Retail Insight on 8th December 2009

December 8, 2009

News for the retail industry

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News

Future Group to bring financial service businesses under JV Business Standard Future Group, the company that promotes India's largest publicly-traded retailer, Pantaloon, is planning a joint venture company by bringing together Future Money, its consumer finance business; Future Generali, its insurance business; and Centrum Direct, the foreign exchange service provider. The JV, under a single management, will provide its service through the stores of Pantaloon Retail.

Ikea set to increase sourcing from India Business Standard The Swedish furniture chain Inter Ikea Systems BV, the world's largest furniture retailer, is set to increase its sourcing from India, which is only 3 per cent of its total global purchase at present. Ikea's Trading Area Manager for South Asia operations Susanne Bergstrand says India will get a business of nearly Rs 3,500 crore from Ikea in the next five years.

Tata Chemicals enters water purifier business Daily News & Analysis Tata Chemicals has become the latest organised player to enter the Rs1,300 crore water purifier industry with the launch of Swach, its low-cost water purifier. Swach will initially be rolled out in Maharashtra and then taken to two other states shortly. In another 5-6 months Tata intends to make Swach national.

Odyssey set to expand its store format indiaretailing.com Odyssey India Ltd, the leisure retailer, is looking to expand its stores in malls in Chennai, Coimbatore and Aurangabad by 2010-11 and is set to take its store count to 60 soon. "In 2010-11, there will be a lot of Odyssey Express format outlets coming up at Delhi Airport Terminal 3, Delhi Metro stations and some prominent IT Parks in India," T S Ashwin, Managing Director, Odyssey India Ltd., said.

Retail Trends

Retail sector income may increase Economic Times India has one of the largest number of retail outlets in the world. The sector is witnessing exponential growth with retail developments taking place not only in major cities but even in tier-II and III cities, Assocham President Swati Piramal said. The retail sector income may grow by 22.7 per cent and 30.25 per cent in the third and fourth quarter of 2009-10 respectively.

Retail Insight

The Fresh Imperative - Creating Excellence in Asian Fresh Food Retailing Accenture, Coca Cola Retailing Research Council In the rapidly changing Asian markets, a retailer's Fresh Food offer is one of the most critical success factors, and a key competitive differentiator. Fresh Food Categories, such as Vegetables, Fruits, Poultry, Fish and Meat are the critical store traffic and shopping frequency drivers that attract consumers and create additional opportunities for retailers to engage with their customers in other grocery categories.