Nilofer D'Souza, Forbes India April 2, 2013 In what could put the government’s controversial new foreign investment policy in retail to an impact test, French group Auchan has announced its first retail store, Decathlon, in Bangalore. It is the first big-format niche retail chain to open in an increasingly fitness-conscious urban India that craves for sporting space and quality equipment. The Euro 43 billion French group’s venture is one of the early bird licences under a new investment policy which allows 100 per cent foreign funding of single-brand retail stores. Though the government had cleared the policy in November, some…
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Nupur Anand, DNA (Daily News & Analysis) Mumbai, March 13, 2013 Taste this: the organised (or upmarket) Indian cafe market is estimated to have notched up sales of $230 million (Rs1,246 crore) in 2012. And the figure is expected to bubble up to $410 million (Rs2,222 crore) by 2017, as per Technopak estimates. No wonder, 5-7 more foreign players are keen to give the likes of Starbucks, Coffee Bean and Costa a run for their rupee income. The identity of cafe kings eyeing India remains tightly guarded, but it is believed they are from Europe, South-east Asia, the UK and…
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Yourstory.in New Delhi, March 11, 2013 Ennovent, a company that accelerates innovations for sustainability in low income markets, is launching its new offering, Startup Services, in partnership with Deutsche Gesellschaft für Internationale Zusammenarbeit (GIZ). Startup Services is aimed at developing and refining the business models of enterprises with products and services that improve the lives of low-income people in India. Often, when entrepreneurs bring innovations such as solar lamps or low-cost education to market, they face several barriers that stem from a lack of peer and expert support networks, and a difficulty in engaging with mentors and service providers. Ennovent’s…
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Raghavendra Kamath, Business Standard Mumbai, March 7, 2013 Aditya Birla Group's retail chain 'More', which closed more stores than it opened in the last four years, is changing tack. Its new strategy: Open more stores but only those that work with customers. 'More', which closed nearly 150 supermarkets in the last four years, is looking at opening 100 supermarkets every year in the next three years to bolster its retail presence. It is also planning to open half a dozen hypermarkets next financial year. It opened five of them this financial year. More currently has 496 supermarkets and 14 hypermarkets…
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Liz Morrell, Retail Week February 26, 2013 India has long been an attractive target for international expansion thanks to its size and a young, increasingly affluent population. Retailers have been extolling its merits for some time, but it's a market where UK retailers have been hampered by everything from regulatory restrictions to cultural challenges. India closed off foreign direct investment (FDI) into retail operations in the second half of the 1990s, and although it began reopening the sector to FDI in 2006, it has taken until this year for the country to announce changes that may finally make a difference…
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