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Tag: india

  • Amway forays into the herbal oral care segment

    Amway forays into the herbal oral care segment

    Amway India, the country’s largest FMCG direct selling company has announced the launch of its latest innovation – ‘Glister Herbals Toothpaste’, to mark its entry into the herbal oral care market. Building on the success of its globally popular Rs 100 crore brand – Glister, the new herbal oral care product is a seamless blend of numerous herbal ingredients with appealing taste and pleasing color to suit everyone’s palate. With this new and advanced product, Amway aims to target the flourishing Rs 1,980 crores oral care segment in India.

    Announcing the launch of Glister Herbals, Sundip Shah, Chief Marketing Officer, Amway India, said, “Glister has been one of our most popular global brands. A bestseller for over five decades, it has won the trust of millions of consumers worldwide and has been an integral part of their oral hygiene routine. Keeping with our commitment of offering highest quality products and addressing the increasing demand for natural and herbal alternatives for long-term healthy living, Glister Herbals is an expansion of our flagship brand and indigenously developed for our Indian consumers.”

    He further added, “The industry for herbal oral care products has grown significantly in recent years, fueled by consumers’ preference for herbal solutions and trust in their long-term benefits. However, our research empirically highlights the need for likeable sensorials – a gap that exists in the available offerings in the market currently. This often leads to consumers shifting to regular and non-herbal products. Glister Herbals’ has the goodness of herbs with great taste and appealing colour. With this powerful mix, we aim to transform the product usage experience and long-term adoption of herbal toothpastes in the market and I am confident in our latest innovation and its potential to transform the category”

    Anisha Sharma, Category Head, Beauty & Personal Care, Amway India, added, “Glister Herbals is best defined as the herbal oral care solution from Amway offering great taste with the goodness of herbs. This multi-action toothpaste is enriched with 11 ingredients such as spearmint, clove, ginger, neem, mulethi, among others, which are known for their benefits and great taste. It also has biodegradable microbeads of essential oils comprising clove and tea tree to ensure maximum efficacy of the constituents. The goodness of herbs promises 12-hour germ protection and fresh breath benefits along with remineralization and teeth whitening.”

    She further added, “We are excited with the business opportunity offered by the market. In order to ensure national wide reach and to engage consumers, we are introducing digital activations across platforms and organizing dental camps in key markets. As ingredient story and taste is key to the success of our new herbal offering, we have begun taste challenges for our direct sellers for which we have received an overwhelming response. We are sure that the Glister Herbals will receive favorable response from the consumers.”

    Glister Herbals follows the thriving success of Amway’s Nutrilite Traditional Herbs in its Nutrition and Attitude Be Bright Herbals in beauty categories last year.

    Amway Glister Herbals is sold exclusively by Amway Direct Sellers across India and can be easily ordered on the company’s website.

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  • Carlton London launches its first store in Mumbai

    Carlton London launches its first store in Mumbai

    Carlton London, the leading fashion footwear and accessory brand has launched its first store in Mumbai at Phoenix Marketcity, Kurla. After running nine stores successfully in the Northern region including Delhi NCR and Punjab, the tenth store in Mumbai marks the expansion of the brand in the Western region of the country. Spread across an area of 1,200 sq.ft., the new Carlton London store is extremely spacious and offers a complete range of fashion footwear along with an exclusive collection of accessories.

    The store displays a wide range of footwear from party collection, work-wear and ballerinas to premium collection for men. Being one of the fastest growing fashion and accessory brand, Carlton London aims to target consumers across the country. The brand thrives at its philosophy of providing highest quality designs to the customers, which are at par with the international standards. Their diversified product line offers comfortable fashion which creates a mark of luxury while being affordable. Having established itself as one of the key players in the footwear industry, the brand caters to various age groups and target audience.

    Commenting on the store launch , Director, Carlton London, said, “We are extremely delighted to announce the launch of our first store in Mumbai. Being the fashion capital of India, Mumbai is a key market for us and we aim to expand our retail footprints in various parts of the country. We always work towards providing fresh and innovative designs to our customers and keep our collection in sync with the global runway trends.”

    “Like our other stores, the theme of the new store is inspired by rich British architecture. With a minimalistic approach, the store has soft and subtle lighting with elegant couches and fancy mirrors,” he added.

