Close at heels of ‘Reliance Fresh,’ Heritage to launch pilot stores

Close at heels of the launch of ‘Reliance Fresh’ in Hyderabad, the Rs. 300 crore Health and Happiness company ‘Heritage Foods will  launch its pilot stores in Hyderabad.

“We are in advanced stage of launching the pilot store in Hyderabad in the second fortnight of November,” Mr V. Nagaraja Naidu, Managing Director of Heritage Foods (India) Ltd , said. “The remaining stores are expected to be opened after that,” he said here in a press release.

Beware; danger is lurking in your shopping cart!

Has it ever occurred to you that the shopping cart in which you carry food, handbag and your toddler may be teeming with bacteria and viruses like E.coli, staphylococcus, salmonella and influenza?

Consider the handle. It’s been touched by untold numbers of hands that have changed diapers, mopped up runny noses, picked up packages of raw chicken and meat, and been coughed on, sneezed in and drooled on.

While, there is no need to get panicky, you can not rule out the possibility of catching something from your cart, if conditions are right, says an interesting report in the Star Tribune. Experts say it’s always good to limit exposure to nasty germs, especially the flu bug in winter. But they caution about over reacting to germs and overdoing the antibiotics.

Some stores in the USA offer sanitising wipes to customers to de-germ their carts. “Although, wipes are great in concept, in essence, you are asking customers to do your work. If you go to a restaurant, you do not ask your customers to clean the table before they eat,” says an industry expert.

Solution: PureCart Systems, a start-up company in the USA, has come up with a drive through washer, which coats the carts with a safe mist of a peroxide-based disinfectant to sanitise them. Dialysis machines and poultry processors are also cleaned similarly.

Aer Rianta to brighten up Duty Free space

Aer Rianta International, a subsidiary of Dublin Airport Authority, acknowledged and respected as one of the world’s leading airport retailing specialists, with modern retail centres at major airports in Europe, Eastern Europe, North America and the Middle East and known for its world class international capability in a tie up with Flamingo India- a major duty free operator in India besides state owned ITDC, according to sources, has bid for duty free shops at Mumbai and Delhi Airports reports the Economic Times.

Israeli firm to build shopping centers; plans USD 200 mn investment

Plaza Centers, a subsidiary of the Israel based Elbit Medical Imaging, which has recently raised 230 million Euros on the London Stock Exchange, now eying the Indian subcontinent as its next region for growth, in the coming years is planning to invest USD 200 million in India to build shopping centers according to  a recent report in Ha’aretz an Israel daily.

Plaza Centers, is active principally in the development, construction, leasing and operation of shopping and entertainment centers in Central and Eastern Europe. The Group has built 16 American-style centers in Hungary, four in Poland in major cities and outlying areas, and has recently completed a new center in Prague. The centers, which range from 10,000 to 50,000 square meters, include a commercial complex (supermarket and anchor stores), a food court and entertainment facilities, such as cinemas, video arcades and bowling alleys.

Moti Zisser, the owner of Elbit- the tech-cum-real estate company, conducted a road show in London with Rami Goren, who is in charge of the group’s activity in India, and Ran Starkman, the chief executive of Plaza Centers.

Right policies, new initiatives, better governance: The growth mantra

India can attain a sustained economic growth of nine to 10 per cent over the next seven to 10 years with right fiscal discipline, said P.C.Chidambaram, Finance Minister, speaking to a select audience of investors and analysts in New York.

The growth rate could even cross 10 per cent with good monsoon coupled with “right policies, new initiatives and better governance,” added Chidambaram.

But that would require a mix of right policies, new initiatives and better governance, Chidambaram told .

Talking about investment opportunities in India, Chidambaram said the country needs 320 billion dollars to upgrade its infrastructure over next five years. The country would be able to find 200 billion dollars from its own resources but a foreign investment of 120 billion dollars would be needed, he said.

