After consumer finance and real estate, the Indiabulls Group is set to step into the retail business. Indiabulls Wholesale Services Ltd, a subsidiary of listed firm Indiabulls Real Estate Ltd, will set up 30 hypermarkets across as many smaller cities in the country in the next 15 to 18 months with an outlay of Rs 1,500 crore (Rs 15 billion).
When French Retailer Carrefour enters the Rs 1,200 crore (Rs 12 billion) cash and carry segment in 2009, it would face tough competition from established players such as Germany's Metro, Bharti-Wal Mart, Reliance, Pantaloon, Wadhawan Retail and others entrants like Tesco and Costco.
The UK retailer earned an EBITDA of 2.7 million in the year ended June 2007 on the back of 17 per cent growth in sales, said Welspun India director Akhil Jindal in Mumbai on Monday. Christy's, which was losing money, customers and market share when it was acquired by Welspun, has reversed the tide by winning back customers, adding new ones and expanding its reach by opening more shop-in-shops.
In the first of its kind among property consultants, the UK-headquartered Knight Frank Group will launch a $250 million India-focused real estate fund.ICICI Prudential Mutual Fund recently launched its real estate securities fund, which is the first real estate mutual fund in India.
Corporate houses getting into music retail are turning the outlets into multi-product stores that will offer apparel and even perfumes.
In August this year, ABN Amro Bank decided to renew the lease for its 3,100 sq ft office space at Nariman Point's Sakhar Bhavan, but the landlord dropped a bomshell by jacking up the rental to Rs 500 per sq ft.
Even in the face of protests from trade groups, escalating real estate costs and pressure on margins, the march of domestic retail chains continues unabated.
According to a Reliance Retail executive, 20 per cent of the space will be occupied by local vendors selling their agricultural produce, food items and artifacts. Besides, there will be stores for foods and vegetables, entertainment etc.
Retaining the senior management of acquired companies has been the cornerstone of the company's strategy, be it in case of Daewoo's commercial vehicle business in South Korea, the tea company Tetley or the steel maker Corus.
The Reliance apparel stores will stock all kinds of apparel, about 4,000 products across as many as 94 brands, manufactured exclusively for the company.
The cell phone is no longer just a communications device -- it has evolved into a lifestyle statement.
Oberoi Constructions, promoted by billionaire Vikas Oberoi, has tied up with the $10 billion Chinese real estate firm Shimao group to bid for the Rs 10,000-crore (Rs 100 billion) Dharavi Redevelopment Project.
Filmmaker Prakash Jha, well known for his hard-hitting movies such as Gangajal and Apaharan, is set to change the entertainment and retail landscape of eastern India.
Greaves Cotton, for instance, has converted half its holding into commercial real estate (a multiplex) while Elpro plans to follow suit by developing half its 37-acre land at Chinchwad.
Leading property developers have made offers for this prime property, which real estate industry sources suggest could fetch Fiat more than Rs 300 crore (Rs 3 billion).
Like the US, India too has a sub-prime market and it is booming. The success of early entrants like Citi Financial and GE Money has encouraged several others to enter the consumer lending business, nearly half of which is a sub-prime market.
The ban, although described as temporary, is being seen as a knee-jerk reaction by the state government following the attacks on Reliance Fresh and Spencer's stores and has raised several questions over its farm policy.
Even if you assume a higher return fare of Rs 40,000, the yield will still be lower than the costs.
Real-estate consultants and housing finance companies say the number of deals has dropped in suburbs such as Bhandup, Malad, Vasai, Kharghar and Panvel.
The Slum Rehabilitation Authority of Maharashtra has once again extended the last date for submission of expression of interest for the Rs 10,000-crore (Rs 100 billion) Dharavi Redevelopment Project to August 30.