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  • Tablez to launch Build-A-Bear in India

    Tablez to launch Build-A-Bear in India

    To meet an ever-increasing demand for an engaging retail environment, Tablez India announces the partnership with Build-A-Bear, a global experiential retailer. U.S.-based, customized stuffed-animal retail-entertainment brand Build-A-Bear aims to reach as many as 9 million households in the top 15 cities in India by 2025. Besides standalone stores, shop-in-shop formats of Build-A-Bear would be launched within Toys“R”Us as part of Tablez, the retail arm of LuLu Group International.

    Adeeb Ahamed, MD, Tablez said, “The Build-A-Bear concept is a one-of-a-kind retail experience, and we are thrilled to bring it to India. We believe that children who come to our stores will be able to enjoy a different shopping experience that includes participation in creating stuffed animals of their own choice.”

    He also added, “At Tablez, we are continuously striving to meet the increasing demand for high-quality specialty toys, and we look forward to opening more Build-A-Bear and Toys”R”Us stores across India, as our company continues to grow.”

    On this occasion, Dorrie Krueger, Build-A-Bear Workshop Chief Strategy Officer, said, “We look forward to embarking on this new partnership with Tablez India and helping establish and grow the Build-A-Bear brand in this important global market. As our international franchise portfolio continues to expand, we are further assured that the hug of a teddy bear is understood in any language.”

    Established in 1997, Build-A-Bear has helped millions find their own meaning in a new furry friend. The brand has nearly 500 stores worldwide, and more than 175 million furry friends have been made globally in its 21-year history. Build-A-Bear helps guests mark special occasions, start friendships, and inspires people to make their own adventures. At Build-A-Bear, one is empowered to feel that anything is possible.

    The ‘Choose Me’ wall at every Build-A-Bear store is where the empowerment journey begins as each guest chooses an unstuffed animal to bring to life. Accessories give customers the reins to customize their creation. The heart ceremony is where one can add special wishes to their friend. During the stuffing process, a heart is placed in the bear along with special wishes, and the guests promises to care for their new furry friend. This signature ceremony brings each stuffed animal to life in a personal way, further ensuring a greater attachment. Guests find meaning in each of the animals designed – they are friends, playmates, heroes, look-a-likes and evidence of special memories. Dogs, cats, bunnies and even unicorns complement the timeless teddy bear to ensure there’s a furry friend for everyone.

    Tablez launched the first Toys“R”Us store in Bangalore in 2017. Before end of 2018, 4 stores will be operational, and another 20 stores are expected to be launched in 2019. In February 2019, Build-A-Bear will be launched as part of Toys“R”Us in Phoenix Marketcity, Bangalore. Further, a Build-A-Bear shop-in-shop format will follow in Vega City Mall, Bangalore; City Centre Mall, Mangalore and Phoenix Marketcity, Pune. The 20 additional standalone stores of Toys”R”Us are expected to be launched in major locations starting January 2019. Build-A-Bear plans to expand to as many as 65 shop-in-shop format stores and 20 standalone stores in India over the next 10 years.

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  • Domestic, foreign e-commerce players should be treated alike: CUTS India

    Domestic, foreign e-commerce players should be treated alike: CUTS India

    The Government needs to create a level-playing field for both domestic and foreign e-commerce platforms through a comprehensive e-commerce policy, said Pradeep S. Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International on Sunday. He noted that the current norms for the segment are applicable to foreign online retailers and this might create a discriminatory environment towards the domestic players.

    “The Government may not be wrong in its clarificatory policy on Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) in e-commerce, as it was a case of backdoor entry in multi-brand retail trade. But vital issues remain to be resolved to promote healthy economic democracy”, said Pradeep S Mehta, Secretary General, CUTS International.

    “However, the issue of creating a level-playing field between domestic and foreign players in retail sector is yet to be resolved, for which a comprehensive National E-Commerce Policy is need of the hour”, he said.

    The Department of Industrial Policy and Promotion (DIPP) recently had said that 100 percent FDI is permitted in the market place model of e-commerce and not in the inventory-based model or the multi-brand retail segment.

