The Hindu, BusinessLine Purvita Chatterjee, January 20, 2012 The Bombay ‘Swadeshi' Store at Fort in Mumbai may have patriotic leanings (it was started in 1906 by Indian patriot Bal Gangadhar Tilak and businessman Munmohandas Ramji) but today the home décor and gift retailer does not want to be perceived as an old-fashioned store brand catering primarily to NRIs. It is hoping to attract youth with its new brand, The Elephant Company, a young, quirky brand with products ranging from magnets and key chains to more expensive offerings such as wall clocks, at prices between Rs 200 and Rs 4,000. Bombay…
Sapna Agarwal, Mint (A Wall Street Journal partner) Mumbai, January 19, 2012 Dutch-based supermarket chain Spar International plans to partner with multiple firms to expand its retail presence in India, a senior company executive said on Wednesday. This is a model the retailer practices globally, but in India currently it has at least 10 hypermarkets—in Karnataka, Maharashtra, Andhra Pradesh and the National Capital Region, among other places—in partnership with only Landmark group’s Max Hypermarket India Pvt. Ltd. “The new partnerships will be for entering new regions and developing new formats to penetrate the market,” said Gordon Campbell, managing director of…
Global quick-service restaurant brands are expanding their footprint in the quickly evolving Indian market. But some are also falling by the wayside. Here are some perspectives from the industry (ET Now telecast video - about 6 minutes): Click here
Pallavi Srivastava, Pitch New Delhi, January 13, 2012 Contrary to popular belief that allowing 100 per cent in single brand retail will give impetus to luxury brands in India and bring down costs, experts do not have high hopes. The government of India, a couple of days ago decided to allow 100 per cent FDI in single brand retail product trading. Till now, only 51 per cent FDI was permitted. However, there’s no FDI still allowed in multi-brand retail trade. The decision, according to a government notification is aimed at attracting investments in production and marketing, improving the availability of…
Vrinda Oberai RETAILER, New Delhi, January 12, 2012 The Manmohan Singh government has finally given its nod for the relaxation on the existing 51 per cent FDI in single brand retail, increasing it to a much awaited 100 per cent. The move has paved way for single brand foreign retailers’ to own 100 per cent of their operations in the country, possessing fully-owned stores here. However, the decision comes accompanied with a rider that 30 per cent of the value of products sold would have to be mandatorily sourced from small Indian industries/village and cottage industries, artisans and craftsmen, (collectively…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
