Farah Bookwala, CNBC-TV18 / Moneycontrol.com Mumbai, July 17, 2013 The government is making yet another push to attract FDI in retail. The Prime Minister on Tuesday relaxed norms by allowing 49 percent FDI in single-brand retail under the automatic route. While this may improve sentiment in an industry marred by regulatory hurdles, CNBC-TV18's Farah Bookwala reports that analysts call for measures more powerful than the hike in FDI limits to boost overseas retail investment. The government may have eased single-brand FDI norms on Tuesday, but not too many are left impressed. Prior to the Prime Minister's meeting held on Tuesday…
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Sayantani Kar, Business Standard Mumbai, July 16, 2013 A few weeks ago, taxis painted with familiar multicoloured stripes waited at toll booths at entries to the city of Thane to ferry passengers for free to a newly-launched hypermarket. HyperCity, the Shoppers Stop-promoted grocery chain, had opened shop in a new mall. It had even advertised waiving of toll tickets for shoppers who did not take the cabs. Not just shoppers in Thane, it was clearly gunning for ones in locations beyond it, which are in no way underserviced. Hypercity itself has another outlet in close proximity. Driving footfalls is indispensable…
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Shefalee Vasudev, Mint (A Wall Street Journal Partner) New Delhi, July 11, 2013 Just when the word “boom” has begun to sound believable in the context of India’s fashion industry, the soaring success of Zara, the world’s biggest symbol of industrial fashion, proves how polarized India is as a shopping republic. It turns the competitive game of ready-to-wear retail into a foxing ball game. Every retail brand here is pushing at the exclusivity factor through brand presence, sponsorships and advertising. Yet what’s really selling is commonality, with every 12th person having the same satin pyjamas, oversized bags, Oriental print shirts…
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Nandita Bose, Reuters Mumbai, July 7, 2013 Wal-Mart's India expansion is stalled. When India announced last September that it would allow foreign supermarket chains to take majority ownership of their Indian operations, it marked a victory for Wal-Mart Stores Inc, which had spearheaded efforts to open the market and said its first retail store would open within two years. Now, two sources within the Bentonville, Arkansas-based company's Indian unit say it is unlikely to apply for its first retail store license before March 2015. The company has said it needs a further 12 to 18 months after winning government approval…
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Priyanka Pani, The Hindu Businessline Mumbai, July 16, 2013 It is definitely a slowdown when marketers desperately woo shoppers with deep discounts. And things are definitely heading towards an economic slump when they cut down on advertisements, especially hoardings and billboards. A drive from Nariman Point in South Mumbai towards the suburbs on the expressway says it all. At least four out of six billboards on this stretch have gone blank, waiting for advertisers. Clearly, advertising and promotional spends are shrinking even as the supply of such ad space outstrips demand in the metros. Prices for some billboards are down…
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