Achhey Din Anne wale Hain ………. It’s ringing all across among all sections of the society across the nation due to expectations build up through the massive , media campaign unleashed successfully by new leaders during just concluded elections
With the changes in the guard at the Central Government already through , positive sentiments can be seen through the bull run in last few weeks in Country’s share market wherein sensex have scaled new hights in all sectors , along with the appreciation of rupee and drop in gold prices.
International Financial institutions have invested Billions of Dollars in core sectors wherein impact of better governance is likely to make an impact in near future . Confidence among the investors is likely to return back slowly and steadily which was down due to slowing of our economy because of lack of decision making and directions from the top.
Modern Retail is likely to become a sunrise industry again in the near future due to the vision of the new leadership wherein planned development is likely to be announced for 100 cities across the nation and focus on creating jobs for the youth through various initiatives by development of the infrastructure in many areas. Connectivity between the cities likely to get a fillip due to building of express ways and starting of bullet trains on international models thus making mobility better and faster.
Most of the Indian retailers are seen refreshing their plans for expansion in Tier 2 – Tier 3 cities in view of the forthcoming opportunities of catering to the probable consumers of tomorrow . Many Leading Retail players in India have announced their expansion plans and while others are gearing up for the new opportunities on the anvil .
Consolidation and Review has also become important due to many categories like Electronics , Apparel , Footwear etc are getting affected due the phenomenal success of online business which has seen more then 200 % growth in last one year . New trends indicate buyer’ s confidence in online buying due to better services provided by them wherein Cash On Delivery , Replacment options and fast / one day delivery etc are being offered to pamper the consumers.
Modern Retail is also likey to outperform more so due to the understanding of the new Govt wherein they have plans to remove various layers of middlemen for handling of the food sector , and the journey from ‘ Farm to Fork ‘ is likely to get shorter and transparent for the benefit of the consumers . New Govt call to amend the APMC Act, banning of Forward Trading and building of infra structure for the storage and supply chain for handling of agriculture produce besides investment in food processing sector will surely ushers better days for the consumers as wastages which are currently at 25 – 30 % of the production can be reduced and Organised Retail sector can play a vital role.
Having said about the better future of the Retail sector, its also the time to consolidate the individual performances in house on the basis of past dealings and learnings and rework new models to ensure break even in time bound manner . Training of the teams both for Merchandising and Operations is very critical for the success of any Retail chains in India wherein last ten years have seen many new launches and roll outs by leading groups and pack up lately due to the lack of understanding about the sector and unavailability of trained manpower besides changing consumer behaviour .
The author is on the panel of Boston Consulting Group for Modern Retail and on the Board of WCSC
