An average Indian couple spends around 2x on weddings versus education (pre-primary to graduation).
US retail major is in talks with Flipkart, Snapdeal, ShopClues and Grofers for partnership.
'All competitors are sourcing within the country, so we'll be at the same level of competition.'
Embattled retailer Future Retail Ltd (FRL) on Tuesday moved the Supreme Court to avert insolvency proceedings over missing a loan repayment deadline, even as its independent directors rejected an Amazon-supported offer to sell the company businesses at less than a third of what Mukesh Ambani's Reliance is offering. India's second-largest retailer, which operates multi-brand retail chains such as Big Bazaar, Easyday and Heritage, failed to pay Rs 3,494.56 crore to lenders by the due date of December-end and sought a 30-day grace period to resolve the situation. Unable to find money, it moved the apex court seeking to restrain its lenders from declaring the company a defaulter, which can invite initiation of insolvency proceedings.
The world's largest retail chain, the $446-billion Walmart, is likely to be the first international player to take off in India with its supermarket format. The Bentonville-based US giant is, in fact, ready with a network of 195 stores across India if it decides to extend its back-end and cash-and-carry partnership with Bharti Enterprises to front-end retail.
Shares of Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), the country's largest IT services provider, continue to remain under pressure, hitting a new eight-month low of Rs 3,624.90 intraday on Tuesday before closing at Rs 3,631, down 1.19 per cent. In the past two trading sessions, the stock price has declined 4 per cent on fears of a slowing US economy.
Future, which recently tied up with Amazon in India to sell its fashion and food products exclusively on the American giant's marketplace platform, is looking at a gross merchandise value of about Rs 6,000 crore (Rs 60 billion) in the next three years from the venture.
General sentiment that slowdown and dip in investor sentiment won't affect rationale for expansion
The Bangalore-based Himalaya Herbal Healthcare has struck strategic alliances with leading retail chains in its main export markets such as the US, Singapore and Malaysia.
Investment by US PE firm KKR will add fire to Ambani's battle for dominance in the retail market that is also being eyed by Jeff Bezos' Amazon and Walmart's Flipkart.
Reliance Retail has entered the Indian fast-moving consumer goods space as it takes its private label brands, sold at its supermarkets and hypermarkets, Reliance Fresh and Reliance Smart, to general trade. The company had internally set a target of Rs 50,000 crore turnover from the FMCG business, which will fall under Reliance Retail's consumer brand division. Business Standard accessed a presentation which includes the brands it has taken to the general trade.
Industry associations and companies in the United States, including the US Chamber of Commerce, Coalition of Services Industries and the iconic bike company Harley Davidson have called on the Donald Trump dispensation to push India to reduce tariffs, non-tariffs, and regulatory barriers to boost American exports.
The Cabinet approval would help more than 200 fashion and apparel brands who are lined up to enter India, including international labels such as Avva, Colin's, Damat, Tudba Deri and Dufy
Reliance Industries invested Rs 30,000 crore (around $3.76 billion) in its retail business and added 2,500 stores, taking the total store count to 15,196 in FY22. Besides, Reliance Retail added 11.1 million square feet of warehousing space during the year, nearly doubling the warehousing space to 22.7 million square feet, Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL) said in the annual report for FY22. In FY22, Reliance Retail added over 1.50 lakh jobs, taking its total headcount to 3.61 lakh.
Notwithstanding the inflation pinch, analysts believe the Indian retail sector is on the 'cusp of accelerated earnings growth' as consumer sentiment and discretionary purchases bounce back from the Covid-19 pandemic. "The shift in consumer preference from the unorganised sector to the organised, coupled with uptick in domestic demand as people resume work from office, will cheer the Indian retail sector," says Nishit Master, portfolio manager, Axis Securities. Shopping malls are witnessing increased footfall in lower tier towns and standalone stores as consumption picks up and mobility improves.
With an epic battle of billionaires for supremacy in one of the world's most prolific markets and a pandemic-propelled surge in online shopping in the background, India's nearly trillion-dollar retail market is hoping to touch 85 per cent of the pre-COVID business in the first half of the New Year. In a year when the COVID-19 carnage ripped apart the retail business, circa 2020 will best go down for the unravelling of the war between Jeff Bezos, the world's wealthiest man, and richest Indian Mukesh Ambani for pre-eminence in the booming market that is estimated to reach $1.3 trillion by 2025. It all started with Ambani's Reliance Industries agreeing in August to buy assets of the nation's second-largest retailer for Rs 24,713 crore, just a year after Bezos' Amazon purchased an indirect stake in the indebted Future Retail.
It entered India in 2006, with the aim of tapping the promising consumer market.
Noel Tata -- the half-brother of late Rata Tata -- who takes over as chairman of Tata Trusts, has been with the Tata Group for over four decades, slowly rising through the ranks in the salt-to-software conglomerate. Having functioned mostly under the shadows of his illustrious half-brother, Noel (67) will now have the responsibility of leading the Tata Trusts -- broadly comprising Sir Ratan Tata Trust & Allied Trusts, and Sir Dorabji Tata Trust & Allied Trusts -- that hold a controlling 66 per cent stake in Tata Sons, the holding and promoter firm of Tata Group companies.