    The Commerce Ministry in December revised the FDI policy for e-commerce players whereby it barred online retail firms such as Amazon and Flipkart from selling products of companies in which they have stakes. It also prohibited e-tailers from mandating any company to sell its products exclusively on its platform only.

    Mehta said: “The new guidelines are stricter for e-commerce companies with FDI providing marketplace, but there are no such restrictions for companies without FDI.”

    He also observed that there is no need for a separate regulator for the e-commerce segment.

    “India does not need a separate regulator for e-commerce, which would be yet another parking place for retired babus who are generalists and turn into controllers.

    Most of the malpractices adopted by e-commerce platforms, for instance, discrimination among its vendors, deep discounts etc, can be dealt by the Competition Commission of India. If need be, the Competition Act, 2002 can be tweaked for which the process is going on,” he said.

    The Consumer Protection Bill, 2018, which is likely to be passed soon by the Rajya Sabha, also has specific provisions on e-commerce, he added.

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  • Blackberrys Charts Upon The Next Growth Chapter

    Blackberrys Charts Upon The Next Growth Chapter

    Following an exceptionally successful year, amidst 8 months of re-branding, Blackberrys plans to significantly increase its long-term guidance in 2019. In April 2018 the company revealed its new face to the world after 27 years of its inception. In 2019, Blackberrys intends to strongly accelerate its retail presence and sales growth as part of its long-term strategic business plan.

    Blackberrys is currently present across 350 cities in India and operates more than 260 EBOs and 700+ MBOs. In 2018, Blackberrys added 50 new doors to its retail footprint and is confident of adding upto 50 more in the current financial year.

    In the New Year the company will continue bolstering marketing programs both in store and through online and offline media. The company has earmarked a marketing budget of Rs 55 crore for the current financial year.

    In 2018, Blackberrys launched several consumer centric brand campaigns including India Khaki week, The Distinguished Gentleman Rides, Style partnership with Bollywood blockbuster Race 3 and Lord of Giza to name a few, which were very well accepted by the customers and trade alike.

    Blackberrys is consistently investing in building a par excellence consumer experience using Machine Learning based analytics, and extensively leveraging the digital presence for redefining the Indian man’s Fashion journey.

    Nikhil Mohan, Founder Director at Blackberrys sharing his thoughts on the same added, “Our 2018 results and our positive outlook for 2019 are proof that our strategy is paying off. Company’s growth, grounded in deep acceptance of our brand, led by the product quality, innovation and service, is remarkably healthy. The new development model implemented across, has paved the way for increased value creation along with profitable, sustained and consistent organic growth. We are expecting an accelerated growth in coming years with a strong focus on developing newer wardrobe propositions and our retail presence across the country.

    Nitin Mohan, Co-founder Director at Blackberrys said, “We are committed to developing a ownership and entrepreneurial brand culture at employee level as it’s pivotal for the company in achieving its long-term objectives. As part of the accelerated growth plan, Blackberrys is focusing its HR initiatives on talent development and performance management.  The company plans to launch its new office very soon in Gurgaon, reflecting the collaborative work culture and with a young & fresh look and feel.”

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  • Indian shop fit industry poised for sustainable growth in 2019

    Indian shop fit industry poised for sustainable growth in 2019

    The Indian retail sector is growing faster than ever before and is one of the fastest growing in the world. According to a Deloitte Report, the Indian retail industry is expected to grow to US $1.1 trillion by 2020, registering a CAGR of 8.79 percent between 2000 and 2020. This growth can be attributed to the growing young population of the country, rise in disposable income, change in lifestyle and most importantly, digitization and connectivity.

    Though brands are investing heavily in online retail, traditional retail continues to be their core focus and hence, demand for shop fit designers and manufacturers only continues to grow.

    Changing retail landscape and role of retail shop fitting

    2018 was a redefining period for Indian retail industry. From huge investments by international players to M&A, downsizing of physical stores from traditional players to investing in physical stores by ecommerce players, the retail industry witnessed significant changes.

    As the debate around relevance and profitability of brick-and-mortar stores continues, retailers continue to invest in physical stores and thrive to provide the best shopping experience for customers. The traditional, one-size-fits-all store formats are slowly decreasing and brands are now continuously working towards exploring creative concepts to rejuvenate the look and feel of the store to stay relevant and attract their respective consumer targets.

