The retail subdivision appears to have received stepmother treatment from entrepreneurs, consultants, builders and real estate developers. Until now, the focus has been more on the residential sector. But the retail sector also offers lucrative potential for budding real estate entrepreneurs. Due to the increasing population of department stores, retail management has become an important division of the merchandising chain. Organized retail trade has become an important field in the country. Currently, there are 1.2 major retailers in the country, most of which are part of an unorganized sector. In India, the total value of the retail marketing sector is estimated at Rs 12 000 crore and is expected to increase by Rs 1 lakh by 2010 d. C. According to a Mc Kenzie report, the retail sector is the second largest (after agriculture) in India. Globally too, surpassing finance and engineering, retail has taken the shape of the largest industry. 50 of the Fortune 500 companies and 25 of the top 200 Asian companies are retailers.
The retail industry has come to India through large shopping malls and large department stores and retail chains like Shopper Stop, Big Bazaar and Forum. The employment opportunities in the arena are immense and come with good financial rewards as well. Big names associated with retail marketing like Pantaloon Retail, Shopper Stop, Trent, Lifestyle, Subhiksha, Koutons, Bata and Liberty will invest around Rs 6500 crore in the next 2 years. In addition, the international chain Walmart is also expected to invest in India. According to KSA Technopak, a Delhi consulting firm, there will be about 600 malls in the country by 2009. At the moment their number is 200.
Right now, the percentile for organized retail (multi-brand outlets, malls, and franchises) is negligible, but this is not the whole picture, because the landscape will change rapidly and opportunities will increase as well. It is estimated that by 2009 this industry will begin to appreciate at a rate of 25-30% per year. In addition, between 2 and 3 million jobs will be generated in this sector. Integrated retail (retail with entertainment), a subdivision of this sector, is booming at a rapid pace in metropolitan cities.
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