IndiaRetailBiz

The gross retail trade, both organised and unorganised, currently pegged at US$284 billion is expected to more than double to US$600 billion in the next eight years by 2015, reports PTI.

The impending growth, among others, would be driven by growing young population, migration to urban areas and easy access to credit. This was stated by Rajan Bharti Mittal, Bharti Enterprises Managing Director, at a PHDCCI seminar held on Wednesday in New Delhi.

Organised retail sector, presently constituting less than 5% of the total at about $13-billion, is expected to touch US$110 billion mark, during the same period, by 2015. The rate of growth for the organised sector is estimated at 27% per annum. According to Mittal, the real growth for this will come from tier I and tier II towns.

“The entry of domestic and foreign players, which is opposed by pressure groups, will eventually benefit the retail market as a whole in terms of lower prices, better quality and convenience. The Indian market is huge with enough space for at least 8-10 large retailers,” added Mittal.

In the fast changing scenerio, while the ubiquitous Kirana stores are not expected to lose out, the organised retail would lead to investments in development of country’s infrastructure, supply chain and cold chain management tapping opportunities of inclusive growth.

Apart from all this, the organised retail in the next three years is expected to generate two million jobs by 2010.

Rajan Mittal’s Bharti group is setting up a pan-India retail chain of large format stores in collaboration with the world’s US-based biggest retailer Wal-Mart. The first Bharti store is set to roll out sometime in middle of the next year.