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Future Group is an Indian private conglomerate, headquartered in Mumbai. The company is known for
having a significant prominence in Indian retail and fashion sectors, with popular supermarket chains like
Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, lifestyle stores like Brand Factory, Central etc. and also for having notable
presence in integrated foods and FMCG manufacturing sectors.
D-Mart:
D-Mart is a chain of hypermarket and supermarkets in India started by R K Damani. As of 2015, it has 89
stores spread across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Madhya Pradesh and Karnataka, and
a recent purchase of property in Rajkot shows that it is well advancing towards expanding across India.
Another big player in the segment will be the Bharti group. Overhauling this part of the supply chain will be
the key to the success of any retail venture in food and groceries segment.Wal-Mart, the world’s largest
retailer, and Bharti Enterprises have signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MoU) to explore business
opportunities in the Indian retail industry. This joint venture will mark the entry of Wal-Mart into the Indian
retailing industry a retail chain like Future Group’s Big Bazaar may be clocking heady sales (growing at
100% year- on- year), but the dozen odd shops operating in its proximity wear a deserted look, giving a
somewhat hollow ring to the much- talked- about retail boom in the country. The key players currently
operating in the Indian retail industry includes Future Group, Trent Ltd, RPG Enterprise, Vishal Retail Ltd,
Shoppers Stop Ltd, Bata India Ltd, Provogue India Ltd, Videocon Appliances Ltd, ITC Ltd, Godrej Agrovert
Ltd, and DCM-HariyahKissan Bazaar.
Retailers ranging from Pantaloons to RPG to Piramal’s or the Tata’s are working towards exploiting this
model, perceived by consumers as more value enhancing. But in the long run, what is most likely to succeed
is a more balanced multi-format strategy. Finally, while in the first flush of the retail boom, the elimination
of traditional intermediaries may bring windfall gains (as well as bring welcome and much-needed relief to
the producers), this source will increasingly dry out as competition intensifies and margins come under
pressure a few years down the line. What would set the survivors apart from those who are forced to sell out
or go belly-up will be differentiators like location, value-added services (convenience), private labels and
customer loyalty programs other than price. The last, a result of retailer-manufacturer tie-ups, state-of-the-art
supply chain infrastructure, global sourcing and scale will be a key factor. And, if experience in other
markets is anything to go by, an uncanny ability to read shifting trends.
Retailing formats in India
1. Malls