INTRODUCTION

Theword"Retail"originatesfromaFrenchItalianword"retailer"meaningsomeonewhocuts

offorshredsasmallpiecefromsomething.Retailingincludesactivitiesofmarketingandselling

products orservicestoendconsumersfortheirownhouseholdorpersonaluse.Retailerisa

PersonorAgentor CompanyorOrganizationwhoisinstrumentalinreachingtheGoodsor

MerchandiseorServicestotheEndUserorUltimateConsumer.

Retail is referred to any sale for final consumption in contrast to a sale for further sale or

processing

(i.e.wholesale).

Retailerswhosellfoodproducts(foodandbeverage)totheconsumers,whichcanbe

consumed,

readilyoraftercookingarereferredasfoodretailers.

Retailingencompassesthebusinessactivityinvolvedinsellinggoodsandservicesto

consumersfor

theirpersonal,familyorhouseholduse.

OrganizedAgrifoodretailingreferstofoodandbeverageretailingbylicensedretailers

(registered

forsalestax,incometax,etc)withpropertechnicalandaccountingstandardization.

Organizedretailingreferstotradingactivitiesundertakenbylicensedretailers.

Theretailindustryismainlydividedinto:1)Organisedand2)UnorganisedRetailing

Organizedretailingreferstotradingactivitiesundertakenbylicensedretailers,thatis,
 thosewhoare

registeredforsalestax,incometax,etc.Theseincludethecorporatebackedhypermarkets

andretail

chains,andalsotheprivatelyownedlargeretailbusinesses.Organized foodretailingisa

twotiermarket

inwhicha small number of very large companies controla large proportionof

supermarkets.The

supermarketgiantswieldgreatpurchasingpoweroverfarmersandprocessors,andstrong

influenceover

consumers.AndUnorganisedretailing,ontheotherhand,referstothetraditionalformatsof

lowcost

retailing, for example, the local kirana shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi

shops,

conveniencestores,handcartandpavementvendors,etc.

TheIndianretailsectorishighlyfragmentedwith97percentofitsbusinessbeing

runbythe

unorganizedretailers.Theorganizedretailhoweverisataverynascentstage.Thesector

isthelargest

sourceofemploymentafteragriculture,andhasdeeppenetrationintoruralIndia.

1.1GLOBALRETAILINDUSTRY
 Retailing, one of the largest sectors in the global economy, is going through a

transitionphasein

India.Foralongtime,thecornergrocerystorewastheonlychoiceavailabletotheconsumer,

especially

in the urban areas. This is slowly giving way to international formats of retailing. The

traditionalfoodand

grocerysegmenthasseentheemergenceofsupermarkets/grocerychains,conveniencestores

andfastfood

chains.

Unlikefoodprocessors,foodretailingisatwotiermarketinwhichasmallnumberof

verylarge

companiescontrolalargeproportionofsupermarkets.Thesupermarketgiantswieldgreat

purchasing

poweroverfarmersandprocessors,andstronginfluenceoverconsumers.Thetraditional

grocers,by

introducingselfserviceformatsaswellasvalueaddedservicessuchascreditandhome

delivery,have

triedtoredefinethemselves.However,theboominretailinghasbeenconfinedprimarilyto

theurban

markets inthecountry.Eventhere,largechunksareyettofeeltheimpactoforganized

retailing.Thereare
twoprimaryreasonsforthis.First,themodernretailerisyettofeelthesaturation'effectin

theurban

marketandhas,therefore,probablynotlookedattheothermarketsasseriously.Second,

themodern

retailingtrend,despiteitscosteffectiveness,hascometobeidentifiedwithlifestyles.

Retailinginmoredevelopedcountriesisbigbusinessandbetterorganizedthanwhatitis

inIndia.

TheratiooforganizedretailingtounorganizedinUSisaround80to20,inEuropeitis70to

30,whilein

Asiaitcomestoaround20to80.Hencethere liesagreatscopeinIndia.InIndiathe

scenarioisquiet

unique,organizedretailingaccountsforamere5%ofthetotalretailsector.Althoughthere

arearound5

millionretailstoresinIndia,90%ofthesehaveafloorspaceareaof500sq.ft.Orless.The

emergenceof

organizedretailinginIndiaisarecentphenomenonandisconcentratedinthetop100urban

townsand

cities.
 Theglobalretailindustryhastraveledalongwayfromasmallbeginningtoanindustry

wherethe

worldwideretailsalesalonearevaluedat$7trillion.Thetop200retailersaloneaccountfor

30%of

worldwidedemand.Retailsalesbeing generally drivenby peoplesability (disposable

income)and

willingness(consumerconfidence)tobuy,complimentsthefactthatthe money spenton

household

consumption worldwide increased 68% between 1980 and 2003. The leader has in

disputablybeenthe

USAwheresometwothirdsor$6.6trillionoutofthe$10trillionAmericaneconomyis

consumer

spending.

