Convenience stores cash in India's boom
Monday, May 21, 2007
BRIGHTLY-LIT and splashed in day-glo colours, new supermarkets sprout each month in India's capital in a sign of rapid economic change that appears to be leading shoppers to shun small and traditional shops. By the time New Delhi hosts the 2010 Commonwealth Games, it is expected that there will be one supermarket every kilometre in the Delhi compared to about five in 2004.
Kriti Pallav, a married working woman, said she switched from her local grocer to the new Big Apple supermarket chain because the outlets were air-conditioned and open until late.
Big Apple, owned by Express Retail Services, has opened 22 outlets in New Delhi in the past two years and says it plans a five-fold increase by the end of 2007, offering everything from groceries to cosmetics.
Express Retail managing director Munish Hemrajani said the company plans to open 100 outlets this year in a one billion rupees (US$25 million). The trend is not confined to New Delhi as retail consulting and research agency KSA-Technopak predicts that by 2010 annual retail sales by chain stores will reach US$21.5 billion, from US$7.5 billion now.
But there are also pockets of unhappiness about the impact of modern supermarket shopping have on traditional shopping habits.
Earlier this month, thousands of irate street vendors attacked stores set up by Indian giant Reliance Industries in eastern India, saying the new nationwide chain threatened their livelihoods.
Some 5,000 vegetable sellers vandalised three Reliance Fresh stores in Ranchi in protest of the firm's plans to build a local version of US retail giant Wal-Mart, police said.
Wal-Mart is expected to open mega stores in India by mid 2008 after reaching a deal with India's Bharti group.
Bharti, the country's largest publicly-listed phone company, own front-end retailing venture, Bharti Retail that plans to spend US$2.5 billion by 2015 to set up hypermarkets and supermarkets across India.
French retail giant Carrefour has put on hold plans to invest in India due to concerns over political opposition to multinational retailers entering the market. AFP
Kriti Pallav, a married working woman, said she switched from her local grocer to the new Big Apple supermarket chain because the outlets were air-conditioned and open until late.
Big Apple, owned by Express Retail Services, has opened 22 outlets in New Delhi in the past two years and says it plans a five-fold increase by the end of 2007, offering everything from groceries to cosmetics.
Express Retail managing director Munish Hemrajani said the company plans to open 100 outlets this year in a one billion rupees (US$25 million). The trend is not confined to New Delhi as retail consulting and research agency KSA-Technopak predicts that by 2010 annual retail sales by chain stores will reach US$21.5 billion, from US$7.5 billion now.
But there are also pockets of unhappiness about the impact of modern supermarket shopping have on traditional shopping habits.
Earlier this month, thousands of irate street vendors attacked stores set up by Indian giant Reliance Industries in eastern India, saying the new nationwide chain threatened their livelihoods.
Some 5,000 vegetable sellers vandalised three Reliance Fresh stores in Ranchi in protest of the firm's plans to build a local version of US retail giant Wal-Mart, police said.
Wal-Mart is expected to open mega stores in India by mid 2008 after reaching a deal with India's Bharti group.
Bharti, the country's largest publicly-listed phone company, own front-end retailing venture, Bharti Retail that plans to spend US$2.5 billion by 2015 to set up hypermarkets and supermarkets across India.
French retail giant Carrefour has put on hold plans to invest in India due to concerns over political opposition to multinational retailers entering the market. AFP
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