Retail insight as on 12th April 2010

April 12, 2010News for the Retail industry










Previous Issues



News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ...



New wholesale rule may force big cos to revisit India plans: KPMG

Economic Times

The government decision to cap sales by cash-and-carry players to their group front-end companies at 25 per cent of overall sales can force these wholesalers to reduce their investment plans by around Rs 800 crore in the immediate term, consultancy firm KPMG said. Global majors like Wal-Mart, Metro and Tesco started their cash-and-carry (wholesale) business in the country as existing rules do not permit foreign direct investment in multi-brand retail.





FDI may be possible in multi-brand retail

Economic Times

The government has launched discussions between ministries about opening multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment, stepping gingerly into a high-strung issue that has been gathering dust for fear of triggering a political whiplash. The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP), the key government body responsible for framing foreign investment policy, has written to the finance ministry on the issue, said a top DIPP official.





Masstige is the way ahead

Financial Express

At the close of its first year of operations, Body Shop had 16 stores in India.It hopes to close this calendar year with 30 more stores, and reach another 150 standalone stores within the coming three years. "We see ourselves as a ’masstige’ brand, somewhere between mass and prestige," explained Singapore-based Jonathan Price, Managing Director (Asia-Pacific) for the brand.





Ekru aims to tap organic garments; to expand retail business

Economic Times

Kolkata-based Indian ethnic wear brand, Ekru plans to expandits range of apparels made from chemical and pesticide free fibres. Ekru has two company-owned exclusive outlets in Delhi and Kolkata, apart from retailing through fashion chains like Ensemble, Kimaya and Collage. The company plans to expand its retail footprints by doubling sales point to over 40 outlets this year, in both the exclusive and multi-brand categories.





India caught in Brandobast fever

Times of India

Great fashion designers pass away but their creations remain hot property. Luggage-maker Samsonite, which sells the McQueen collection of luxury travel bags and accessories, has seen its demand zooming.In India, Samsonite’s director, marketing, Sudip Ghose, said that the demand for the limited edition of McQueen collection has suddenly gone up after his tragic death. "At some outlets, we have run out of stock.’’





News: Food & Grocery, QSR ...



ADF Foods to reenter on health food plank

mydigitalfc.com

ADF Foods, a major player in the international market for processed ethnic Indian foods, has reentered the Indian market. This time the company will focus more on the health quotient, bringing in cuisines from different parts of the world. The company had earlier entered the Indian market in 1992 with brands like Mother’s Recipe.





Delhi gets first liquor outlet at shopping mall

Press Trust of India

Delhi got its first liquor outlet at a shopping mall which promises less hassles in buying spirits as compared to that from regular shops. The shop, spread over 1,400 square feet area, has been set up by DSIIDC at the luxurious DLF Place mall in Saket in south Delhi. A DSIIDC official said they are in talks with some other malls also may soon open similar outlets in shopping complexes.





Retail Trends





Therapy For Retail

Outlook

Over the last five years, a heady cocktail of shopping, movies, food courts, five-star amenities and surround-sound entertainment had increased socialising options. But, funnily, after the infancy of the mall rats, much of the listlessness has returned. One can’t miss the forlorn corridors and empty parking lots, shuttered-down shops, and omnipresent security guards guarding these phantoms of the great Indian retail dream.





Bharti-Walmart ’push’ changes face of Punjab village

Sify

Haider Nagar in Sangrur district was an economically backward, little known village until the other day. Today it takes pride in higher crop yield, better sanitation and energy-efficient solutions. A community programme, launched by Bharti-Walmart India, the wholesale retail venture between Bharti Enterprises and Wal-Mart Stores of the US, has changed the face of the village.





Jewellery retailing in India: A corporate acid test

Commodity Online

Considering the suffocative absence of a strong organized retail industry, especially for a market segment where daily turnover is recorded not in hundreds, thousands but in lakhs or sometimes in crores of rupees, some national jewellery brands have started innovating marketing ways in retail segment to take it head on with the traditional, unorganized local jewellery makers. But the question still remains, is India ready for a makeover shift in the high-value retailing, jewellery retailing?





Retail Insight



Inventory Counting Practices in the Retail Segment



PCG Solutions



If you were to ask most senior retail executives, "What is the single most important measure of the success or failure of your company's loss prevention efforts?" the answer you would likely hear is, "Our shrinkage results." This would not be surprising as shrinkage results affect company profitability, shareholder return, incentive and bonus plans, and resource allocation decisions in most retail organizations. Therefore, it is a reasonable undertaking to pursue how companies measure this important metric, how often they measure it, and whether this number can be predicted and tracked throughout the year. This paper summarizes the results of a benchmark survey that focused primarily on the frequency of inventory counting and how the count was conducted.