By BSReporters / Mumbai / Kolkata Business Standard , January 1, 2010 Tie-ups with international retailers and brands, emphasis on profitable growth and increased focus on private labels are set to be key trends in the Indian retail sector in 2010, say retailers and consultants Business Standard spoke to. Though foreign direct investment in single-brand retailing and cash-and-carry ventures are allowed along with franchising and licensing pacts as of now, 2009 saw most of the foreign retailers focusing on manage the business in their home countries, where they were seeing declining sales. “In 2010, a lot of international retailers and…
There's been a lively debate on Retailwire.com initiated by Tom Ryan (Managing Editor), and prompted by an article in the Washington Post about how consumers are literally taking matters in their own hands and testing toys and domestic items for the presence of toxic substances. Some of the commentators feel that this is going too far and could create waves of unnecessary panic, that consumers and consumer advocacy groups do not have the necessary expertise nor a balanced judgement, that it is a job for the government agencies. Others support the move and say that such moves are absolutely in…
(Contributed to the BusinessWorld cover story - "What 2 Expect in 2010", issue of January 4, 2010) Everything that can be said and assumed about the Indian market is true at some level of granularity. Very simply, in India there is a segment for every product, an opportunity for every service, be it ever so small. But when bubbles are bursting all over, as the Noughties Decade comes to a close, the puzzle that is Indian consumer market also warrants a fresh look. For most of the Noughties Decade India has seen Generation-C, the “Choice” generation, coming of age. They…
Following on our article ("Numbers and Stories", 23 November 2009), our friends at Retailwire.com thought it would be interesting to run a poll to ask the Retailwire community what they thought about retailers using research. The original discussion is here on Retailwire, but we've reproduced the comments and the poll results as they stand today (16 December 2009). As evident from the graph below, the short answer is "no, companies don't use research well"; only 15% of the respondents felt that companies are "good" in using research, at their best. Should we blame the companies or the researchers? The comments…
By Diwakar Kumar Imagesfood.com, December 2009 Parents continuously strive to do better for their children. They play an indelible role in shaping up the eating habits of their kids beginning at infancy. So when it comes the matter of feeding their toddlers, urban Indians (parents) typically are willing to go the extra mile in enhancing the nutrition quotient. Once within a supermarket, however, an ambiguity pops up – that of making a choice between a Private Label (PL) and a Brand Label. A PL product undoubtedly offers opportunities for savings as compared to manufacturers` labels, but what of product quality?…
Speciality Restaurants expanding into high-margin QSR and cloud kitchen spaces - @devangshu shared his perspective on the opportunities and realities of managing a diverse "house of brands" in the food service sector #India #strategy #diversification
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