Inordertoappealtoallclassesofthesociety,retailstoreswouldhavetoidentifywith

different

lifestyles. In a sense, this trend is already visible with the emergence of stores with an

essentially`value

for money' image. The attractiveness of the other stores actually appeals to the existing

affluentclassas

wellasthosewhoaspiretobepartofthisclass.
 Hence,theretailingrevolutionisemergingalongthelinesoftheeconomicevolution

ofsociety.

Positive forces at work in retail consumer markets today include high rates of personal

expenditures,low

interestrates,lowunemploymentandverylowinflation.Negativefactorsthatholdretail

salesback

involveweakeningconsumerconfidence.

1.2FOODRETAILININDIA

Retailing isone of thepillarsof theeconomy inIndia andaccounts for13%of

GDP.Theretail

industry is divided into organized and unorganized sectors. Organized retailing refers to

tradingactivities

undertakenbylicensedretailers,thatis,thosewhoareregisteredforsalestax,incometax,

etc.These

includethecorporatebackedhypermarketsandretailchains,andalsotheprivatelyowned

largeretail

businesses.Unorganizedretailing,ontheotherhand,referstothetraditionalformatsoflow
costretailing,

for example, the local kirana shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops,

conveniencestores,

handcartandpavementvendors,etc.

TodayIndiaisoneofthelargestretailmarketsintheworldwithhighestnumberof

retailers

(approximately100million)andtheretailoutlets(approximately15million).Thecurrent

sizeofIndias

Retailmarketisabout$28billion(Rs.1.26lakhcrore).RetailinginIndiahasbeguntomove

towards

modernization,systemizationandconsolidation.

In India retailing is considered as a sunrise industry. Food and grocery segment

constitutesabout62

percentofthetotalINR12000billion(USD270billion)Indianretailmarkets.Thereare

about12million

FoodretailersinIndiaand80percentofthoseareactuallymomandpopshopsrunbyfamily

members.

Themodernorganizedretailingisabout3percentofthetotal.AtKearney sglobalretail
development

indexshowsIndiaonthetopofemergingretailmarket.Retailingthroughnontraditional

channelsis

becomingmorepopular.Retailingthroughsupermarkets,hypermarkets,departmentstoresare

increasing.

TopbusinesshouseslikeReliance,Tata,andRahejasareinvestinginthissector.Theretail

sectorsalso

employover10%ofnationalworkforce.ThefaceofgroceryretailinginIndiaisseeing

thechange

becauseofthehugeinvestmentsbythecorporate,tonamethefewareRPGSpencer,Future

group,Food

Bazaar,Reliance,Subhikshaetc.Retailsectoristhefastestgrowing sectorintheIndian

economy.

Traditional markets are making way for few formats such as department stores,

hypermarkets,books

supermarkets and specially stores. International players like Tesco and Carryfour are

expectedtoenter

Indiaverysoon.Thebusinesssectorsofbankingandretailhavealwayshadcloselinks.

Financeshould

alsobemadeeasilyavailabletofacilitateexpansionandrestructuringplansundertakenby

retailers.
 Thoughwithapopulationof1.14billionin2011andamiddleclasspopulationof

over400

millionsorganizedretailing(intheformoffoodretailchains)isstillinitsinfancyinthe

Country.India

has been rather slow in joining the Organized Retail Revolution that was rapidly

transformingthe

economiesintheotherAsianTigers.Thiswaslargelyduetotheexcellentfoodretailing

systemthatwas

established by the kirana (momandpop) stores that continue meet with all the

requirementsofretail

requirementsalbeitwithouttheconvenienceoftheshoppingasprovidedbytheretailchains;

andalsodue

tothehighlyfragmentedfoodsupplychainthatiscloakedwithseveralintermediaries(from

farm

processordistributorretailer)resultinginhugevaluelossandhighcosts.Thissupplemented

