| From the Editor's Desk |  | |
Future Group's executive success and challenge
Future Group has made several high-profile top hires in recent months, including V Vaidyanathan (ICICI), Raghu Pillai (Reliance Retail) and Vibha Rishi (Pepsi). While there were several high-profile exits as well during the slowdown last year, the timing of these new hires might just be right, as modern retail begins to grow significantly in the country again. Mr Biyani will need an army of top executives to sustain his ambitious growth plans. More importantly, he will need to keep them motivated and challenged enough to extract high performance levels out of them. While his informal style might help attract talent initially, he will also need to step away and let his CEOs run businesses he has architected and created over the past decade.
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| At a Glance | |  |
Headline, Apparel, Accessories, Specialty, ..Food, QSR, ..Trends and Insight
| News: Headline, Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ... | | |
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 | Two government departments have come out waving red flags against opening up multi-brand retail to foreign direct investment (FDI), slowing down the momentum that had gathered pace following US president Barrack Obama's stong push. The micro, small and medium enterprises (MSME) ministry has said that the government should not allow more than 18% FDI in multi-brand retail, while the communications & IT ministry has said that opening up of the sector would have an adverse impact on manufacturers of electronics. These two are the first government arms to express reservations. |
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India is the top international priority in the latest and ambitious expansion plan of British retail firm Marks and Spencer. While growing in the U.K. is the company's foremost priority, laying the foundations for future growth international is also a key ingredient of the up to 950 million pound capital expenditure plan, Chief Executive, Mr Marc Bolland, told a conference call. "We have done customer research and spoken to our partners. We have a great opportunity in India to grow market share," he said. |
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After a complete recast of its retail structure and brand positioning, watch maker Timex Group India has been seeing steady growth in profitability. The once ailing company is now expecting its revenues to grow at 25% year-on-year, ahead of the industry rate of 12%. VD Wadhwa, managing director, Timex Group, talks to FE's Shreya Roy about how the restructuring has worked, future expansion and the company's plans to bring in watches from iconic luxury brands like Versace and Valentino to India. |
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India's leading home fabric exporter, Himatsingka Seide Ltd. is foraying into the domestic market, to cash-in on the huge potential for branded furnishings in a buoyant economy, a top company official said. "We plan to open 120 stores across the country to promote our new brand of home furnishings, in the mid-market segment. We are working on the design and brand," Managing Director, Dinesh Himatsingka said. The company also plans to enhance its retail presence in the luxury brand in India and overseas by expanding its chain of 14 Atmosphere stores to 30 during the next couple of years, he said. |
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 | The Loot, a Mumbai based multi-brand retail chain, recently opened a store at Anna's Arcade, Spencer Junction, in Thiruvananthapuram. This is the company's first store in Kerala. It further plans to set up a number of stores in Kerala via the franchise model. The company presently has 150 outlets, out of which 110 are franchisee owned while 40 are company-owned. |
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The V Mart Group, a branch of flagship company V Mart Retail which operates a chain of stores in the mini-hypermarket segment, is currently concentrating on states in the North and West. V Mart saw 50 per cent business growth over the last year, with a profitability of around 300 per cent in that segment. With a strong presence in 52 stores in states like Punjab, Haryana, Delhi, Rajasthan, Madhya Pradesh, Gujarat, Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, the company plans to come up with another four stores by March 2011 as a part of its growth policy. These new stores will be in smaller cities like Gaya, Gorakhpur and Faizabad, which are virgin markets with a dense population, hungry for fashion at the right prices. |
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Increasing demand from urban consumers who can't find the time to wash their clothes has got the organised retail laundry services industry in a lather. While many are keen to scale up their businesses into new territories, several companies are entering the second round of expansion. The Jyothy Laboratories Ltd-owned Fabric Spa plans to have around 200 stores across the country over the next three years. Pressto, the Spain-headquartered premium laundry services company, plans to have at least 20 stores by the end of this financial year, and Delhi-based White Tiger Private Ltd plans to open 100 stores by the end of 2011. |
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| News: Food & Grocery, QSR ... | | |
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Jubilant has been one of the top 10 performing IPOs of this year. However, in its latest report to institutional investors, Kotak says that it is not comfortable with its valuations. In a report dated November 8, 2010, Kotak told its institutional investors that although it likes the Jubilant Foodworks business model, has strong conviction in the management, and sees huge growth opportunities for the company driven by changing demographic and socio-economic factors, it finds it difficult to justify the current valuation of the company. |
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 | Kellogg: Breakfast at the bazaar
afaqs!
Kellogg India, the maker of breakfast cereals, conducted an activation programme for Kellogg's Heart to Heart Oats, the newly launched product in the ready to cook category. The activation was conducted in retail, with the objective of creating awareness about the newly launched product, inducing trials and encouraging sales. The activity was carried out in five outlets each in Mumbai, Chennai, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, including on the premises of big retailers such as Total, Tesco, Hyper City and Big Bazaar. |
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| Retail Trends | | |
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People may still remember Vibha Rishi for her cheeky 'Nothing official about it' campaign for Pepsi during the 1996 crick ET world cup, when Coca-Cola was the official sponsor for the tournament. The marketing veteran, who left India in 2003 for a bigger role in PepsiCo headquarters at Purchase, New York , is back in the country as executive director-customer strategy of Future Group. |
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While the Indian economy is seeing a rebound, this is not translating into higher occupancy in shopping malls. A report by Jones Lang Lasalle estimates that while 9.4 million sq ft of retail space or 34 malls will become operational during 2010, net absorption is estimated at only 4.9 million sq ft. Mumbai leads the pack in new completions with 3.5 million sq ft supply, followed by 2.6 million sq ft in NCR. These two will witness the highest vacancy rate of 25-28% at the end of 2011. Metros like Kolkata, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Chennai, which have low stock, will have less vacancy as these cities have considerable activity on high street. |
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 | In recognition of Delhi Duty Free's growing stature as a premium retail destination, DIAGEO announced the exclusive launch of its new blend of Scotch Whisky Johnnie Walker XR 21 YO, at T3, Indira Gandhi International Airport. Nicholas Goddard Palmer, CEO, Delhi Duty Free, said, "Delhi Duty Free is viewed today as a premium retail destination within India, catering to a diverse audience, who are well traveled and brand conscious." |
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A sharp spike in gold prices has created a disparity in the gold prices charged by banks and local market prices. "Since most retailers buy only when they sell, the fall in demand would bring parity back between bank and market rates," said a bullion dealer. Kumar Jain, a jewellery retailer from Mumbai's Zaveri Bazaar confirmed that demand had slowed down because of the sharp rise in prices. "Rates are really high for consumers who have stayed away from the market," he said. |
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| Retail Insight | | |
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| Cloud Computing: The Future of Retail |
| ArticleDrove |
Cloud computing is the latest "in-thing" in information technology nowadays. It refers to hostedIT services, platforms, and infrastructure that are shared, delivered, and distributed over theInternet; collectively known as a "cloud of computing". This set-up can be accessed by everyuser, and each will pay only for the services that are he/she uses.Obviously, with this up and coming technology already gaining adherents throughout the ITcommunity, it is only a matter of time before cloud computing becomes commonplace in thebusiness and economic sectors. The retail sector is fast becoming affected by the potentialitiespresented by cloud computing. |
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