Source: PTI

Reliance “Fresh” makes debut; unvailes private label “Reliance Select”

Reliance made its formal foray into retail with the unveiling of “Reliance Fresh” in Hyderabad. Though, Nita Ambani is reported to have visited Hyderabad two days ago to check last minute details, today’s launch was low key as none of the Ambani family members or its top brass, except Reliance Retail’s Food Biz President & CEO Gurnender Kapur, was present on the occasion.
Officially, this ‘Reliance Fresh’, located in upmarket Banjara Hills, will be opened to public on Friday, the 3rd November, 2006. The launch sets to rest, weeks of media and industry speculation about launch schedule of its first store; 18th October, 2006 (birthday of its promoter Mukesh Ambani) or 27th December, 2006 (birthday of its family patriarch Dhirubhai Ambani)?

Reliance Fresh will initially offer a range of fresh fruits, vegetables, flowers, food and dairy products. The product range will later on be expanded to include personal care, pharmaceuticals and consumer durable products. While, preparations are underway to open 40 Reliance ‘Fresh’ stores within one km. of each other, in the city, soon, 11 of these pilot ‘Reliance Fresh’ neighborhood convenience stores will be launched simultaneously on the 3rd November, 2006.

“We are planning to test the market through our pilots in the next few months in a phased manner,” said Gunender Kapur.

Reliance has also concurrently launched its private label “Reliance Select” with the promise of “High Quality and Tasty Food at Affordable Price to all Indian Consumers.” Although, staple food items like Atta, Rice, Pulses, etc. have initially been put on offer under the “Select” label, more categories like FMCG and, perhaps, Colas will be added soon. Internationally, private labels contribute around 16% of total retail sales.

With the debut of ‘Reliance Fresh,’ Reliance has set its Rs. 25,000 crore retail juggernaut rolling in less than 10 months of making its intentions public in January, 2006. Reliance plans to complete the Rs. 25,000 crore retail initiative within the next two years. Reliance intends to revolutionise modern retail scenario in the country by investing heavily in the ’supply chain’ and technology. One third of the total investment is believed to have been earmarked for these initiatives.

As reported earlier, Mukesh Ambani aide Manoj Modi will head the company’s retail venture and Nita Ambani, who is believed to have designed the stores, would be in charge of branding, communications and people outreach. She would deal with Reliance Retail’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives as well as reach out to stakeholders including farmers, middle class consumers and suppliers.

Shopping malls: Easy prey for criminals?

One of our readers Rajeev, has sent an interesting reference on safety in shopping malls. Although, we are relatively new to mall culture, we would soon be witnessing such problems in India. In coming days, we will follow up this article with tips on how to keep the malls safe? –’Thanks, Rajeev.

Malls seem like tightly-controlled and safe spaces for shopping, entertainment and dining. Yet they actually present great problems for those who are in charge of the safety and security of the retailers and customers.

Shopping malls have lots of features that make them attractive to criminals. There are plenty of nice things in the stores, and people walking around with money. There are usually places for groups of teenagers to hang out. There are also parking lots full of cars. Security and safety in malls depends on proper management of the crowd, its movement around the mall, its transportation to and away from the mall, and the way it spends its time in the mall.

India’s first dedicated food mall in Kolkata

Kolkatans can now eat to their hearts’ content at Haldiram Food City, the country’s first food mall. The 60,000 sq. ft., Rs. 8 crore, glass-fronted five-storied mall structure, designed by The Design Cell, has been promoted by the famous house of Haldirams, reports Business India.

Like the huge Haldiram’s outlet in Gurgaon on the Delhi-Jaipur highway, the Food City will have much bigger food counters on the ground floor selling, among others, mithai, pastries, chocolates, candies, besides a coffee lounge .
The first floor will house a huge 300-seater food court with separate areas for kitty parties and the like, and the second floor will be a supermarket selling all varieties of FMCG and home-utility products, including fresh vegetable and fruits. The third and fourth floors will be banquet areas. In short, every thing conceivable under the food category except alcohol and non vegetarian food.

