India is in the midst of a retail boom against rising disposable incomes of middle class households. Now, it is the sixth most attractive retail business destination in the world. After agriculture, retailing has emerged as the second largest sector in employment. According to a study done by Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India (Assocham), the size of the market is projected to more than double by 2008, against the present size of Rs. 5,88,000 cr, growing at around 36% every year till 2008. Thus, the overall size would be Rs. 14,79,000 cr by 2008. The industry chamber is of the view that unorganized retailing would continue to have its edge over organized retailing till the time Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) is allowed in the sector. The ongoing boom is backed by government support in the form of allocation of land at concessional rates, low interest rates to promoters of malls, etc. Now retail sector ranks first in terms of annual global retail development index 2006. Global consulting firm, McKinsey, projects that the sector is set to grow by $500 bn by 2010. Lured by these developments, leading retail giants are aggressively entering into the organized sector.
As the disposable income of Indians is on the rise, shopping has become the order of the day. The ever growing demand, especially organized retail, is going to expand in a big way. The big corporate houses of India like Reliance have already entered the sector and are in the process of expanding their outlets. Global retail giants like Wal-Mart, Metro, etc. are entering into the Indian market in a big way, against the rapidly growing customer base and its ability to absorb new brands into its market. All these developments have led the sector to emerge as a major recruiter. Currently, it is employing around 21 million people, which is around 7% of the total employment. Over the next five years, it has the potential to employ over 2 billion people. India has more than 12 million retail outlets, which is the largest in the world. |
