Tuesday, December 5, 2006

Indian Consumer Retail Scenario

Let’s build an insight into the traditional consumer retail scenario in India.

One glimpse at the statistics in consumer retail sector is enough to label India a country of shopkeepers. There are more than 15 million consumer retail outlets – shops in the country.

The consumer retail business in the country is predominantly controlled by these shops that are spread out all across the length and breadth of the country. Most of these (more than 80%) are family-owned and family-oriented business units that cater to the requirements of a small neighborhood or locality. Most often, the household members themselves contribute the labor required to run and manage these shops. Shops engaging more than 5 outside workers could easily be categorized as the big enterprise of the locality.

These shops are, usually, single commodity units and their target client-base is the local population, with very little or no traveling clientele. Although, some enterprising businessmen have been noted to travel to distant cities to procure new variety of goods that would entice their customers, most of these shopkeepers have their wares delivered to their doorsteps.

The manufacturers make elaborate arrangement to ensure an uninterrupted supply of goods. Striving for prominent display positions for their products the manufacturers always try the shopkeeper happy, offering him schemes and incentives along the way. The ever growing competition amongst the manufacturers has ensured that these retailers are a pampered lot.

The fixed clientele ensures the pampering from the supplier and that in turn ensures a secure position for these shopkeepers. The bigger the client base the more they are pampered.

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