withlackof

developedfoodprocessingindustrykepttheorganizedchainsoutofthemarketplace.The

correction

process is underway andthesystems are beingestablishedfor effective Businessto

Business(farmer

processor,processorretailer) solutionsthereby leveraging thecore competence ofeach

playerinthe

supplychain.ThoughTheIndianretailindustryisthefifthlargestintheworld.Comprising

oforganized

andunorganizedsectors,IndiaretailindustryisoneofthefastestgrowingindustriesinIndia,

especially

over the last few years. Though initially, the retail industry in India was mostly

unorganized,however

withthechangeoftastesandpreferences oftheconsumers,theindustryisgettingmore

popularthesedays

andgettingorganizedaswell.Withgrowingmarketdemand,theindustryisexpectedtogrow

atapaceof

2530%annually.

The share of milk products could have surpassed the contribution of cereals in

agricultureforthe

year20102011,in20092010vegetablesandfruitscontributedRs.1.45lakhcroretothe

economy,milk

Rs.1.49lakhcrore,andcereals1.51lakhcrores.Thefoodindustryisonarollercoasterride

asIndians

continue tohave a feast.Fuelledby large disposableincomes the foodsectoris

witnessinga
remarkablechangeinconsumptionpatterns,especiallyintermsoffood.Foodretailinghas

comeofage

fromaperiodwhenfooditemsweresoldinsmallroadsidegrocershops&mandis,haatsand

bazzarsby

vendors to a stage when food products (processed and groceries) are retailed through

supermarketstores

whereconsumers caninspect,selectandpickuptheproductstheylikeinacomfortable

ambienceandstill

payafairpricefortheproductandthemerchandiseandsometimesevenpaylessthan

thepricethey

wouldhave paidatthe nearestfood stores.Shopping for groceries isnolonger a

strenuousand

uncomfortableaffair.Instead,itisapleasurableexperience.Fromsimpletradingactivity,

foodretailingis

nowheadingtothestatusofanindustry.

1.3INTEGRATIONOFFOODINDUSTRYTHEKEYDRIVEROFFOODRETAIL

ININDIA

IndiaisworldssecondlargestgroweroffruitsandvegetablesafterBrazilandChina.

Whilethe
agriculture sector has witnessed several leaps of innovation and technological

advancements,the

processingsectorisstillinitsinfancy.Evenwithlessthan4%processing of fruitsand

vegetables,the

Food Processing Industry sector in India is one of the largest in terms of production,

consumptionwithin

India,exportandgrowthprospects.Thegovernmenthasaccordeditahighpriority,witha

numberof

fiscal reliefs and incentives, to encourage commercialization and value addition to

agriculturalproduce;

forminimizingpre/postharvestwastage,generatingemploymentandexportgrowth.Asa

resultofseveral

policyinitiativesundertakensinceliberalizationinearly90s,theindustryhaswitnessedfast

growthin

mostofthesegments.

Changingconsumerpreferencesduetoincreaseddisposableincome.Consumersare

demanding

widerrangeanduniquemerchandisewithconsistentqualityallunderoneroof

GradualincreasingcosmopolitizationofIndianpopulationduetowesterninfluence

and

internationalizationof palatesand lifestyle createdtheneedof wider array of

 productsand

services

Newtypesofpackagedandconveniencefoodssuchasprocessedmeatandmeat

products

requiringrefrigeratedstorageandtransportationandretailshelfspace

Asofnowtheemphasisinfoodandgroceryretailingisondrygroceries.Thewet

grocerieslike

fruits,vegetablesandmeatproductsaccountforonly35percentoftheoverallofferingof

theorganized

players.However,consumersspendingindicatethatabout40%oftotalconsumerspending

isonwet

groceries.Themajorchallengewouldthusbeputtingappropriatesupplychainmanagement

infrastructure

forwetproductsandthosewhowillbeabletodoitfasterwillhaveamajordifferentiation

advantageto

leverage.ThesignsofeliminatinginvolvementofmiddlemenamongIndianretailersare

increasingly

visible.

TheprocessedfoodmarketforIndiaisvastandtheamountofscopethatretailchains

wouldbe
exposedtoisphenomenaltakingintoconsiderationthedemographicsandraiseinstandards

ofliving.

Retailerscouldthrongthemarketwithalltheseprocessedandpackagedfoodswiththeir

privatelabels.