    Every brand has a different approach in designing retail outlets and so are their shop fit requirements. For example, a sportswear brand store will have a spacious interiors, relaxed furniture for seating, minimum product placement on shelves to create clutter free picking up of products and eye-catching digital display of celebrated sports personalities on the walls to influence customer’s shopping. Whereas, a clothing brand store for infants and children has shop fittings and fixtures of lower height making it easy for kids to select what they want and have popular animated characters all over the store. This is where the expertise of shop fitters come into the picture. Shop fitters play a very important role in building successful retail brands by planning, designing and manufacturing shop fit and fixtures that reflect a brand’s ethos. They closely work with the brands to execute their designs and ideas for Visual Merchandising.

    Growth opportunities for shop fit industry

    A study by JLL suggests that the country is expected to see the highest mall supply in the next three years (2018 – 2020) touching 19.4 million square feet. Due to the radical shifts in the consumption pattern of new-age consumers, brands see tremendous untapped potential in small towns and cities (Tier II and III) they will expand their footprints in these geographies and continue to invest in physical stores.

    Brands continue to focus on integrating online and off-line shopping and the concept of ‘Experiential shopping centers’ will gain importance. Physical stores will double as fulfillment centers to help process online orders. Like in other markets, the concept of BOPIS, i.e. “Buy Online, Pickup In-Store”, which gives customer the flexibility to shop (order) online and visit the nearest store to try the product and collect it may become popular among people. As customer shopping experience, engagement and purpose of the physical store becomes more crucial, brands will regularly invest in store design, interiors, shop fits and new concepts in order to differentiate themselves from competitors. A good fit-out raises a brand’s profile, efficacy and creates a positive perception about the brand. Hence, there is a growth opportunity for shop fitting industry.

    Adding to this, the trend of solo entrepreneurs entering the market and small scale traditional retailers who wish to revamp their business rely on professional shop fitters for retail store design, floor planning, shop fits, etc. which will also give a boost to the shop fit industry.

    Conclusion:

    As organized retail industry continues to grow in the country, it possesses a great opportunity for the shop fit industry. Decisions by brands to downsize the store formats may hurt the shop fit industry’s business and profitability, but there will definitely be significant growth as more brands are now looking to establish their offline presence and also increase their physical presence across markets. In addition to this, with the new rules regarding single brand retail ownership, many new foreign brands will look to enter the Indian market.

    Being an allied industry of the retail sector, the shop fit industry grows hand-in-hand with the retail industry. As brands continue to invest in visual merchandising and store design, they rely on experienced and quality focused shop-fit manufacturers to partner with them. The role of shop fitters cannot be understated in helping the retail brands build their identity, differentiate them from competitors and attract footfall in the store by their innovative designs and store concepts. Shop fitting is an important investment for retail brands and when done right can translate to improved business and performance. Overall, the outlook for the shop fit industry is positive.

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  • Grofers eyes $2.5 billion in revenue by 2020

    Grofers eyes $2.5 billion in revenue by 2020

    SoftBank-backed Grofers aims to garner $2.5 billion (approximately Rs 17,500 crore) in revenue by 2020 as it scales up its private label offerings in the country and focusses on expanding repeat purchases in its platform. The company, which has recently completed five years of its operations, has a revenue run rate of $360 million (about Rs 2,500 crore) currently.

    Grofers Co-Founder and CEO Albinder Dhindsa said Grofers has been witnessing over 30 percent month-on-month growth.

    “While we do not sell gourmet products that usually offer higher margins, we have been able to create a set of dedicated customers that usually promote our brand as well… We will continue to ramp up our business and we aim to clock $2.5 billion revenue by 2020,” he said.

    Outlining the expansion strategy, Dhindsa said about 40 percent of the selection on its platform now comprises of private label products.

    “There are a number of local manufacturers, who have great products but can’t compete with the FMCG giants and therefore, their products often don’t find shelf space in retail stores…we continue to grow the number of manufacturers that we work with,” he said.

    He further explained that putting these private labels on its own platform has helped the company provide aspirational products like muesli, peanut butter at more affordable prices.

    These private labelled products are also making their way on retail shelves at Grofers’ over 1,500 partner stores, which the company aims to ramp up to one million in the next two years.

