Tatas to invest Rs 400 crores in consumer goods retail
The Tata group would invest up to Rs 400 crore as equity in Infiniti Retail, Tata’s new retail company which will sell consumer and electronic goods. Infiniti Retail will be a wholly owned subsidiary of Tata Sons and will operate a national chain of multi-brand outlets of consumer electronics and durables. These mega stores branded 400 crore layout ‘Croma’, will offer the country’s widest range of products across categories and brands. ‘Trent’ another retail company from Tata runs a chain of department stores and hyper markets across
India. Retail consultancy Technopak Advisors has estimated the size of
India’s retail industry at about $300 bn and forecast it to grow to $427 bn in 2010. Currently, branded retail makes up only 3% of the market, compared to
China’s 20% and
Thailand’s 40%.
Economic Times, 04/10/06.
Preparing for a retail blitz
Many well established business houses like Reliance and Bharati Enterprises have drawn up ambitious plans to foray into retail. New entrepreneurs such as Pantaloon Retail, Shipper’s Stop and Landmark are investigating heavily in this sector. Even without foreign investment and foreign partners, these companies foraying into retailing and making use of the technical collaborations to derive expertise in new retail formats. This seems to be the best model to develop organized retailing in
India.
Business Line, 28/09/06.
Retail chains fast emerging hunting ground for critical consumer insights Indian retail chains and the FMCG industry seem to be coming closer. Retail chains are fast emerging as popular hunting ground for critical consumer insights which is much in demand among FMCG companies. Companies like HLL, Marico, Emami and Wipro Consumer Care are using modern trade inputs for altering product price points, devising new promotional offers and even changing entire packaging. Wipro Consumer Care recently modified the height of its Wipro Safewsh pack so that it fits perfectly on the retail shelf. Marico has recently modified packaging for its Parachute After Shower Hair Cream and Silk& Shine. Retail chains are also providing FMCG companies with feedback on competition and market trends on various categories. Analysts feel the massive growth of rural retail chains like Triveni Engineering’s Triveni Khishali Bazar, ITC’s Choupal Sagar and Godrej Agrovert’s Godrej Aadhaar will further catalyse the trend.
Retail sizzle for tech toys as cos bet big on India
It seems that the technology retailers are finally getting the code right, considering the ambitious drive to stock up retail shelves with tech toys. That spans smart phones lighter sized data storage devices digital cameras, MP3 players, gaming consoles to a host of products embedded with a chip. Tata Sons ‘Croma’ will retail eight categories of products including computers and peripherals. Pantaloon’s is setting up e-zones for tech toys. Canon already has 208 outlets which it plans to increase to 442 by end 2007.
Economic Times, 05/10/06.
Retail race- Tesco gears up for showdown in US West
Tesco, Britain’s biggest retailer is planning to spend some 250 million pounds per ear to build small convenience stores on the US West Coast, with the first group set to open next year. Tesco is best known in the
US as the retailer that took on Wal-Mart Stores Inc in
Britain and won building a market share that is nearly double that of Wal-mart’s Asda. Tesco is steering clear of Wal-Mart’s strong holds in the US South and Midwest, and it is using a format which will not directly compete with Wal-Mart’s super centres which is selling everything from fresh fruits to tyres. Business Line, 05/10/06.
15C6Karthik Gangadhar (FK-1371)Midhun Jose (FK-1440)Nithin D Pai (FK-1301)Sumi Sundaresan (FK-1404)Vivek Namboodiri (FK-1356)