Withtheemergenceofthebigprivatecorporate,NGOs(NonGovernmentOrganizations)

and

Governmentorganizationsintothefoodprocessingscene,Indiaismakingbiginroadsinto

theFood

ProcessingIndustry.ThesecorporateandNGOshavereachedouttothefarmersandprovided

themwith

timely advice andhelpintheupgradationof farmpracticeswithvaluable inputson

variousareasof

farming fromsowing toharvesting whichincludesquality seedprocurement,manures,

fertilizersand

pesticidesetc.

Some of the successful models are that of ITCs echoupal a model that helps the

soyabeanfarmersin

contract producing for ITC for its commodity trading business. The PEPSI

experimentingwithPunjab

farmersingrowingtherightqualitytomatoforitstomatopureesandpastes.Someofthe

leadingfood
retailchainsworking withfarmersforcontractgrowing greensforsupply totheirretail

outletsetcetc.

Thesesuccessfulmodelsarebeingreplicatedwithrequiredchangesalloverthecountry

andthefood

industryisgettingintegratedmorestrongly.

TheseadvancementshaverevolutionizedtheintegrationoftheIndianFoodIndustry

hasplayeda

vitalroleinsolving,toalargeextent,majorsupplychainissuesthatprevailed.Thetrend

isthatthese

successfulinstitutionalinterventionmodelsbereplicatedandspreadinallsegmentsofthe

foodindustry

farandwidethroughthecountrythatbenefitalltheincumbentsofthechainevolve.This

finallyhelpsthe

retailerashissupplychainbecomesmuchleanerandverticallyintegrated.Retailerisina

positiontooffer

awidevarietyandhighestdegreeofconvenience tohiscustomer...The successofa

coupleofhyper

martsindicatingtheevolutionofhypermarketsinthecountryprominentamongthemis

Giant,Metro,Big

Bazaarmodels.
 Theshortageofwarehousingfacilities,coldstorageandlargescaleprocessingunits

hasobstructed

thegrowthoftheFoodRetailingIndustryinIndia.AsSupplychainisfragmented&marked

byexistence

oflargenumberofintermediaries,organizedretailinghasbeenaverytoughproposition.

Indiaisstillin

thesecondandthirdpartylogisticprovidermodewhilefourthpartylogisticmodelshave

becomeglobal

standardsforlogisticproviders.

NABARDcanplay a leadrole inclusterformationandorganizing farmersinto

producer

companiesandmarketing companies,helpingthemtodealwithorganizedfoodretailers

directly.

NABARDcanalsorecommendrelaxationofRs.20lakhlimitonprioritylendingwherever

afarmer

clusterhas directly startedworking withanorganizedretailer underassuredbuyback

arrangementfor

creationofinfrastructuresuchasgodown,refrigerationunit,cleaning,gradingandsorting

unitsandso

on.NABARDcansponsororsupportinstitutionalsetupinruralareasforrecruitingand

training

employees for organized food retail. NABARD already has schemes for cluster
development(in

handloom sector), creation of rural god owns, cold storages and development of agri

marketing

infrastructure and development of rural marts. The new proposed schemes can be well

integratedwiththe

existingones.

Overtheyears,theincreasingliteracyintheCountryandtheexposuretodeveloped

nationsvia

satellitetelevisionorbywayoftheoverseasworkexperiences,theconsumerawarenesshas

increasedon

thequalityandthepriceoftheproducts/servicesthatisexpected.Todaymoreandmore

consumersare

vocalonthequalityoftheproducts/servicesthattheyexpectfromthemarket.Thisawareness

hasmade

theconsumerseekmoreandmorereliablesourcesforpurchasesandhencethelogicalshiftto

purchases

from the organized retail chains that has a corporate background and where the

accountabilityismore

pronounced.Theconsumeralsoseekstopurchasefromaplacewherehis/herfeedbackis

morevalued.
1.4DECADALGROWTHOFTHEFOODRETAILSECTOR

Retailing isa sunrise industry inIndiawithmany challengeslike exclusionof

smallfarms,

managementofprocessinganddistributionchains.Evolutionofsupermarketsandfastfood

chainsisa

recentphenomenoninIndia.Various demandandsupply sidefactorshave contributed

towardsthis

growth.

