Retail Insight as on 3rd March 2010

March 3, 2010News for the Retail industry










Previous Issues

News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ...



Vishal Retail Lenders To Decide Company's Fate This Month - Chairman

Wall Street Journal

A group representing lenders to Vishal Retail Ltd. will decide this month on the future of the debt-laden company, Chairman Ram Chandra Agarwal said. The options on the table may include ceding control to the U.S. private equity firm TPG Capital. Agarwal was responding to a report which cited three unnamed sources as saying that TPG Capital may take over Vishal Retail and convert the troubled retailer into a company operating on a cash-and-carry, or wholesale, model.





Pantaloons to sell Crossroads?

NDTV.com

A big real estate transaction is about to take place in South Mumbai. Crossroads, one of the first shopping malls in India, is on the block once again. This time, Pantaloons is offering it to Ajay Piramal. Ironically, Kishore Biyani bought it from one faction of the Piramal family just four years ago.





Fame India appoints Future Group's Kishore Biyani as Director

Economic Times

Multiplex operator Fame India said that it has appointed Future Group Chairman Kishore Biyani as an Independent Director on the board of the company. The board has also approved the appointment of Pavan Jain and Deepak Asher as directors of the company.





D-Mart on expansion drive, looks to take leased premises route

Livemint

Supermarket chain D-Mart has chalked out aggressive expansion plans for the next two years at a time when many of its midsize rivals are going through a trough. The retailer has 29 stores in Maharashtra and Gujarat, and is likely to double that number in the next two years. "The plan is to close financial year 2010 with 35 stores, up from 29," a D-Mart executive said.







New FICCI chief to push for FDI in retail

NDTV.com

For Rajan Mittal, younger brother of Sunil Mittal, who has taken over as the president of the FICCI, one of the top agenda during his term would be to see through the opening of the retail sector. It's all the more important for Rajan, as he is directly overseeing the Bharti group's foray in the retail business.





Australian Luxury Brand Launched in India

India PRwire

Australian luxury brand, Curtis was recently launched in India. Curtis Australia is an international luxury brand with a product range spanning writing instruments to fine jewellery. Curtis Australia has tied up with Odyssey India Ltd, a premier leisure retail chain based in Chennai. Curtis Pens will be retailed through exclusive luxury pen counters in 48 Odyssey stores across 14 cities.





Lerros to open100 standalone stores in the next five years

FashionUnited India (blog)

German casual wear brand Lerros that entered India with a joint venture two years ago, is working on an expansion plan. The brand that has positioned itself as a premium casual everyday wear is planning to add 10 standalone stores in 2010-11. In the next five years, their aim is to push the number of exclusive stores to 100-150.





News: Food & Grocery, QSR ...



Decision on onion export price deferred

Financial Express

Under fire from opposition parties for the steep rise in prices of essential commodities, the government has deferred the decision to reduce the minimum export prices (MEP) of onion for March. The government has increased the MEP during the last few months for ensuring domestic supplies. Exporters have been demanding the reduction of minimum export prices, as domestic retail prices have started to decline across cities with the wholesale prices at Nashik, the hub of onion production, dipping from Rs 1,500-Rs 1,600 per quintal prevailing a month back to Rs 500-550 per quintal.







KFCH Malaysia plans outlets in India

ImagesFood.com

KFCH (Holdings), Malaysia, is planning 10 KFC outlets in India, as per international media reports. KFC Holdings (Malaysia) Bhd will open 10 KFC outlets in India this year, as part of its wider plans to develop the brand overseas, Planet Retail reported.







Govt doublespeak: PDS funds cut 50%

Times of India

Though finance minister Pranab Mukherjee blamed poor delivery as a key factor for the rise in food prices, the Budget has actually slashed funds allocated to strengthening the public distribution system after last year's resources remained largely unutilised.

The expenditure Budget for 2010-11 shows the net spending has been cut by more than 25% on monitoring of food and civil supplies and strengthening of the public distribution system (PDS).





Retail Trends





FDI in retail: Still a distant dream

Moneylife Personal Finance Magazine

The organised retail industry has been awaiting a governmental nod for foreign direct investment (FDI) to boost capital inflows. However, some industry experts point out that the recent budget does not clearly approve the same.





Colourful flower bazaar could soon be history

Times of India

A walk down Badrian Street in the busy George Town is a colourful experience, literally. This could soon be history, if the Madras high court does not stay a notice issued by the Chennai Metropolitan Development Authority (CMDA) in February to move the traders out of the street. The dispute is over whether the vendors are wholesale dealers, who the CMDA says should not be allowed on the street. The flower sellers say they deal with a meager business which cannot be called wholesale.





Retail Insight



Inventory Optimization: Retail Strategies for Eliminating Stock-Outs and Over-Stocks

Aberdeen Group



This report will determine ways that retailers can find the right balance of store- and channel-level inventory, replenishment, and demand management capabilities to maximize sales revenues and customer satisfaction