Jumbo on retail bandwagon; plans 80 stores in 2 years

Beginning 2007, Dubai-based Chhabria controlled Jumbo electronics, will set up 80 cosumer durables’ stores across the country. All the stores, beginning with Delhi, will become operational within the next two years, reports Financial Express. The group has similar retail chains in Dubai and other Middle East countries.

The $1.5 billion Jumbo group is in talks with all major consumer durable companies like LG, Samsung, Godrej and Philips for sourcing their products, according to sources.

“We have been looking at India for the last 5-7 years for retail business because of our strong electronic retail presence in the middle-east countries,” said a company official.

Essel into retail fray; plans 60 ‘up market’ apparel stores

Subhash Chandra-owned Essel (Zee TV) group, will invest $ 40 million to set up 60 “Gavel Fashion” stores in the niche apparel and fashion accessories retail segment in the next three years, reports Financial Express.

The company is planning to achieve a turnover of Rs 300 crore in the next three years, providing “value for money products to niche consumers who appreciate quality in their life,” said a company release. Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore and Kolkata are some of the cities where these stores will be opened, which depending on the brand and the city of launch could be a combination of mono-brand and multi-brand stores, added the release

“Most of our stores will be in five-star hotels. We aren’t planning to tie up with any retail chain since we will not be targeting mass markets,” said Gavel Fashion CEO.

The Essel group has interest in media and entertainment, amusement and theme park, packaging, tele retailing (Asian Sky Shop) and realty.

110 mn sft of retail space; developers feel the heat

By December 2008, over 110 million square feet of space is going to become available across the country for the organised retail industry, according to findings of a research report posted earlier. The retail boom is spreading to Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities and 361 projects are under way. Of this, 227 are in the top seven cities and the rest in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities. Besides, 35 hypermarkets, 325 large department stores and over 10,000 outlets are also under development.

The biggest of the upcoming malls “Citi Center” in Noida will have 5 million square feet of space, while eastern suburbs of Mumbai will have three malls, each with more than 1 million square feet of space.

As supply grows faster than demand for retail space, malls particularly in north India are finding it difficult to find buyers, leading to surplus space being offered to offices, reports Business Standard.

42,000 fake Dabur Amla hair oil bottles, 1 lakh labels seized

As many as 42,000 fake hair oil bottles, about one lakh labels and two drums of Dabur Amla hair oil were seized in a raid conducted by Delhi police on manufacturing units involved with production and packaging of fake Dabur Amla Hair Oil. The raids were conducted under the orders of the High Court, in an effort to curtail the counterfeit products’ racket according to PTI report.

“These raids are an effort to tackle the problem of fake products entering the Indian market”, said a company release. Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) market alone has been facing losses of Rs 2600 crore every year due to the counterfeit products, added the release.

Dabur had filed a suit here against the spurious manufacturers in Timarpur and Daya Basti districts of Delhi, the Dabur release said, adding in the raid at the two locations fake foods worth Rs 75 lakhs have been recovered.

Reliance: Ready to launch at long last?

Reliance Retail, the retail arm of Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Industries, at long last, appears to be getting ready to make its forays into retail from Hyderabad with the opening of ‘Feel Fresh’ within the next fortnight reports DNA Money. Launching plans include opening of 5 to 10 stores in the beginning, though, there is no official announcement as yet.

While Mukesh Ambani aide Manoj Modi will head the company’s retail venture, Nita Ambani, who is believed to be designing the stores, would be incharge of branding, communications and people outreach. She would deal with Reliance Retail’s corporate social responsibility (CSR) initiatives as well as reach out to stakeholders including farmers, middle class consumers and suppliers.

