Turning hyper

RETAIL: Action in the retail arena is set to quicken, as formats and store brands proliferate.

Let's just say it one more time. The retail industry is booming. And almost all players are going all out to acquire every sq ft of space available. Going "hyper" seems to have acquired new meaning too "" what with so many new formats under test.

There are new names galore. Planet Retail, which has the franchise for Planet Sports, Marks & Spencers and The Body Shop in India, will soon throw open doors to Debenhams, a retail chain that should open its first Indian store by end of October.

If that's not enough, the Dubai-based Landmark Group recently launched Max Retail, a chain operated by its subsidiary Max, while opening luxury brand stores Bossini and Kappa in India.

Max is also keen on large departmental stores under the Central banner. It is also looking at discount retailing, for which it has Value Retail. Lifestyle, meanwhile, has launched another retail format store called Home Centre.

All this is happening for good reason. "The industry is taking huge strides," says Arun Bhardwaj, managing director, Planet Retail, "and we are trying to be in sync with the kind of growth that has been happening." Fazle Naqvi, executive director, Landmark Group, is no less excited about the sector's growth prospects.

"The sector is witnessing a lot of changes," he says, "as traditional formats make way for new ones."

According to S S Narayan, vice-president, marketing, Lifestyle, there exists a vast gap between demand and supply in the home improvement segment "" which has rather few organised retailers. "We are looking at fulfilling this opportunity via the Home Centre concept in India."

There's money to be made. Overall, India's total retail market is estimated at Rs 9,30,000 crore, of which organised retailing is a mere Rs 30,000 crore, though the latter figure is expected to grow at a compounded annual rate of 30 per cent over the next five years.

Of course, organised retail will have to penetrate India a lot deeper than it has so far.

The expasion map is making its way to tier II cities, where the gap between aspiration and availability is reckoned to be high. "It is a market which will soon explode," says Bhardwaj, "and we have to ensure our presence to capitalise on it."