Marketing @ Knowledge Zone


Retail Industry: Where does India Stand?

- by Sanjeev Kumar *

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Role of the Retail Sector

The retail sector has played a phenomenal role throughout the world in increasing productivity of consumer goods and services. It is the second largest industry in the United States of America in terms of numbers of employees and establishments.
Wal-Mart, the largest retailer in the United States, is also the largest employer in the United States with annual sales over $ 284 Billion. There is no denying the fact that most of the developed economies are very much relying on their retail sector as a locomotive of growth. Analysts, CEOs, and others are using consumer spending and consumer confidence data originating from the retail sector as an indicator to gauge the status of the economy.

Size of the Retail Sector

According to the figures from National Retail Federation, the retail sector in the United States employs more then 20 Million people - about 1 in 5 American workers. The annual registered sale for the year 2002 was around $ 3.6 trillion. This gives us an idea about the size of the retail sector against the $ 11.66 trillion US economy (according to World Bank figures).

Most of the developed economies (US, UK, Canada, Germany, France, Italy and others) around the world have benefited enormously by liberalising their retail sector.

This brings me to the big question - where does India stand in retailing?

India's retail sector, which accounts for about 9-10% of the country's GDP, remains one of the least developed sectors in India. The estimated annual retail sales accounts for about $ 6 billion and is expected to reach $ 17 billion dollar mark by the year 2010, according to a study done by the Associated Chambers of Commerce & Industry (ASSOCHAM). According to some analysts, by the year 2010, the retail sector in India has the potential to reach $ 270-280 billon dollar mark.

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* Contributed by -
Sanjeev Kumar is CEO of Delamore & Owl Group of Companies and the Managing Director of Delamore Consulting Ltd.
He holds dual master's degrees: one in Business Administration and another in International Finance. He has been the 2002 recipient of the "Southeast Asia Young Achiever's Award".