Spinach targets 1,500 outlets

Spinach, the food and grocery retail chain, owned by Wadhawan Food Retail Pvt Ltd (WFRPL) of Dewan Housing Finance Corporation fame, which launched its first retail outlet in Bandra Kurla Complex of Mumbai in March, 2006, is planning to open 1,500 retail grocery stores across the country in three to five years. The expansion is envisaged through both organic and inorganic routes, reports DNA India. Of the planned 1,500 outlets, 300 to 500 outlets are likely to come through acquisition of existing players, including Gujarat based Adani Retail. Taking this approach should help Spinach to gain a sizeable market share besides achieving the targeted expansion.”

With an estimated set-up cost, based on the size and location, of each store in the range of Rs 75 lakh to Rs 1.50 crore, the promoters have earmarked Rs 75 to Rs 100 cr. to meet funding needs of the the initial phase of expansion.

Besides stocking a variety of FMCG products, fruit and vegetables, stationery, OTC medicines, etc, each of the Spinach store, modelled after the best international neighbourhood stores, would have a bakery and a separate refrigerated space for meat and fish products. Plans include adding prescription medicines and alcoholic beverages over a period of time.

“The motive behind Spinach store is to provide fresh and quality products at the right price, in the neighbourhood, in an environment that’s international and which will eventually become meeting ground for the community of that particular locality,” said an Spinach official.
Depending on the size, Spinach stores will be known as Spinach Express (less than 2,500 sq.ft.), Spinach Local (2,500 to 5,000 sq. ft.) or Spinach Super(5,000 to 7,000 sq. ft.) stores.

Retailers loose $5.8 Bn. in shop lifting and thefts

Despite all the closed-circuit television cameras, electronic article surveillance (EAS) and security personnel, retailers continue to wage a losing battle against shoplifters, says Jack L. Hayes International Inc., a leading loss prevention and inventory shrinkage control consulting firm.

Among 24 major retailers surveyed by the firm, which represented 13,313 stores nationwide (U.S.) with combined 2005 annual sales of more than $519 billion, a staggering $5.8 billion (or 1.6%) was lost to shoplifters and employee theft.
But according to the survey, an even more worrisome concern to retailers is the growing threat posed by dishonest employees. In fact, the survey shows that for every 26 employees, one was caught with a hand in the cookie jar in 2005.

The survey also found that the number of employees caught stealing in 2005 rose to 68,994, an increase of 11.4 percent over the previous year. By the same token, $49.9 million was recovered as a result of those apprehensions, an increase of 17.8 percent over 2004.Mark Doyle, president of Jack L. Hayes International, says the $5.8 billion figure was derived by multiplying total sales by 1.6 percent, which is the average shrinkage according to the 2005 National Retail Security Survey conducted by the University of Florida.

Doyle says the total theft loss amount may be even higher. “We took 30 % (against usual 20%) for paperwork and systems errors. If anything, we were more conservative.”

“The dollar losses are staggering,” says Doyle, adding that in the end everybody gets hurt because retail theft “drives consumer prices higher.”

Look for the cat-and-mouse posturing between retail surveillance and shoplifters to get even dicier as the holiday season approaches. “Without looking at hard data, retail thefts tend to increase during all busy shopping seasons,” said an expert.

Wal-Mart to add 600 locations, 60 mn. sq. ft.

Wal-Mart, the world’s largest retail chain with annual revenue of US$ 235.38 Bn.-(ttm), more than 6600 stores worldwide, more than 1.8 mn. employees in 15 countries and more than 25 mn. customers every day, is planning in fiscal 2008 (Feb 2007-Jan 2008) to open more than 600 new locations, increase capex by 2 to 4% and add 60 mn. sq. ft. shopping space  through a variety of formats worldwide excluding any possible future acquisitions. (Source: Yahoo Biz).

“The Company will continue growing through new unit expansion, acquisitions and same-store sales, said Tom Schoewe, Wal-Mart Stores, Inc. executive vice president and chief financial officer.

“In the past three years, capital expenditure growth has been higher than square footage and sales growth,” Schoewe explained. “During our next fiscal year, we expect that square footage growth will be around 7.5 percent (10% international, 7% U.S.).