    Asked about competition, especially with Walmart-backed Flipkart and Amazon expanding their presence aggressively in the online grocery segment, Dhindsa said the company is not worried.

    “Grocery is not the same as books and electronics. We may carry a smaller selection but the focus for us is on affordability. Consumers are very conscious when it comes to the grocery buying and that is what we want to ensure for our customers,” he said adding that Grofers is focussing on further enhancing its coverage of the cities it operates in.

    In March 2018, Grofers had announced raising Rs 400 crore in funding led by SoftBank, Tiger Global and Apoletto Asia. It has raised funding of $226.5 million till now. Its average daily order volumes were over 35,000 per day in June this year.

    Grocery segment accounts for a significant portion of the unorganised retail segment in the country. With people becoming comfortable buying even milk and bread online, the online grocery segment is projected to witness a strong growth over the next few years in India.

    As per the estimates, e-tail is just 0.5 percent of the total grocery market in India, which is pegged at $400 billion or 70 percent of all retail.

    In a recent interview, Flipkart CEO Kalyan Krishnamurthy had said grocery is one of the key focus areas for the company currently and, the segment will play an important role in getting access to the next 200 million customers.

    Amazon India, too, has been aggressively ramping up selection and focussing on speedier delivery to consolidate its position in the segment. In February this year, Grofers’ competitor Bigbasket had raised USD 300 million led by Chinese e-tailer giant Alibaba and others.

  • Knows more : Rahul Singh, Founder & CEO, The Beer Café India

    Knows more : Rahul Singh, Founder & CEO, The Beer Café India

    With multiple awards like; Images Coca Cola Golden Spoon Award, India Restaurant Congress Award, Times Nightlife Award and ET Now Business and Service Excellence Award, the consumer and industry has recognized this startup as a blockbuster. Singh is the recipient of the TiECON 2010 Entrepreneurial Award for Excellence and holds the position of the Honorary Secretary for the NRAI (National Restaurant Association of India). He was also bestowed with the Prestigious Entrepreneur India 2015 Award in F&B services.

    Before he started The Beer Café, Singh was CEO, Greg Norman Collection India from 2007-09. In that role he spearheaded the brand’s operations involving sales, marketing and manufacturing.

    Prior to 2007, he was the Executive Director at Reebok India for 8 years and was a part of their leadership team, also setup a robust sourcing base for exports from South Asia.

    As a textile engineer, he brings in an analytical approach to each line of enterprise that he gets into. He has undergone training in draught beer technology at Micromatic Institute in Florida, USA.

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  • Yum! appointed new leader for Pizza Hut Asia Pacific

    Yum! appointed new leader for Pizza Hut Asia Pacific

    Pizza Hut International on Tuesday announced that Unnat Varma, Managing Director, Pizza Hut India Subcontinent has been elevated to the position of Managing Director, Pizza Hut Asia Pacific effective 1 January 2019. In his new role, he will be responsible for steering Pizza Hut to the next phase of growth across the Asia Pacific region. Varma will be based in Pizza Hut APAC headquarters at Singapore and will report to Vipul Chawla, President, Pizza Hut International. As part of the APAC growth strategy, Pizza Hut India-Subcontinent will now be inducted under the Asia Pacific Business Unit. In total, Varma will oversee over 5500 stores across 22 countries.

    With Varma at the helm since 2015, Pizza Hut India-subcontinent has achieved strong business results with 10 successive quarters of positive Same Store Sales Growth. The brand has also expanded its physical store footprint – having recently launched its 500th physical store in the Indian Subcontinent.

    Under his stewardship, Pizza Hut has also pioneered the Fast-Casual Delco (FCD) concept in India, which offers a seamless integration of dine-in, takeaway and delivery channels, all under one roof and also upgraded all its digi-tech assets including the website, m-site and mobile app.

    These initiatives have enabled Pizza Hut to deliver on the promise of providing the Easiest, Fastest and the Tastiest pizza experience to consumers in India. As a result, Pizza Hut has been voted the most trusted brand in India for the 12th time in a row (as per a reputed media house) and was awarded the prestigious EFFIE Gold in the Foods and Confectionery category in 2018 for its outstanding consumer-centric performance.