The primary market is expected to remain vibrant, with at least 10 companies, including supermart major Vishal Mega Mart and Blackstone-owned diamond grading firm International Gemmological Institute (India) Ltd expected to raise a combined Rs 20,000 crore in the next month, merchant bankers said. Education-focused NBFC Avanse Financial Services, TPG Capital-backed Sai Life Sciences, hospital chain operator Paras Healthcare, and investment bank DAM Capital Advisors are also among the companies planning to launch their IPOs in December, they added. The companies aim to raise a total of Rs 20,000 crore through their public offerings.
Engineering and construction major Larsen & Toubro (L&T) reported a 25 per cent rise in net profit attributable to the owners of the company for the January-March quarter of 2024-25, owing to higher revenues and an exceptional gain. For the quarter under review, L&T posted a consolidated net profit of Rs 5,497.3 crore, while revenue rose 10.9 per cent year-on-year (Y-o-Y) to Rs 74,392.28 crore.
The group wants to expand its drug store chain.
Another trend: A preference for coloured diamonds among brides, who are pairing them with their groom's birthstone. So, along with yellow or white diamonds, they are choosing pink, green, blue sapphires, emeralds or red rubies.
While elaborating on its international business, including the cash-and-carry or wholesale stores in a joint venture (JV) with the Bharti group, Walmart has pointed out that the list does not include the 'franchised' retail stores.
India Inc has expressed strong displeasure over the Delhi government's decision to withdraw approval to FDI in multi-brand retail, saying the move was likely to hinder foreign investments flowing into the country.
The company's search for a partner in India seems to be grounded once again
Asking the government to tweak FDI norms in multi-brand segment, retailers said sourcing rules must be made similar to that of single brand while demanding foreign firms be allowed to put only 50 per cent of first tranche of investment in back-end infrastructure.
$100-million Walmart investment of 2010 into Cedar, a group company of Bharti, is being investigated by ED.
US-based coffee retail chain Starbucks on Friday said it was withdrawing its application to operate single-brand retail stores in India, thus delaying its entry into the country.
Early signs show firms rather lukewarm on entry; global economic climate, riders to FDI opening may be dampener.
The department for promotion of industry and internal trade has rejected Walmart-backed Flipkart's proposal seeking approval for entry to the food retail sector, citing a regulatory issue, an official said on Monday. The government permits 100 per cent foreign direct investment in food retail for food produced and manufactured in India.
Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail Ltd (FRL) on Monday said it is "reviewing" the Delhi high court order that has rejected its plea to restrain Amazon from writing to regulatory authorities about the SIAC arbitral order against its asset sale under a Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance. FRL, in a regulatory filing, said it would submit a brief summary after consultation with legal advisors.
'Before you work on your business plan, before you build your team, you should have a clear idea about what your product is, who your customer is, how valuable the product is, and whether the market is deep and wide.'
With Donald Trump all set to become US president, Indian exporters may face high customs duties for goods like automobiles, textiles and pharmaceuticals if the new US administration decides to pursue the 'America First' agenda, opined trade experts. Experts also said that Trump could also tighten H-1B visa rules, impacting costs and growth for Indian IT firms. Over 80 per cent of India's IT export earnings come from the US, making it vulnerable to changes in visa policies.
Though international biggies are already in India, they are yet to formalise plans for front-end multi-brand retail.
Global retail behemoths seem to have read the signals right.
Withdrawing a blanket ban on overseas shipments of non-basmati white rice, the government on Saturday imposed a floor price of $490 per tonne and exempted the commodity from export duty. Exports of non-basmati white rice have been banned since July 20, 2023 to boost domestic supply. "The export policy for non-basmati white rice (semi-milled or wholly milled rice, whether or not polished or gazed) ...is amended from prohibited to free, subject to MEP (minimum export price) of $490 per tonne with immediate effect and until further orders," the directorate general of foreign trade (DGFT) said in a notification.
What is Wal-Mart? When was it set up? Who owns it? Read on to find out.
Gold and diamond retail chain Malabar Gold & Diamonds will be investing Rs 1,600 crore in FY22 to launch 56 stores globally with 40 across India and 16 internationally in FY22 to further boost its retail presence across the globe. The move is expected to generate over 1,700 jobs. In India, the expansion strategy is centred in states like Tamil Nadu, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Maharashtra, Delhi, West Bengal, Uttar Pradesh, Odisha and Kerala. Internationally, the expansion will be in markets such as Singapore, Malaysia, Oman, Qatar, Bahrain and UAE.
The time for allowing FDI in retail sector in India has not yet come. Such a move may end up hurting domestic interests, says Arun Jaitley.
Recent easing of restrictions does not address the pain in the sector.
