Promising Land!!! Studying Entry Modes of Foreign Apparel Brands in Indian Retail Industry

It should be noted that it is outside the scope of this paper to present a review of the international retail literature (see the excellent reviews by Alexander (1997); Alexander and Myers (2000); and Burt et al. (2003)). This would increase the length of the paper substantially

As we all know, the retail industry is very crucial and is highly competitive. As this company

India is standing on the threshold of a retail revolution and witnessing fast changing retail

•  India's $250 billion retail business is the eighth largest in the world and has the potential to grow 7 per cent by 2011. [McKinsey Report] For a company already dominating the world markets, this is an un-passable opportunity.

Today’s customers are more aware and empowered, and have more bargaining power due to the exponential increase in competition – direct, indirect or substitute. In retailing, they want hassle-free shopping, have less time at their disposal to locate the shop and the merchandise and are reluctant to keep waiting. The modern format retail stores are doing their best to anticipate the customer’s demands and are going all out to redesign their store interiors, offer more choices in varieties and assortments, and are giving as many services as feasible.

In this 21st century, globalization has been growing up fast. People are able to use products from other countries due to the development of economy. Export and import channels have been expanded due to the fact that retailing industry has become more famous and used among the consumers. There are numerous worldwide retail locations around the globe. Among them, the most popular stores are Walmart, Carrefour, Tesco and Metro stores. Clients' needs and wants become similar due to the standardization of the products. One of the major reasons why retailing is commonly popular among consumers is that development of economy. Mckinsey (2012) indicates that extending retail market and discovering potential clients are vital if a retail

Another threat to the industry is emerging markets. Both China and India have provided a major boost to the market because of their increasing wealth levels. Luxury goods have been highly demanded by China’s middle class and spending is expected to overtake Japan and the United States. Along with the rapid economic and social developments occurring in China, a group of luxury brands such as Chanel, Prada, and Dolce & Gabbana have entered the market (Thompson A., Peteraf, Gamble, & Strickland, 2014). With its booming economy, India is another rapidly growing market for luxury goods. Emerging markets in these areas bring intense competition to the luxury goods industry.

The luxury market has challenged its growth by increasing its growth rate over the last decade (except 2001). This strategy was especially supported by the emerging markets of China, India, and Russia… as growth relayed in the mature and almost saturated historical area (E.U., U.S, and Japan). The increasing trends of international tourism, ’new rich people‘ and the favourable world economic growth, enabled the support of the luxury industry and the emergence of new customers and the subsequent trading areas. However, the financial

The tastes and preferences of the current generation are changing rapidly. The current generation does not mind paying extra for better facilities and ambience. Another major factor that has led to increased consumerism is the growth of credit culture in India. The Indian consumer does not feel shy to purchase products on credit and pay tomorrow for what they use or buy today. This tendency has led to a tremendous increase in purchase of homes, cars, two-wheelers and consumer goods. The market for luxury products in India is also climbing at an astonishing rate as compared to a decade ago when it was almost negligible. The reason behind this is that the purchasing power of people of India is rising very steeply. The Indian consumer today is highly aware about the product, price, quality and the options available with him. The purchasing is done by keeping all these factors in mind. Today, price is not the only consideration as it was a few years back when prices played a major role in purchasing. Marketers are trying hard to capture this ever increasing Indian middle class as they form the bulk of Indian consumers. CHANGES IN CONSUMER BEHAVIOUR OF INDIA 5

Well known companies like Nike, Microsoft, Sony, Shell Group are just some of the big companies that went global and expanded their trading around the world, they are large businesses that operate internationally in many countries. Development of worldwide integration urges companies to reach out international markets and interact with foreign customers. Businesses focus on fulfilling the demand of the market by its products or services, besides their target is increasing profit, in order achieve these goals they favor to expand their work in a foreign market. Other reasons to internationalize their business may be to become

International Retailing has existed and gained market in the past decades. There has been a financial boom in many countries. International Retailers are the companies who are dealing with the retails in the Countries abroad, i.e. far from the countries of the company’s origin. Earlier they were just Domestic Retailers covering their domestic market in the country of their respective origin, but with the elapse of time the demands of people rise in various items and in various countries. It was not possible for them to fulfill the demand of their domestic market and other countries at the same time. So with a risk they started to increase their retails shops within the origin country to have a look at the response of the people. But their sole purpose was to internationalize their retails shops. With time they opened the same retail shops with the same fashion quality but in increased quantity. This is how they became International Retailers. When we talk about International Retailing, the most common names that we come across are K-mart, PAK’nSAVE, Walgreen, Woolworths Ltd, etc. But the leading names of the Retailers that have covered most of the countries are Wal-Mart, Carrefour and Tesco, with their net sales turnover running are $374.5 billion, $130 billion and $102.6 billion, respectively. There are 2 types of International retailers in the industry, i.e. - international Grocery retailers and International fashion retailing. The products of International

The Indian retail industry is divided into organized and unorganized sectors. Organised retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. Unorganised retailing, on the other hand, refers to the traditional formats of low-cost retailing, for example, the local kirna shops, owner manned general stores, paan/beedi shops, convenience stores, hand cart and pavement vendors, etc. The emergence of organized retailing in India has more to do with the increasing purchasing power of buyers, specially post liberalization, increase in product variety, and the increasing economics of scale, with the aid of modern supply and distribution management solutions. The current retailing revolution has been provided impetus from multiple sources. These revolutionaries include: (1) Conventional stores upgrading themselves to modern retailing (2) Companies in competitive

Retail is the sale of goods and services from individual or business to the end user. Retailers are part of an integrated system called the supply chain. A retailer purchases goods and products in large quantities from manufacturers directly or through a wholesaler, and then sells smaller quantities to the consumer for a profit. Retailing can be done either in fixed locations or online. Retailing includes subordinated services, such as delivery. The term “Retail” is also applied when a service provider services the needs of a large number of individuals, such as a public utility, like electric power.

I would like to extend sincere thanks to Mr. Vikram Laud, (Store Operations Manager, HyperCITY, Thane) my Industry advisor, for his time, advice, and encouragement. I would like to express my gratitude to the HyperCITY Retail

The Indian retail industry is the fifth largest in the world. Comprising of organized and unorganized sectors, India retail industry is one of the fastest growing industries in India, especially over the last few years. Though initially, the retail industry in India was mostly unorganized, however with the change of tastes and preferences of the consumers, the industry is getting more popular these days and getting organized as well. With growing market demand, the industry is expected to grow at a pace of 25-30% annually. The India retail industry is