    Varma is a respected and credible leader with over 24 years of industry experience. He joined Yum! in February 2006 and was elevated to Director Marketing, KFC, India Subcontinent in 2008. In February 2011, he took over the role of General Manager – Taco Bell and was responsible for launching the brand as the next growth engine for Yum! in India.

    After successfully establishing a strong foundation for KFC and Taco Bell, Varma was appointed as General Manager – Pizza Hut, India Subcontinent in December 2015and thereafter promoted as Managing Director – Pizza Hut, India Subcontinent in February 2016.

    Varma is also the Chairman of FICCI Task Force on Food Service Retail. Prior to joining Yum!, he worked with Gillette in India for 12 years across sales and marketing functions.

  • Retail trends to look forward to in 2019

    Retail trends to look forward to in 2019

    Retail industry in India is undoubtingly one of the fastest growing retail industry in the world. It is the largest among all industries accounting to 10 percent of the country GDP and employs around 8 percent of the workforce. The retail industry is an experiential motley that is currently going through a robust transformation. Be it employing new technologies or exploring new store formats, revamping business strategies or creating personal experiences; retailers are indeed getting ready for the future by looking beyond conventional retail and evolving along with their modern consumers.

    India is also expected to become the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market, driven by robust investment in the sector and rapid increase in the number of Internet users.

    As the opportunities are immense, let’s take a look what retail trends the stalwarts think will rule in 2019:

    – Customization – The need for customized products and services is increasing thereby pushing the demand for personalized goods and services. With a pragmatic approach, the interface between companies, brands and customers will improve. Social media conversation tracing is going to be trending in 2019, which is a ground-breaking path to the future of handling customer behavior for tailor-made solutions. Also, studies reveal customers come down in favor of personalization — up to a point. They enjoy seeing products and deals personally relevant to them.

    – Brand Experience – It’s not just about selling the products to the customers but also providing them with the best experience too. Most retailers recognize this shift, but the majority struggle with strategies to transform their organization to deliver on consumers’ increasingly demanding expectations. Emerging online brands naturally seek to disrupt traditional ways of doing business and developed digital-first models that have created better experiences.

    On the other hand, established retail brands are burdened with legacy systems that are not optimized for today’s environment. The core – people, service, and experience – are strength to maintain and to satisfy today’s consumer they must integrate the flow of information and resources across the networks of employees, stores and partners.

    Hence, experiences will make a compelling occurance that consumers will always remember and be more than happy to share with one another.

    – Customer Retention – Customer retention is often far more effective and profitable than customer acquisition. An individual shopper want personal recognition. While loyalty programs offer rewards to existing customers the challenge is the acquisition of new customers. Innovation in content is the key to retaining and acquiring customers.

    – Retailers that step up their social media strategies will thrive – The rise of Instagram Stories, Facebook Live and messenger apps will fundamentally change how retailers interact with consumers online. Simply posting photos or updates on a brand’s social media handles won’t work anymore. Retailers will need to up their social media game and use social networks and apps to tell stories and engage with fans in real time.

    – Display – Retail displays is a strategic aspect of the business that can help attract customers, retain their interest, and increase sales. Visual merchandising helps to set a brand apart from competition by creating attractive and fascinating windows that can pull the consumer in to the store. Effective retail displays attract potential customers to the store. When designing displays, choose engaging colours, unique décor and stock arrangements to appeal both the head and the heart of customers.
    Once the brand has attracted potential customers, the brand can Improve chances of making a sale by doing research to see what works in other retail spaces, and keeping an eye on how customer traffic flows through the store.

     

  • 2.5 million buyers shop during Myntra, Jabong special sale

    2.5 million buyers shop during Myntra, Jabong special sale

    About 2.5 million shoppers ordered eight million products during four days of Myntra and Jabong’s special sale from December 22 to 25, a company statement said on Wednesday. “The ninth edition of End of Reason Sale concluded with Myntra and Jabong recording a massive surge in sale and traffic,” city-based Flipkart-owned Myntra said in a statement here. As a result of the sale, the fashion portals saw a 700 per cent surge in sales and 120 per cent increase in online traffic over normal business days, it added.

    American retail giant Walmart-owned leading e-commerce player Flipkart Group includes online fashion portals Myntra and Jabong.

