Retail Insight on November 4th 2009

November 4, 2009

News for the retail industry

Previous Issues

 

News

The short-term outlook for retail has improved Livemint Consolidation, profitability, sustainable growth and asset utilization are the buzzwords for Indian retailers in the current fiscal. This is in stark contrast to the past few years, when everyone opened more stores, preferring sales growth over profitability.

Cafe Coffee Day to invest Rs 150 cr Rediff Cafe Coffee Day, the 13-year old retail coffee restaurant chain, is planning to invest around Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion) this financial year for a total of 1,000 outlets, up from close to 850 outlets now.

Vishal Retail inks CDR pact for Rs 730 crore Business Standard Vishal Retail today said it had signed an agreement with lenders for restructuring the terms of the chain's Rs 730 crore debt and the process would kickstart within a few days."The agreement with our lenders has been signed and the corporate debt restructuring (CDR) process will begin within the first half of November," Group President Ambeek Khemka told PTI.

Global retail, consumer firms remain upbeat on Asian market Hindu Business Line "For global retail & consumer companies, Asia continues to be the centre of economic gravity. Most major retail and consumer brands plan to increase their presence in Asian behemoths of India and China," PwC India Consumer and Industrial Products Leader Mr N V Sivakumar said.

Mall vacancy in southern cities drops in July-Sept Business Standard The average mall vacancy in the southern cities of Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore dropped to 5.7 per cent in the third quarter (July - September) of 2009 from seven per cent in the second quarter. However, supply in these three cities increased by one million sft, up 33 per cent from the second quarter, according to Cushman & Wakefield, a commercial real estate services and research firm.

IHC acquires Pizza Hut franchise in central India Daily News & Analysis India Hospitality Corp, which has made significant investments in hospitality and air catering businesses in India, has acquired the franchise for Pizza Hut brand for central India from its current owner for an undisclosed amount.

HC stays Trent plans for Star Bazaars in Delhi Business Standard The entry of Star Bazaar, the Tata Group-owned supermarket chain, to the national capital is facing a hurdle with a division bench of the Delhi High Court issuing a stay order on the use of the Star Bazaar name by Tata's retail company Trent for opening stores in Delhi.

Retail Trends

Apparel exports down 7.3% in first half Hindu Business Line Garment exports from the country declined 7.3 per cent to $4.8 billion during the first half of the current fiscal (April to September) on the back of falling retail sales in global markets, against $5.22 billion in the corresponding period of the 2008-09.

TCS, Wipro eye $400 mn Target outsourcing deal Economic Times India's top tech firms Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Wipro and several others are pursuing Target's captive technology centre for a potential acquisition, in what could be a transaction bundled with a long-term outsourcing contract worth $300-400 million.

Retail Insight

Case Study: Global Consumer Goods Company Improves Promotional Execution and Profitability through Integrated Promotion Optimization Gartner Combining promotion optimization and simulation as part of trade promotion management has been gathering momentum. Many consumer goods manufacturers are pursuing it, but few have done it long enough to point to tangible benefits. Bahlsen Group has significantly improved its promotional execution across multiple dimensions and has a compelling story to tell about how it was able to do so.