Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard Mumbai, September 26, 2013 Aditya Birla Retail Ltd (ABRL), retail arm of the Aditya Birla Group, had been eyeing break-even in 2012-13, the sixth year of its operations. But that milestone remains elusive, with the retailer, which runs hypermarkets and supermarkets under the More brand, posting losses of Rs 510 crore last financial year, according to disclosures made with the registrar of companies. Though losses fell marginally from Rs 535 crore in 2011-12 and net sales rose eight per cent to Rs 1,037 crore against Rs 962 crore in 2011-12, analysts say More’s focus on supermarkets…
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Salil Panchal, AFP Mumbai,September 11, 2013 A year since India reduced foreign investment barriers to its retail sector to spur flagging economic growth, confusing rules and political uncertainty are keeping overseas supermarket giants away, analysts say. In September 2012, the government allowed foreign stores to set up 51-percent-owned joint ventures in India which they had eyed for years as a potentially lucrative market. So far, there has been no rush to open outlets, despite further easing of entry barriers in August. "There's no comprehensive consolidated government paper on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) -- just updates and statements. It's not a…
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Rachit Vats, Financial Express New Delhi, September 8, 2013 Early this year, Gurgaon residents Abhishek Salwan, 33, and his wife decided to cut down on their weekly visits to the local hypermarket and started preparing a monthly grocery list instead for their local grocer. Salwan is not alone. An increasing number of people are turning to traditional kirana stores to tame rising budgets, in the process impacting the usually resilient fast moving consumer goods (FMCG) sector. A sector that remained defensive even during the dark days of 2008 is seeing a slowdown this year, especially in modern retail. As per…
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Priyanka Pani & Bindu Menon, The Hindu Businessline Mumbai/New Delhi, September 3, 2013 For retailers, there is nothing sweeter than the sound of cash registers ringing in a potentially exciting business season. There are so-called inauspicious times, such as aadi and karkidakam in South India, and the forthcoming ‘shraadh’ (September 19-October 4), chaturmas and pous in North India. These are periods when most people do not make any major purchases, like a house or a car. Even weddings do not take place during these periods. Given how consumption declines during this time, retailers try to excite consumers into opening their…
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