    The Flipkart arms, however, did not disclose the combined value of goods sold in those four days.

    “Sports goods were the highest selling category with a total of eight lakh pairs of shoes sold across the country during the sale,” the statement added.

    The shopping carnival also saw 7.2 lakh new customers ordering through the portals.

    The two portals together sold 1,200 products per minute during the four-day sale.

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  • New E-Comm Rules: Flipkart India for broad market-driven framework

    New E-Comm Rules: Flipkart India for broad market-driven framework

    India’s largest online marketplace Flipkart has requested New Delhi that a broad, market-driven framework for the e-commerce industry be put in place after consultations with the relevant stakeholders. The request came a day after the federal government announced changes in the foreign direct investment (FDI) policy for the sector. On Wednesday, New Delhi took a series of measures to tighten the norms for e-commerce companies, such as Flipkart and Amazon, barring them from selling products of the entities in which they have a stake. The altered norms also restrict them from mandating any seller to sell products exclusively on their respective platforms.

    Flipkart said that the e-commerce ecosystem has created thousands of jobs apart from fostering innovations in MSME manufacturing, supply chain, warehousing, packaging, and digital payments.

    “Government policy changes will have long-term implications for the evolution of the promising sector and the whole ecosystem. It is important that a broad, market-driven framework through the right consultative process be put in place in order to drive the industry forward,” the Bengaluru-based online retail giant said in a statement.

    Flipkart was acquired by the US retail giant Walmart for $16 billion earlier this year in what was the country’s largest acquisition and the world’s biggest purchase of an ecommerce company.

    Amazon’s India unit said that the company was still evaluating the policy changes. The new policy aims to restrict any kind of control on inventory by an e-commerce marketplace entity, thus impacting Flipkart and Amazon as they have structured their group companies in a way that would help retain control on pricing and inventory.

    “For Amazon and Flipkart, this policy change brings massive challenges. They have to not only make changes into the business model and structure of how they are selling goods, but this will also affect the profitability due to limitations on private label products,” said Satish Meena, senior forecast analyst at Forrester Research.

    “Apart from this, the planned investment in the offline channel is going to be recalibrated after this change. All these will have an impact on how they scale up the business in India,” Meena added.

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  • Lulu Group opens Y Mall at Thrissur India

    Lulu Group opens Y Mall at Thrissur India

    Lulu Group Chairman and Managing Director, M.A. Yusuff Ali dedicated the newly-opened Rs 250 crore mall project – Y Mall to his home town on 29 December, 2018. M.A.Yusuff Ali’s grandchild, Ayan Ali cut the ceremonial ribbon, officially inaugurating the mall. Speaking at the inaugural event, M.A.Yusuff Ali said that the 2.5 lakh sq.ft Y Mall at Triprayar in the Thrissur district of Kerala and the 4.6 acres of land on which it has been constructed is his endowment towards worthy initiatives.

    He declared that Y Mall will be under the ownership of the ‘Y Foundation’ and the profits from the mall will be contributed towards various charitable activities under the foundation, including assistance for the places of worship in the town, who will collectively receive Rs 19 lakhs every year from the profits of Y Mall.

    This will be in addition to the various charity works under the Y Foundation, Y Mall will provide an incredible shopping, dining and entertainment experience for all the people in and around Triprayar. The Mall is within easy reach from Ernakulam, Calicut, Thrissur and almost all landmarks and prominent facilities.

    The mall features Lulu Xpress Freshmarket, which houses everything from food and grocery, ready to eat food, mobile and electronics to home décor. Home to over 40 international, national and local brands in the categories – watches; footwear; men, women and kids fashion, lingerie and innerwear, denims and casuals, accessories, eyewear, mobile and electronics,  books/gifts/toys; beauty and wellness; bags and more, the mall
    has everything to satisfy a shopper’s needs.

    Customers can visit Kerala’s first ToysRus store at Y Mall along with brands like 1946, Baby Care, Label M, My G, Jockey, Vismay, Wrangler, Sylcon, Lens and Frames, Arabian Souk, WCDI, Blackberrys Casuale, Ajmal Perfumes, La Femi, Blossom, American Tourister, Super 99 and Lulu Forex. Bank of Baroda and salon services are expected to commence within a month or two. Café Coffee Day is located on the ground floor of the mall and Chennai Ananda Bhavan on the second floor.

