Diwakar Kumar IndiaRetailing, June 2, 2010 Customers visiting a store are looking for either the width of merchandise – the variety of product lines offered – or the depth – the number of each item or particular style of a product on offer. For most department and brand stores, a superior merchandise width generates better sales results, especially if the target audience is trendy or style conscious. In a bid to satisfy the discerning customers, large format retailers generally focus on the width of merchandise. And for them it becomes mandatory to give the 'feel of everything' in a store;…
Are you being carried, or are you carrying others? To know the answer to that question, bear with me while I take you on a short mental journey through the emerging landscape of “ethical business” and to the stories at the end of this piece. (Okay, you can cheat and skip ahead, but I would really prefer you to read through the whole thing.) For the most part sustainability and responsibility – or “corporate social responsibility” (CSR) to use the proper jargon – is seen as more relevant to the western economies, rather than the emerging economies like China, India…
Reporting by Aniruddha Basu; Editing by Harish Nambiar Reuters, Mon May 31, 2010 India's top textile firms are generating additional revenue streams by developing or selling precious real estate as land rates rise in a buoyant economy. Bombay Dyeing & Manufacturing, Century Textiles & Industries, Provogue India and Alok Industries are some of the firms intent on developing or selling valuable land parcels to boost cash flow and cut debt. Property prices in major Indian cities such as Mumbai and Delhi have nearly doubled in the past year, as home and office buyers return and mortgage rates are still in…
By Vishal Krishna Businessworld, May 28, 2010 Even the cautious are now convinced about the Indian recovery. The GDP projections are creeping up, production figures look good and, more importantly, demand is back. Organised retailers are heaving a sigh of relief with an uptick in sales after a bad year. But one group in the organised retail business is still not smiling: the mall owners. The usual practice for mall owners is to have a revenue-share agreement with retailers. Most get about 5-7 per cent of monthly net sales, and if sales fall below a minimum level, the builder gets…
By Vishal Krishna Businessworld, 24 May 2010 A change in rules may have put a pause on organised retail's expansion Just as French retailer Carrefour prepares to launch wholesale cash-and-carry (C&C) operations - a key part of the supply chain - in India, the government stunned the organised retail companies with a clarification on the rules that govern the C&C business. Now, any retailer tying up with foreign C&C wholesale businesses can source only 25 per cent of the stock keeping units (SKUs) from such a venture. By implication, the C&C business will effectively have to supply 75 per cent…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
