CR Sukumar, ET Bureau, The Economic Times Hyderabad, January 2, 2012 The Andhra Pradesh government is drawing up plans to open swanky supermarkets, venturing into the multi-brand retail territory that multinational retailers such as Walmart and Tesco are desperate to enter but forbidden from doing so. It is also seeking partnerships with the wholesale units of Germany's Metro AG and Walmart, a minister said, to create a hybrid retail model that combines the best attributes of the public and private sectors. The first store will open by the end of March in an upmarket area in Andhra Pradesh's capital Hyderabad.…
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Shailaja Sharma & Ashish K Tiwari, Daily News and Analysis Mumbai, December 28, 2011 2012 will be the year of moderation in consumer spending across durable, consumer goods and apparel, as industry experts foresee an unfavourable sentiment gripping consumers, which could make companies cautious in their growth talk. “2012 will be a tough year,” says Dr Y V Verma, president, Consumer Electronics and Appliances Manufacturers’ Association (CEAMA), and chief operating officer, LG Electronics India. “It will be challenging on account of several factors — economy, slowing industry growth, currency fluctuation, inflation that has gone up again. And it would be…
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Sapna Agarwal, MINT (A Wall Street Journal partner) Mumbai, December 18, 2011 Four apparel brands are expected to exceed Rs. 500 crore in revenue in the year to March as they acquire scale rapidly and expand into new territories and categories, signifying the maturing of the organized retail business in India, according to analysts. All this in a slowdown year. The four are kidswear apparel brand Lilliput, United Colors of Benetton, Nalli and FabIndia. “This will be the single largest addition in a year,” said Raghav Gupta, principal, Booz and Co., a consulting firm. Most of the existing Rs. 500…
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Pia Heikkila, The National December 18, 2011 Cricket-mad India has found a new passion - football. Local games and international tournaments alike are attracting a huge following, and young wannabe David Beckhams can be seen kicking balls in parks and streets across the country. This popularity of"the beautiful game" has not gone unnoticed by those overseas, with major English football clubs lining up to cash in by launching merchandise outlets in the country. Manchester United is leading the charge. The club has tied up with the Bangalore company Indus-League Clothing, which is part of the Future Group, to set up…
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Sarah Jacob , The Economic Times Bangalore, December 16, 2011 So what if the Walmarts and Carrefours can't yet sell their wares directly to Indian consumers, the country's retail industry is buzzing with activity as several honchos quit jobs to play entrepreneurs. Former Hidesign CEO Kunal Sachdev and former marketing GM of Page Industries, Nischal Puri, are among the latest in a growing club of retail professionals who have traded in their huge pay packets for their own wall art chains, lingerie brand, beer cafes and so on. Driving them are the new urban consumers, whose everincreasing demands and expectations…
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