    The 225 seater food court is a food lover’s paradise with brands like Baskin Robbins, ChicKing, Burger Hub, Fujian Express, Dosa Tawa, Tea Stop, Pulp Factory and Chak De serving a variety of cuisines including Chinese; North and South Indian; Burgers and
    Fries, Arabic, Juices and ice creams.

    Half of the third floor is dedicated to the entertainment zone by Sparkys, which hasinnumerousvideo games; bump-a-car; carousel rides; a soft play area and many more fun-filled rides. The mall has basement parking provision and spacious open parking area for more than 800 vehicles.

    Equipped with prayer halls, feeding room, reserved parking spaces and washrooms for differently abled; special parking for pregnant women; bag, umbrella and helmet park zones;
    ambulance, ATM, money exchange and more, Y Mall is a destination for travellers and localities alike.

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  • India eyes $100 billion FDI in next two years

    India eyes $100 billion FDI in next two years

    India will aim to receive $100 billion in foreign direct investments in the next two years and special industrial clusters are being created for countries like Japan, South Korea, China and Russia where their companies can invest and operate, Union minister Suresh Prabhu said. The commerce and industry minister said his ministry has also identified sectors and countries which holds huge potential for investments in India.

    “I have given a target. $100 billion of FDI should come from different sectors into India. It will not happen in one year. We have identified companies, sectors and countries and now we are going for road shows to attract investors,” Prabhu said.

    He said India would remain a top destination for foreign investors in 2019 and the ministry would look at all sectoral issues that may come come in the way to attracting overseas investments.

    “For countries like Japan, South Korea, China and Russia, we are creating industrial clusters where they can invest and operate,” Prabhu said.

    The minister said China has agreed to set up industrial parks in India and the Chinese authorities have been asked to give a list of companies that are willing to set up factories in India.

    Similarly, India would be happy to welcome firms from Europe and the US who want to move out of other countries and set up manufacturing bases in India, Prabhu said.

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  • The highs and lows of Indian retail real estate in 2018

    The highs and lows of Indian retail real estate in 2018

    2018 saw further liberalization of FDI policies, repositioning Indian retail on the global investment map and attracting a large number of global retailers into the country. In H1 2018, private equity investments into Indian retail swelled to over US$ 300 million, denoting a bracing growth of 54 percent over the previous year.

    Worryingly or encouragingly (depending on one’s viewpoint) online retail also witnessed exponential growth in 2018. In fact, online retailing is now expected to be at par with physical retail over the next 5 years. With India positioned to become the world’s fastest-growing e-commerce market, online retail in the country is driven by robust investments and deepening internet penetration in the country.

    As per ANAROCK data, the top cities with significant retail growth in 2018 included MMR, NCR, Bengaluru and Hyderabad
    New retail supply in 2018 was limited to 5.1 mn. sq. ft.
    Interestingly, apart from the top metros tier 2 & 3 cities played a significant role in India’s retail growth story in 2018

    Saturation of the metros due to limited space availability, mounting rental values and escalating infrastructure issues fuelled retail growth in smaller cities like Ahmedabad, Bhubaneshwar, Jaipur, Lucknow, Thiruvananthapuram, etc. New malls that became operational in the smaller cities in 2018 range from anything between 200,000 to 18,00,000 sq. ft. in size, amply vouchsafing the increasing appetite for organized retail in the hitherto underserved cities.

    In response to the huge potential in these markets, both domestic and international brands made deep forays into them via the online route, followed by more gradual offline presence. This disparity is hard to ignore and sends out a clear signal to investors and mall developers – physical retail deployment must pick up considerable pace in these smaller markets in the coming years.

    Other Sunshine Sectors

    The logistics and warehousing sector transformed rapidly in 2018 after the Government granted the coveted infrastructure status to logistics in November 2017. In fact, warehouse stock supply is expected to see substantial increase over the next two years owing to implementation of GST, the Government’s determined infrastructure push and increased interest from national and international investors. Overall, strong economic fundamentals, proactive reforms and increasing use of technology will continue to boost the sector.

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