SupplySide:

The liberalization of the economy in the 1990s led to a boom in the Consumer

GoodsIndustry

withreductionsincustomdutiesandshiftfromquotatotariffbasedsystem.Entrybarriers

on

multinationalswerelargelyremovedafterwhichFoodIndustrymajorslikeKellogg s,Heinz,

Tropicana,

etc., entered the Indian food industry. This gave rise to tremendous development of

sophisticatedsupply

chain&logisticswhicheventuallyandgraduallyhasledtothegrowthinthefoodprocessing

&packaging
industry

DemandSide:

Theincreaseintheincomelevelsofmiddle&higherincomegroupsinthe1990s

coupledwiththe

reductioninpovertylevelswasamajorfactorincontributingtotheincreaseindemandfor

highquality

foodretailingservices.Changingconsumerlifestyleswiththesteepincreaseintimevalue,

widespread

changeintheIndianfamilystructurefromvastJointHindufamiliestomoremanageable

nuclearfamilies

andincreasinglevelofqualityawarenesshasalsohelpedthecauseoftheFoodRetailing

industry

considerably. Another major factor that has accelerated the growth of the Indian Food

RetailingSectorhas

beentheadventofcabletelevisionandtheincreasinginstancesofoverseastravelbyIndians

forvarious

reasons.

1.5FDIININDIANRETAILSECTOR
 Indiain1997allowedforeigndirectinvestment(FDI)incashandcarrywholesale.

Then,it

required government approval. The approval requirement was relaxed, and automatic

permissionwas

grantedin2006.Between2000to2010,Indianretailattractedabout$1.8billioninforeign

direct

investment,representingaverysmall1.5%oftotalinvestmentflowintoIndia.

Singlebrandretailingattracted94proposalsbetween2006and2010,ofwhich57

wereapproved

andimplemented.Foracountryof1.2billionpeople,thisisaverysmallnumber.Some

claimoneofthe

primaryrestraintsinhibitingbetterparticipationwasthatIndiarequiredsinglebrandretailers

tolimittheir

ownershipinIndianoutletsto51%.FDIupto100%underthegovernmentapprovalroute

wouldbe

permittedinsinglebrandproductretailtrading.FDIinsinglebrandhasledtoemergenceof

someglobal

majorsinIndianmarket.However,Chinaincontrastallows100%ownershipbyforeign

companiesin

bothsinglebrandandmultibrandretailpresence.
 Indianretailhasexperiencedlimitedgrowth,anditsspoilage of foodharvestis

amongstthe

highestintheworld,becauseofverylimitedintegratedcoldchainandotherinfrastructure.

Indiahasonly

5386standalonecoldstorages,havingatotalcapacityof23.6millionmetrictons.However,

80percent

ofthisstorageisusedonlyforpotatoes.Theremaininginfrastructurecapacityisless

than1%ofthe

annualfarmoutputofIndiaandgrosslyinadequateduringpeakharvestseasons.Thisleadsto

about30%

lossesincertainperishableagriculturaloutputinIndia,onaverage,everyyear.

Indianlawsalreadyallowforeigndirectinvestmentincoldchaininfrastructureto

theextentof

100 percent. There has been no interest in foreign direct investment in cold storage

infrastructurebuild

out.Expertsclaimthatcoldstorageinfrastructurewillbecomeeconomicallyviableonly

whenthereis

strong and contractuallybinding demand from organized retail. The risk of cold storing

perishablefood,

withoutanassuredwaytomoveandsellit,putstheeconomicviabilityofexpensivecold
storageindoubt.

Intheabsenceoforganizedretailcompetitionandwithabanonforeigndirectinvestmentin

multibrand

retailers,foreigndirectinvestmentsareunlikelytobeginincoldstorageandfarmlogistics

infrastructure.

Until2010,intermediariesandmiddlemeninIndiahavedominatedthevaluechain.

Duetoa

numberofintermediariesinvolvedinthetraditionalIndianretailchain,normsareflouted

andpricing

lackstransparency.SmallIndianfarmersrealizeonly1/3rdofthetotalpricepaidbythe

finalIndian

[8]
consumer,asagainst2/3rdbyfarmersinnationswithahighershareoforganizedretail.

The60%+

marginsfor middlemen andtraditionalretailshopshave limitedgrowthandprevented

innovationin

Indianretailindustry.

1.6FOODRETAILINAGRA
 TheOrganizedRetailSectorinAgraCityhasbeenwitnessingwindsofchangesinthe

lastcouple

ofyears.Theunorganizedretailsectorwillprobablycontinuetodominatetheretailsector

ofAgrafor

manyyearstocomedespitethesechangesastheamountofinvestmentneededtochangethe

shopping

habitsof consumersisa massiveprocess.Shopping inAgra comesinallflavors,both

traditionaland

modern,makingitaveryinterestingexperience.Bazaars,markets,streetvendorscoincide

withmorethe

modernshops.TheorganizedretailstoresinAgraspecializeinofferingdiverserangeof

consumer

products,bothpersonalaswellasdurable.Besides,multiplechoicesarealsoofferedin

different

merchandiselines,invariableprices.

