| From the Editor's Desk |  | |
The shaky relationship between Value retailing and Debt
If the failures of Subhiksha and Vishal Retail and the recent market murmurs about Koutons Retail are examined, there is one common theme among these companies. They are all in the value retail segment, growing too fast, with too little cash on their books. The value retail segment is an attractive one from a growth perspective. However, margins are thin and without a strong balance sheet, small fluctuations in market conditions can render a company cash flow negative. Thus, it is especially important for players in this segment to create a capital cushion before embarking on ambitious growth plans. While biggies like Reliance Retail and Aditya Birla have the support of their parent companies, Future Group has made the ability to raise capital a priority and has thus managed to sustain its various value businesses. Smaller retailers are advised to be careful not to be under-capitalized in this capital-intensive and low margin business.
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| At a Glance | |  |
| News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ... | | |
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Koutons Retail creditors file winding-up petitions in HC
Livemint
Debt-laden clothes seller Koutons Retail India Ltd is facing at least four lawsuits, of which two are winding-up petitions filed in the Delhi high court by its suppliers to recover dues. Last week, Berry Cotts Pvt. Ltd, a New Delhi-based vendor of fabrics, filed a winding-up petition against the troubled retailer. Another winding-up petition was earlier filed by RC Velvet, a supplier of corduroy fabric based in Gurgaon near New Delhi. Fortunex Ltd, headquartered in Hong Kong with facilities in Dhaka, Bangladesh, has also moved court to recover dues. |
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 | FDI in multi-brand retail only if small stores protected:Pawar
MSN India
Agriculture and Consumer Affairs Minister Sharad Pawar has favoured allowing foreign direct investment in the multi-brand retail sector, stating that it will help both farmers and consumers. However, he said the interests of lakhs of small kirana shops should not be "bypassed" and the state governments should also be taken on board. "FDI in the retail sector is definitely a good opportunity for the farming community to get a better price. Simultaneously, consumers will get some advantage. But there is another side also. In a country like India, where there are lakhs and lakhs of small shopkeepers, we just can''t bypass them," Pawar said at the Economic Editors'' Conference. |
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Boggi Milano plans to open 30-35 stores in next 3 years in India
India Infoline.com
Boggi Milano is a leading Italian menswear classic lifestyle brand. Boggi Milano entered a into a joint venture with DLFGroup in December 2008 and since then the venture has ensured a high presence for the brand in the Indian Market. The brand currently operates five stores in Delhi-NCR region and one store in Kolkata and has around 80 exclusive outlets across the world. Detailing theri future plans, Mr Anand Nair, Brand Head, Boggi Milano, said, "Our aim is to have 30-35 stores in the country in next 3 years." |
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Bata India Q3 PBT up 69%
India Infoline
Bata India Limited, India's leading footwear retailer and manufacturer, today announced its excellent financial results for the third quarter ended September 30th, 2010 with an increase of 69% in PBT and a 58% growth in Net Profit. During this quarter, the Company's Profit before tax (PBT) grew by 69% at Rs. 30.8mn as against Rs. 181.9 lacs in the same period last year. The Net Sales of the Company grew by 12% at Rs. 291.7.8mn as against Rs. 2604.2 lacs in the same period last year. |
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Bombay Rayon Fashions Limited, a company backed by Anders Povlsen (the man behind Danish clothing retailer Best Seller), is acquiring 70.56% stake in Indore-based textile company STI India Limited (STI), for Rs 70 crore. STI is a public listed firm and the transaction will trigger a mandatory open offer to acquire another 20% stake. Bombay Rayon said, its board has approved the acquisition of equity shares and optionally convertible debentures (OCDs) alongwith underlying securities from the existing investors and OCD holders, on Wednesday. |
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Titan aims to become a premium watch brand
Daily News & Analysis
Titan Watches will premiumise products, price points and the flagship retail format, World of Titan, in a bid to garner a larger market share in the premium segment, Harish Bhat, chief operating officer, said. The watch division of Titan Industries had a little over a year ago made its first attempt at selling watches in the price range of Rs8,000-16,000 with its Automatic collection. Bhat said the product range priced above Rs10,000 is doing very well for the company as consumers are fast uptrading. |
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Interview with Mr. Girish Rao, CEO, Essar Hypermart
India Infoline.com
Mr. Girish Rao, CEO, Essar Hypermart, has been actively involved in scaling up the retail venture of Essar Steel. Prior to joining Essar Hypermart, Girish Rao was with LG Electronics India Ltd as VP-Sales and Marketing where he reported to the Managing Director. He has spent close to 20 years at BPL. Essar Hypermart is a pioneering initiative of Essar Steel to make steel available to end users close to the user point. This has revolutionized steel marketing in the country. It has set up over 500 retail outlets across the country. Essar Steel has plans to further expand its distribution network through Expressmarts and the Expresspoints. |
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| News: Food & Grocery, QSR ... | | |
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Nobu, Hakkasan, Megu herald Mumbai's new gastronomic rush
Livemint
From 11-15 November, the pristine white decor of south Mumbai's swish Italian restaurant Villa 39 will get a complete makeover. Indian dancers and Japanese geisha girls will perform, sushi will replace prosciutto and the menu will include Nobu's famous signature dishes. Chef Nobuyuki Matsuhisa's 26-strong entourage from London, sous chefs, managers, senior waiters, and his kitchen equipment will be flown down. His design team has worked on the decor and for that duration the restaurant will be converted into a mecca for Nobu followers in India to come and dine. |
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| Retail Trends | | |
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It is a muggy afternoon and on south India's biggest shopping strip, people use huge shopping bags as buffers against the swarming crowds. Just ahead of the festive season, T Nagar is packed with shoppers looking for bargains on anything from from safety pins to elaborate silk saris that run to lakhs. And that's why T Nagar also serves as a testing ground for big brands that want to try and crack what retailers consider one of the most varied markets in the country. "Seventy percent of the total gold sales in Tamil Nadu takes place in T Nagar. And the volume of sales shoots up before Diwali," says Praveen Mehta, head of Madras Jewellers and Diamond Merchants Association. |
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Retailers look beyond BRICs for emerging mkt growth
Reuters
Retailers are looking beyond the big emerging markets of Brazil, Russia, India and China (BRICs) as they hunt for growth amid signs that spending in U.S. and western European markets will remain subdued for some time. Executives and economists at the World Retail Congress said strong economic growth and rising middle classes were drawing their attention to countries such as Colombia, Egypt, Indonesia, Mexico, South Africa, Turkey and Vietnam. |
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Retail shrinkages growing in India
Tehelka
Even though global retail theft declined (5.5 per cent) between July 2009 and June 2010, India has topped the list in the fourth edition of the Global Retail Theft Barometer, a study sponsored by Checkpoint Systems. Shrink cost retailers $107.3 billion during the study period, representing 1.36 per cent of global retail sales. This is down from 1.43 per cent the previous year. The country with the highest rates of shrinkage as a percentage of sales was India, at 2.72 per cent of retail sales. The lowest shrinkage rate was found in Taiwan (0.87 per cent), while in Europe the rate stood at 1.27 per cent. |
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| Retail Insight | | |
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| Improving Consumer Confidence In Jewellery Retail |
| Solitaire International |
In this era of competition and race to grab customer eyeballs, gaining consumer confidence and retaining it is a major challenge for most jewellery retail businesses. It is generally agreed that the term "consumer confidence" is a rather nebulous concept and it is almost impossible to scientifically determine what one has to do to achieve it. Though this is quite true, it is also a fact that we find in the marketplace a few companies that enjoy a great amount of consumer confidence and trust. |
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