The Hindu Business Line : Organised retail sector share estimated at 9 pc

The share of the country's organised retail segment has now grown beyond the oft-quoted `3 per cent'. It is estimated to be about 9 per cent of the current Rs 100,000-crore industry.

Confirming this, Mr Gibson Vedamani, CEO, Retailers' Association of India, said, "Organised retail is about 8-9 per cent of the industry across the country. In some cities such as Chennai, it touches about 14-15 per cent."

He also said that about 65 per cent of the organised retail is taken up by food retail players while the rest is divided among apparel and lifestyle segments.

Mr Gibson told Business Line that the RAI was in the process of updating these statistics and would release the figures soon.

Though luxury and premium malls have mushroomed across the country, the real growth for the retail sector in the country area is in value retailing, he said. "It's only in this area that retailers are getting a national footprint," he said. Commenting on the impending entry of foreign players in the industry, Mr Gibson felt that MNCs would find it difficult to make inroads into hypermarkets and value retailing because of the complexities of the Indian customer profile shopping habits. "To cater to the Indian consumers' demand, they have to necessarily tie up with an Indian company," he pointed out.

He also said that Indian retailers have strengthened their supply chain in the last two years, thus leading to reduced wastage levels in the industry. "Wastages, which was hovering around 35-40 per cent is now around 8 per cent," he said. Companies are working on strong and efficient back-end operations and better co-ordination with suppliers, he added.

The Indian retailing industry is expected to employ about two million people in the next two years, with 80 per cent comprising frontline staff.

RAI is working with several institutions in imparting professional retailing skills to students across the country, Mr Gibson said.

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