Retail insight as on 16th February 2010

February 16, 2010News for the Retail industry










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News: Apparel, Specialty, CDIT ...



India's Future Group eyes tie-up, unit IPO

Reuters

India's Future Group, which runs the country's largest listed retailer Pantaloon Retail (PART.BO), is pursuing talks for a foreign tie-up and hopes to file papers for an IPO in its investment arm soon, the group's CEO said. Kishore Biyani said the group was in talks with many overseas retailers but did not identify them, although there have been media reports of French retailer Carrefour (CARR.PA) was one of the contenders.





Shoppers Stop plans expansion to catch up with competitors

Business Standard

Shoppers' Stop Ltd, the 18-year-old retail chain promoted by K Raheja Corp, is planning to expand over the next three years, to catch up with competition. Though the company was among the first movers in the country's organised retail market, it is considered a slow mover compared to competitors such as Kishore Biyani's Pantaloon Retail or Reliance Retail.





Study by Janak to expand with men's couture collection

FashionUnited India (blog)

Study by Janak, the designer wear brand has just launched a couture collection only for men called Manoj and Ayush Mehra. The brand plans to pump in Rs 5 crore for the new collection. "We want to go global with it and will put this collection in all multi-designer stores. Eventually, we plan to open standalone stores under this label," says Aartiee M Mehrra, Director of Study by Janak. The brand is looking at opening these exclusive stores in Dubai and Mumbai. In Delhi it will open its doors in the up-market Emporio Mall.





Da Milano opens two stores in Mumbai

indiaretailing.com

The luxury brand, Da Milano has launched its stores at Linking Road and Inrobit Mall, Malad in Mumbai. Sahil Malik, Managing Director, Da Milano, said, We're opening our exclusive boutiques in the growing markets such as Chennai, Kolkata and Bangalore by the end of this quarter." Da Milano is present in India including New Delhi, Pune, Hyderabad, Chandigarh, Jaipur and Mumbai. Its design studio is based in Italy.





News: Food & Grocery, QSR ...



India 2nd most willing nation to pay premium for safe food: Nielsen

Financial Express

Indians have become increasingly wary about the food that they buy, thanks to the rising issues concerning the safety of food and the resultant food-borne diseases. According to the Nielsen global online survey, 97% Indians consider safety of food an important factor in deciding where they shop and 73% Indians are confident in the safety of the food that they purchase from their local store.





A click away

Business Standard

McDonald's has had to innovate its way through India: Vegetarian fare, home delivery, breakfast menu, extended hours and so on. As a result, the McDonald's model in India looks very different from anywhere else in the world. Most of these steps have added incremental revenue. The company is now all set to launch its web-based delivery service in March.







Gourmet Gulf to have 100 international franchise outlets by 2014

Al-Bawaba

Gourmet Gulf Company, a food and beverage retail company operating top-tier brands in the Gulf region, has unveiled ambitious expansion plans for the Middle East and India, with its franchise-driven strategy targeting 100 units by 2014. The company's most ambitious thrust will be in India, where JSMGCC India Pvt Ltd, Gourmet Gulf Company's joint venture with Mumbai-based JSM Corporation, will launch new outlets for California Pizza Kitchen and another famous international brand.





Retail Trends



Want great discounts? Just log in

Times of India

Taking a cue from the US-based website groupon.com, online portals like snapdeal.com and mydala.com are offering lucrative deals by offering customers discounts up to 80 per cent on restaurants, dance classes and spas, among others. Currently the online portal has tied up with 53 merchants in the capital and has plans to get started in cities such as Mumbai, Bangalore and Chennai by the end of this February.





The retail sector is clawing back

Daily News & Analysis

The last one year has been the most difficult period for the retail landscape. The organised retail penetration in the country remained at 4%. In fact, it shrunk a little, owing to consolidation that followed the shuttering of stores. Still, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) estimates trade in the country is in excess of Rs 2 lakh crore.





Apparel exports slip over 11% in December 2009

Business Standard

Having shown some initial signs of recovery in November, India's apparel exports declined by over 11 per cent to $862 million in December 2009, on account of poor demand from the US and the Euro zone. The exports stood at $973 million in December 2008, according to the Apparel Export Promotion Council (AEPC) data.





Retail Insight



Best practice in retailing

My Business

Retail expert, Brian Walker, has worked with scores of retail businesses over the years. In this article for My Business, he identifies the characteristics that distinguish the best retailers.