India on fast growth trajectory: To ahieve 9-10% annual growth

Prime Minister Manmohan Singh today expressed confidence that the Indian economy, currently growing at an unprecedented 8% for the third straight year, would expand by 9-10% annually over the next 5 years, reports PTI.

“We are targeting a 9-10 per cent annual growth rate in the next five years,” he said after laying the foundation stone of Hero Honda’s new two-wheeler manufacturing plant here.

Singh said the growth rates would be the basis to generate resources needed for the massive investments India plans to make in agriculture, rural development and infrastructure and poverty alleviation.

$1,400 per capita, 70 mn. jobs: 11th plan

The Planning Commission today envisaged creating seven crore new jobs in the next five years and doubling per capita income in 10 years — a feat that would greatly reduce poverty and result in inclusive growth, reports PTI.
These achievements would make growth process more inclusive, but require the economy to grow at 10 per cent by the end of 11th Five-Year Plan.

“The economy has many important strengths that are reflected in the acceleration of growth witnessed in the past few years. But our growth has not been sufficiently inclusive and failures in this area are significant,” says the draft of the Approach Paper to the 11th Five-Year Plan.

“Therefore, our targets have to be redefined and policies restructured to ensure that growth in the future is more inclusive,” it said.

Fendi; to be in India soon

Ultra-premium French luxury brand Fendi is soon coming to India. It is setting up a 51:49 JV with Fun Fashion India (FFI) a Mumbai based fashion house of Choradia Fashions. The JV would retail its global range, including fur products, through a chain of outlets spread across the country reports the Economic Times.
The Louis Vuitton and Moet Henessey (LVMH) Group, which owns Fendi, is planning to invest about Euro 5 mn. in India over the next five years. Initially, Fendi products would be sold under the trademarks like Fendi, V, FF, FF Fendi and registered designs like Janus and Squirrel through an outlet in Mumbai. LMVH will also sell ready to wear products, watches, accessories, jewellery and shoes.

And now, exclusive malls for education!

When every one is jumping on to the mall mania, how could education be left behind? The Delhi based Rs. 700 crore GTM Group is planning to set up 10-12 dedicated malls across the country for the education sector in the next few years, reports the Hindu Business Line.The project will leverage the current boom in educational institutes and the initiative is to make India an education hub in the future.

To start with, construction of a 10,000-sq-m mall in Jaipur, at an investment of Rs 60 crore is on the anvil, which is likely to be completed by 2009. The mall is expected to bring 60 colleges and institutes under one roof. “It will be a hub of educational bodies and will not have more than two colleges of the same stream,” said Mr Avinash Keswani, Vice-President, Marketing, GTM Builders and Promoters Pvt Ltd.

“Rich people love low prices, the poor need them”

Hypermarkets have caught on the imagination of poor and rich alike. Shoppers are thronging to 25 or so of the country’s Hypermarkets. And, there is a scope for 1,000 such markets in 67 retail destinations by 2010, says an interesting report in Rediff.

“We expected 3,500 footfalls a day, but, by the second week of its launch in May, the figure stood at 12,500,” said Andrew Levermore, CEO, K. Raheja promoted HyperCity Retail.

What makes Hyper markets click? The convenience of one stop shopping, lower prices, or wider choice of products? May be all, but price appears to be the major driver of increasing footfalls.

People may love to shop, but their eyes never stray too far from the price tag. “Rich people love low prices, the poor need them,” says Livermore. “Unless your prices are the best, especially in the food and groceries (F&G) segment, there’s little point,” adds Levermore, explaining that it’s actually the perceived value that customers believe they’re getting that is going to matter.

So, how are hypermarket retailers coping with the pressure to offer lower prices and still make money? Here, are a few of the strategies followed by some of them:

Right Product Mix: To overcome lower gross margins of 10 to 12% on Food & Grocery (F&G), retailers are trying to optimise the product mix of F&G and General merchandise. A product mix comprising 40% food and 60% of non-food could enhance gross margins to a respectable 18-19%. While Hypercity, is able to achieve a mix of 60  non-food to 40 food, Big Bazar is able to do even better with 63% of non-food.

