Retail news as on 16th November 2009

November 16, 2009

News for the retail industry

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News

Shoppers Stop to raise funds Moneycontrol.com Department store Shoppers Stop is planning to raise funds to acquire 32% in group firm and hypermarket chain Hypercity, a top official said. The company is looking at generating Rs 1 billion to Rs 1.2 billion rupees (USD 21.6 million to USD 26 million) for the acquisition, President and Chief Executive Govind Shrikhande said.

Reliance Retail awash in red mydigitalfc.com RELIANCE Retail is yet to see profit in any of its formats. The company has reported total losses in excess of Rs 450 crore in 2008-09 alone. Mukesh Ambani had launched the retail business in 2006, which now operates under 15 formats.

Future group draws out expansion plans Business Standard After opening 50 stores of various formats in the current fiscal, the Kishore Biyani-led Future Group has chalked out plans to open six Central mall and seven Brand Factory outlets across the country in the next six months.

McDonald's outlines strategy for growth in India NDTV.com McDonald's Corp, the world's largest fast-food chain, has been in India for the last thirteen years. Having tasted failure in its initial years, the company was quick to adapt to the Indian consumer's taste buds and has come out with flying colours.

Subhiksha gets SC breather Economic Times In what could prove to be a breather for the troubled retail chain Subhiksha, the Supreme Court has granted a stay over cases pending against it at the Madras High Court.

Retail game Daily News & Analysis Retail players have reported better results for the September quarter as compared with the year-ago period. Pantaloon Retail (India)'s numbers were in line with street expectations. Revenues increased 17.5%, driven by higher contribution from the higher-margin lifestyle stores.

Hypercity Retail India plans to invest over US$ 60 million to set up 10 stores FoodBizDaily.com Hypercity Retail India, which operates a chain of hypermarket format retail stores under 'HyperCITY' brand name across India, has decided to invest over US$ 60 million to open 10 stores (over US$ 6 million for each store) by 2011.

Pune's retail real estate sees revival in premium brands Economic Times Retail transactions in Pune have picked up noticeably, following a marked upsurge in shopper sentiments and a generalised correction in retail real estate rentals.

HomeShop18 gets USD 23.5 mn funding for expansion Press Trust of India Network18 Media & Investment today said it has received USD 23.5 million (about Rs 109 crore) from two strategic investors to fund the company's 24-hour shopping channel HomeShop18's expansion.

Retail Trends

Indian retail is emerging wiser from the experience Economic Times 2008-09 was a year of across-the-board losses for retailers. Shoppers Stop, Reliance Retail and Aditya Birla were some of the big names to post losses, while chains such as Straps, Etam, Subhiksha and Pyramid headed the list of high-profile casualties forced to fold.

Mukesh Ambani dons milkman's hat with 'Dairy Pure' Economic Times Milk is industrialist Mukesh Ambani's newest business muscle and his corporate dairy is looking for refrigerator space at mom and pop stores, in addition to vending from Reliance Retail stores. With the beginning of sale of 'Dairy Pure' through general milk retailers, as opposed to mostly through Reliance Retail-owned stores now, the company expects further growth in this business.

Future group arm working on IPR plank Economic Times Future Brands, which already has consultancy, partnerships and insights & research verticals, is now looking at creating a vertical out of licensing and franchiseeing, which is a part of their IPR business. A subsidiary of Future Group's Pantaloon Retail (India), Future Brands' new vertical could make it perhaps the only company with a 360 degree view on brands and branded businesses.

IIM-A grad sells vegetables, fruits online Economic Times Sharma, a former account manager at P&G India where he was in charge of South-West India, started Greenlink Agri Products & Commodity in 2007. Today his team of 18 people who handle back-office operations, deliver during the second half of the day after booking orders in the mornings.

Direct-selling companies hit the country road Daily News & Analysis Rising purchasing power and changing tastes in the rural areas are increasingly encouraging direct -selling companies to take the road to the hinterland. While the insurance industry has been a big player in Tier-I and Tier-II cities, it is now the turn of other FMCG and healthcare products companies like Oriflame, Amway, Forever, and Tupperware to hit the country roads.

Retail Insight

Synchronizing Store-DC/Warehouse Demand Teradata The inability of retailers and suppliers to synchronize the effective distribution of goods through the distribution facilities to the stores has been a major impediment to both maximizing productivity throughout the demand chain and effectively responding to the needs of the consumer.