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Wal-Mart, the iconic face of US retailing, often referred to by its numerous critics as the 'Beast from Bentonville' has entered into a JV with Bharti Enterprises, to make a mark in the red-hot Indian organized retail. At about the same time that Wal-Mart entered into a tie-up with Bharti, Mumbai's dabbawalas discussed nuances of their retail model with the students of IIM Kozhikode.
It is certainly a myth that the local kirana will disappear with the growth of large formats of the organized retails. Empirical evidences from the researches carried out in other transitional economies have demonstrated that they can co-exist benefiting by each other. India is synonymous with diversity with 6000 castes and sub-castes in 28 states. The challenge for any retailer big or small is to understand the taste of every segment and manage it to the desired profitable growth. The big players will expand the consumption in the upper end of the market by bringing the luxury goods and international brands.

Retail in India - Status Check

According to the report, "Retail in India: Getting Organized to Drive Growth," by global consultant A.T. Kearney and the CII, India's retail industry is growing with a 5% compounded annual growth rate (CAGR) and has $ 320 billion in annual revenue. Interestingly, Wal-Mart's $ 315.6 billion in global sales last year is about the same size of the whole Indian retail industry.

Organized retail in India which stands at around 3% of the total retail is showing signs of bigger and better growth of around 30% CAGR.

Source: CEIC, CSO, AC Nielsen, Morgan Stanley Research (FY 2010 and FY 2015 are estimated figures)
(PFCE - Private Final Consumption Expenditure)

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* Contributed by: -
Rakesh R. Panday, is an independent Brand Consultant at Jamshedpur and also enrolled in Ph.D. Programme at www.bitmesra.ac.in with subject, "Managing Brand in Retail - Study of Major Initiatives in India".