The various products that can be availed at the Agra departmental stores are

furniture,apparel,

electronics,homeappliances,hardware,cosmetics,toiletries,photographicequipment,toys,

sporting

goods,jewelry,andmany more.Many famous retailchainsfindsplace inthecity of

Agra.The
departmentalstoresinAgrahavemadeshoppingveryeasyandenjoyableforthelocalsas

wellasthose

visiting the city. Plentiful of offers on different goods and products, discounted rates

convenientshopping

experience, diverse range of goods, etc are among the various facilities that the Agra

departmentalstores

bringforconsumers.TheretailindustryinAgrawillexpandby40percentmorethanits

existingsize

duringthenextfiveyears.Organizedretailwillgrow15percentintheAgrametropolitan

region.Real

EstateinAgrawillwitnesstremendousdevelopmentofretailanditsassociatedbenefits.

Currently

organizedretailingaddsuptoonly2percentinAgrathecitywhichgeneratesmostofits

revenuefrom

tourism.InAgrathereis600,000squarefeetdestinationretailmall,withhypermarkets,

departmental

stores,brandstores,andentertainmentanddiningoptionsIndia'sexpandingeconomyisalso

helpingreal

estateinAgratodeveloptoitsfullpotential.Theeconomyisboomingprimarilydueto

theexportof

servicesfromIndiatothedevelopedcountries.Theoutsourcingboomhasincreasedthe

quantityof
disposableincomefromtheIndianpopulation,whichinturnhasledtotheconstructionof

innovative

shoppingmallsandhighendresidentialcomplexes.AsignificantproportionoftheIndian

populationlives

inurbanareas;thiscreatesademandforresidentialpropertiesinAgracity.Thepremium

residential

propertyaddressesincludevalueaddedextraslikeroundtheclocksecurity,powerbackup,

marketand

shoppingmallsinsidethebuildingcomplex.

1.7FOODRETAILINDELHINCR

DelhiNCRcontinuedtobethepreferenceforretailerstoconsolidatetheirpositionin

termsof

newacquisitionsandstoreclosuresforunderperforminghighrentalstores.Retailerfocus

continued

onprimemicromarketslikeSouthDelhi,NH8GurgaonandCentralDelhi.Themallcluster

inthe

SaketDistrictCentre,locatedinSouthDelhi,hasemergedasoneofthemostprominent

retail

destinationsforNCRintermsoforganizedretailspace.SelectCityWalkcontinuestoattract

high
footfallsduetoitspositioning,brandmixandongoingpromotionalactivities.Itcontinues

tobea

preferreddestinationforbrandslookingtomaketheirretailforayintothecountry.TheDLF

Placein

SakethascreatedadistinctidentityforitselfthroughitsfoodcourtandpopularF&Boutlets.

Hard

RockCafehaslaunchedtheirfirstoutletforDelhiNCRinthisshoppingcentre.DKNY

Accessories

hasalsoopeneditsfirstretailoutlethere.RetailexpansionintheNCRisprimarilyplanned

inthe

newmalls.Anestimated75mallswouldbeplacedinNCR.

Delhi,amoderncosmopolitancity,isthebestexampleofamultiethnicamulti

cultural

societywithaneverexpandingeconomy.Beingthecapitalcosmopolitanmixfromacross

the

country.Delhiisrankedasthesecondlargestmarketinthecountryintermsofsizeand

qualityof

life,a booming economy andconsumermarketmakesit one of theleadersinretail

activityinthe

country.Withlowfootfallbecomingathingofthepast,retailersinDelhiNCRregionare

embarking

onanexpansiondriveandtheregioniswitnessingapickupinretailrentals.Netabsorption
recorded

intheDelhiNCRretailmarketwas622,001sqftin2011.TheDelhiNCRretailmarket

witnessedsix

mallcompletionsinfirstquarter2011.Also,newmallsbecameoperationalwithoccupancy

levelsin

therangeof710percent.

Hence Food Retail is very large segment of the total economic activity of India,

accounting63

percentoftotalRetailsalesintheeconomy,andduetoitsvastemploymentpotential,it

deservesvery

specialfocus.