More Non-food Display: Higher non-food sales are achieved by allocating higher shelf and display space. Food display space is restricted to around 20%. This works, because shoppers, in any case, are there to shop for food items.

Store Labels: Hypermarkets are also working hard to discourage sales of branded products. They are promoting their own labels, though, it is not easy to promote them beyond a point due to strong customer brand loyalties for a class of goods, such as, FMCG. While Hypercity has achieved store labels sale of around 30%, Trent promoted Star Bazar has been able to touch only 10%.

Increased Volumes: “Suppliers themselves are willing to give away more if the volumes are high enough,” says Neeti Chopra, Marketing Head Trent.
Bypassing Middlemen: Retailers are also striving hard to keep costs in check by improving sourcing efficiencies. By pruning on the middleman and reaching farm gates, retailers are able to improve margins. “There are too many middlemen” says Levermore.

Retail’s Evolution:So chic, so hip, so you!

Our reader Rajeev has sent an interesting piece on Changing trend in shopping mode in the USA. Although, quite nascent at the moment, it would not be surprising, if the trend soon catches on as a fad. Reproduced below are excerpts from a report originally published in the Press Enterprise.

In the past decade, the Inland shopping scene has morphed from mega indoor malls to open-air centers designed to lure customers with a new level of retailing and a setting made to encourage lounging, drinking, chatting and even living. The evolution continues with the recent opening of The Promenade Shops at Dos Lagos, a Corona center that showcases trendy shops and restaurants encircling two lakes and a bridge traversing a 10-foot waterfall.

Retailers are banking on the idea that consumers want more than the sterile traditional mall. The Promenade Shops, bring a collection of retailers, such as Williams-Sonoma and Banana Republic, that are considered high-end though not Tiffany and Versace luxury.

Self-checkout spending to touch $1.2 trillion by 2009

Self check-out systems are becoming popular; not so much by choice but out of compulsions of time and language. An interesting article, based on a research study conducted by IHL predicts self-checkout sales to rise to $1.2 trillion by 2009. Given acute shortage of front desk staff, Indian retail is not far away from adopting to this technology . We reproduce below relavant excerpts:

American consumers—especially frequent fliers—are becoming quite comfortable with self-checkout systems, to the tune of a projected $475 billion (excluding gasolin) in self-checkout purchases this year, according to a new study from the IHL Consulting Group.
That’s a 47 percent increase compared with what IHL recorded last year and IHL is predicting the sharp increases will continue, with a projected $1.2 trillion in self-checkout sales projected by 2009.

LG targets 22,000 retailers across country

LG Electronics India is planning this year to add 22,000 new retailers to its present tally of 18,000 dealers across the country to grab a major market share in the emerging handset market .This will present dealers network to 40,000 dealers.

“We have planned out an aggressive marketing strategy to market our products. This is the first step of our business strategy,” said H S Bhatia, National Product Group Head GSM Mobile Phones.

LG has also planned to open two brand shops in Delhi, which will be exclusively for marketing and promotion of mobile phones. “We are planning to increase the number of brand shops to 20 by 2006. The whole of Northeast and Jammu and Kashmir is an emerging market with cellcos flowing there to launch their services,” Bhatia added.

The company having lined up an array of new handsets to be launched by 2007, is planning to launch 21 new models during 2007. LG would be launching around seven 3G enabled phones once the government comes up with the policy for the operators.

“LG is accepted as the No.1 handset manufacturer of 3G handsets in Europe and America. We are optimist about the market here in India,” he added.

Triumph lingerie to become available in 200 stores

International lingerie brand Triumph, which is available in India through 500 multi-brand operators (MBOs), retail stores and franchisee stores, has embarked on a major expansion plan, to reach out to more consumers in the metropolitan cities reports Business Standard.

