles of all make and size, from almost all countries, run parallel on the same roads in India. Yet, the company's branded clinic or a roadside hakeem is the only option for them to fall back upon when they fall sick...

Getting hearty in the business of breakfast
From running a large packaging company to producing breakfast foods, has been a big shift for Sanjeev Khemka. The mechanical engineer-turned-manufacturer of breakfast cereals and snacks spoke...

Vishal means 'big', literally
Timely decisions, defined strategy, and a futuristic approach, clubbed with an understanding of consumers' needs as also the ability to create one, are the qualities that mark out the best retail companies...

Caring personally with products from nature
With a borrowed sum of Rs 5,000, Rajkumar Nanda nurtured a natural product to make it a brand, which in the present has earned him a whopping turnover of Rs 30 crore - and is pacing to touch the 100 crore-mark soon.

There's no discounting this
There's no discounting this Started in the year 2004 as a 'value retail' format, The Loot today has successfully set up 25 outlets across India, including in tier II cities.

Provoking the cult of coffee consumption
Barista heralded the concept of ‘out-of-home premium coffee consumption' in outlets with an ‘attitude'. However, a lot of retail coffee has flown down the throat of Indian coffee lovers, since Barista made its foray in 2000.

A Pan American tale
It takes a lot to take a zonal brand and grow it into a Rs 50-crore company. Vishnu Rageev R quizzes its Columbus – Rajkumar Lalwani, director, Royalex Fashions India Pvt. Ltd – to discover the less-covered voyage of a brand called Pan America...

A spice route into a next-door neighbour
The much-talked-about, relaxed FDI norms in India have not only attracted high-end western brands, but are also pulling in established labels from neighbouring countries. Probably the first Pakistani entrant in the foods segment...

Why Kamal Nath cannot afford not to allow FDI in sporting goods retail in India!
The issue of Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) has been debated time and again as the Indian Government has been under pressure to open up further.