Retail is the sale of goods and services from individuals or businesses to the end-user. Retailers are part of an integrated system called the supply chain. A retailer purchases goods or products in large quantities from manufacturers directly or through a wholesale, and then sells smaller quantities to the consumer for a profit. Retailing can be done in either fixed locations like stores or markets, door-to-door or by delivery
India has been rather slow in joining the Organized Retail Revolution that was rapidly transforming the
economies in the other Asian Tigers. Though with a population of a billion and a middle class population of
over 400 millions organized retailing (in the form of food retail chains) is still in its beginning in the Country.
This was largely due to the excellent food retailing system that was established by the neighborhood Kirana
(Khandani traditional business) stores that continue meet with all the requirements of daily needs without the
convenience of the shopping as provided by the retail chains; and also due to the highly fragmented food
supply chain that is cloaked with several intermediaries (from farm-processor-distributor-retailer) resulting in
huge value loss and high costs.
This supplemented with lack of developed food processing industry kept the organized chains out of the
market place. The correction process is now underway. Big daddies of Indian corporate sectors are now
jumping to establish the retail chains across the country. The systems are being established for effective
Business-to-Business (farmer-processor, processor-retailer) solutions thereby leveraging the core
competence of each player in the supply chain.
Spread of Organized Retailing in India
Organized retailing is spreading and making its presence felt in different parts of the country. With the entry of
very large corporate houses like Reliance Fresh, Vishal, AV Birla group, Bharati Walmart joint venture and
the existing Biz Bazar, Spencer, Food Mart are also in large scale expansions across the country, the spread
of the organized retail is going to reach soon the small populations towns of 1 lac to 5 lacs after covering all
big, medium and small cities.
The trend in grocery retailing, however, has stated with a growth concentration in the South. Though there
were traditional family owned retail chains in South India such as Nilgiri's as early as 1904, the retail revolution
happened with various major business houses foraying into the starting of chains of food retail outlets in South
India with focus on Chennai, Hyderabad and Bangalore markets, preliminarily. In the Indian context, a
countrywide chain in food retailing has been pioneered by Big Bazar and Reliance fresh only.
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