Structure of the Retail Industry In India

 

The retail industry continued in India in the form of Kiranas till 1980. Soon, following the modernisation of the retail sector in India, many companies started pouring in the retail industry in India like Bombay Dyeing, Grasim etc. As has been mentioned earlier the retail sector in India can be widely split into the organised and the unorganized sector. The unorganized sector is predominant. We may discuss in detail the different divisions of the retail sector in India.

Unorganized Retail Sector

The unorganized retail sector basically includes the local kiranas, hand cart, the vendors on the pavement etc. This sector constitutes about 98% of the total retail trade. But Foreign Direct Investment in the retail sector is expected to shrink the employment in the unorganized sector and expand that in the organized one.

Organised Retail Sector

In the organised sector trading is undertaken by the licensed retailers who have registered themselves to sales as well as income tax. The organised retail sector have in their ambit, corporate backed hypermarkets and retail chains. The private large business enterprises are also included under the organised retail category.

The organised retail sector can be further subdivided into:

Instore Retailers

This type of retail format is also known as the brick and mortar format. These retail stores are in the form of fixed point sale outlets. They are specially designed to lure the customers. There are different types of stores through which the instore retailers operate.

Branded Stores appear in the form of exquisite showrooms. Here the total range of a particular brand is available and the quality of the product is certified by the government.

There are also multi brand specialty stores that sell a series of brands so that the consumer can choose from the wide array of brands.

Department stores have a large number of brands and products catering to all basic needs to luxurious items as well.

Supermarkets are basically self service retail stores.Discount Stores offer commodities at reduced prices.In Hyper Marts customers have wide variety of products to choose from and they are also available at discounted rates.

Convenient stores are located in prominent places within the reach of majority of the customers and do not operate in stringent work hours.

Shopping Malls are a storehouse of a large variety of retail shops situated close to each other.

Retail Formats in India

The retail formats in India can be categorised into the traditional and the modern forms. The traditional format includes Kiranas, street markets, kiosks and multiple brand stores.

The modern format, on the other hand includes supermarkets, hypermarkets, department stores and specialty chains.

In discussing about the structure of the retail sector in India we cannot forgo forecourt retailing and trade parks.

Trade parks

Trade parks are basically business complexes that promote international trade. The global players here have access to the top Indian exporters. To the buyers this would prove to be a boon since they do not have travel to far off towns to enter into business deals with the exporters, especially in places where infrastructure is very poor. By this the exporters not only enhance their visibility but they also enjoy a host of other advantages. They can design libraries, studio etc, in order to attract potential customers.

Forecourt Retailing

This type of retailing is done by the oil companies in order to increase their revenue. They not only deliver fuel but also offer other services to its customers.

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