The company planned to have its presence in at least 200 stores this year.
“The brand consciousness for Triumph is high among Indians. Much before we entered India in 2002, Triumph lingerie was available in the grey market. Our experience in the last four years has been good. By the end of this year, Triumph will be available in 20 more stores. Next year, 50 more stores will sell Triumph lingerie,” Triumph International India country head Thorsten Allenstein told Business Standard.

Rajesh Exports opens two more retail stores

Rajesh Exports opens two more retail storesPTI.

Jewellery exporter Rajesh Exports has announced the launch of two more outlets of its retail showroom ‘Laabh Jewellers’ in Bhubaneshwar and Secunderabad reports PTI.

With this launch the total number of its retail outlets across the country has increased to ten.

The launch marks the company’s retail forays into the states of Orissa and Andhra Pradesh. The company would be establishing retail showrooms across the country in order to achieve a pan India presence in the jewellery sector.

Retail Management: Distance Learning

Professional Career Development Institute (PCDI) of Georgia (USA) is offering a distance learning programme in retail management. They can be reached through their web site: http://www.pcdi.com/courses/rg/ or by phone at 1.800.417.2407.

The programme is open to all persons over 17 years of age. There are no restrictions on prior work experience or eductional qualification. Free registration at PCDI website entitles applicants to receive a free career kit.

The course fees, as obtained by one of the applicants, is US$ 689, which if so desired, can also be paid in installments (Down payment US$ 5+ 19 monthly installments US$ 36 each).

We have absolutely no idea of either quality or content of the programme, however, the programme is subject to Americation laws as my be applicable for such courses.

Those interested may directly get in touch online with the institute.

12 more “Lee Exclusives” this fiscal

After recent opening of the world’s biggest Lee showroom (6,000 sq ft) in Bangalore, the Denim-jeans major opened its third exclusive store (2,400 sq ft) in Chennai on Wednesday reports Business Line.Strong distribution network and emerging markets like Bangalore helped Lee garner 60% of its total sales last year from south India, said Darshan Mehta, CEO, VF-Arvind Brands, the Lee brand JV in India. While, Bangalore is almost on par with Delhi and Mumbai as far as sales is concerned, margins are much higher here due to real estate prices being lower. Rental costs at a high street in Bangalore are as little as one-fifth that of a high street in Delhi, he added.

The company is planning to open 12 more stand alone stores by the end of the financial year, in Pune, Ahmedabad and Delhi among other cities. Currently, the brand has 66 exclusive stores and 450 point-of-sales in India. Of the exclusive stores, nine are `new format’ or flagship outlets, which the company says has a décor distinctive from the earlier exclusive stores, based on the theme of `vintage meets contemporariness’.

Whopping 50% growth in sourcing from India: Wal-Mart

WM Global Sourcing India, the Bangalore based Indian sourcing arm of retail major Wal-Mart, directly sourced more than $400 million worth of supplies from India in 2005 and is on course to increase the same by 50% to $600 million. This excludes a substantial amount of Indian-made goods that Wal-Mart bought through importers. Major categories of goods sourced by Wal-Mart from India include home textiles, apparel, fine jewellry and house wares.

“Wal-Mart’s position as one of the major buyers of Indian products is a position carefully earned over the years through close partnership with our suppliers. We expect that direct sourcing from the region will continue to grow as suppliers in the region are innovative and respond quickly to new trends and business opportunities,” said Rajnish Kapur, General Manager, WM Global Sourcing India reports PTI.

The office in India serves as a hub for sourcing merchandise from India, Nepal and Sri Lanka to Wal-Mart stores around the world.

3 single brand retailing FDIs cleared

The Government of India has allowed three foreign companies to enter single brand retailing by permitting them to set up subsidiaries in joint venture with local companies, as under:

• Lladro Commercials (Spain) for Ceramics through Spa Agencies (India)
• Damro Exports Private Ltd (Sri Lanka) for Damro Brand Furniture through Damro Furniture Private Ltd
• Rino Greggio Italy Silverware