Cantabil Retail India Ltd, which has raised Rs 105 crore through its initial public offer (IPO), had entered the capital markets with a price band of Rs 127- Rs 135 per share. The company had priced its IPO at Rs
Retail stocks get FDI proposal boost
July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
The stocks of retail firms today soared as much as 5 per cent, led by Pantaloon Retail India, after the government pitched in for foreign direct investment in the sector. Shares of Pantaloon Retail settled up …
Open-up FDI in multi-brand retail
July 6, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Making out a strong case for opening up the multi-brand retail sector for foreign investment, the Industry Ministry today sought the views of different stakeholders asking whether FDI in the sector should be permitted. “FDI in retail may…
Reliance Retail to open outlets at corporate premises
January 10, 2010 By Leave a Comment
Mumbai: With a view to grab a bigger share of the country’s retail market, Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail has devised a new business model, under which it will open small outlets at the premises of large corporate houses.
The company, which is a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, will soon approach big corporate houses with this proposal to implement the novel business plan, a top Reliance Retail Official said.
“We will approach big corporate houses, where thousands of people work, with a proposal to open our small retail outlets there,” the official said.
Elaborating on the new business model, the official said that RRL envisages an employee-friendly retail format. It will provide price discounts to employees in these stores.
In the first phase, RRL plans to open Reliance TimeOut Stores, engaged in books and music retailing business, beginning in Mumbai and Delhi.
“Our initial plan is to start this with our TimeOut stores where we sell music, books and gifts. Our bigger formats may not be viable for this option,” the official said.
The details of the new business model are yet to be worked out, the official said, adding that the company was also looking at options to forge JVs with these firms.
Reliance Retail to open 85 Reliance Jewels
December 20, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Mumbai: Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail plans to open 85 stores of its jewellery retailing business Reliance Jewels across the country over the next three years.
The multi-format retailer, which operates 15 Reliance Jewels outlets, has charted a road-map to give greater focus on metros and large towns.
“We have a five-year plan for expansion, which drills down to (penetration at) the town level. In the next three- years, we want to have a total of 100 Reliance Jewels stores across the country,” Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL) Business Head and Vice-President Jewellery Ashok Kaul told PTI here.
He said the company is planning to set up stores in cities where it already has a presence.
“We are expanding through saturation, so we will open stores in cities where we already have a presence.
Shopper’s Stop will invest Rs 350 cr in 5 yrs
December 17, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Mumbai: Retail chain Shopper’s Stop plans to invest Rs 350 crore to set up 32 stores and augment its pan-India network, taking the total to 60 over the next five years, a top company official said.
“We have drawn up investment plans of Rs 200 crore for adding 18 new stores with about three million square feet in the next three-years period,” President & CEO of Shopper’s Stop Govind Shrikhande said in Mumbai.
The stores will be opened at Ahmedabad, Amritsar, Mysore, Mangalore, Aurangabad, Chandigarh and other Tier II cities, Shrikhande said.
A further Rs 150 crore has been earmarked to add 14 more stores but plans for this are still in the preliminary stage, he said.
At present, the retail chain has a network of 28 stores in 12 cities all across the country over an area of 1.88 million sq feet.
The company, launched Europe’s first denim brand, Mustang in the city, plans to introduce more foreign brands in the near future, the official said.
On its private labels business, Shrikhande said that its contribution to the company’s sales this year fell to 17 per cent against 20 per cent in the last year.
Spices export dip 5% on low demand
October 23, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Kochi: Less demand for big volume spices like chilli, pepper and mint products has impacted spices exports from India, which has decreased by almost 5% in volume and value during the first half of the current fiscal. Dollar realisation has plummeted by 17% to $519.72 million from $624.15 million during the first half of the last fiscal.
According to data released by the state-run Spices Board, volume has shrunk 5.6% to 2,39,300 tonne during April-September 2009-10 from 2,53,550 tonne during the same period of the last fiscal. Meanwhile, value of spices exported has decreased 5% in rupee terms to Rs 2,525.86 crore as against Rs 2,660.75 crore during April-September 2008-09.
With export of pepper to the US, EU and other major destinations declining significantly, pepper exports have declined 23.5 % during the period. Indian pepper is out priced in the world due to lower production and declining productivity.
During April- September 2009, India exported 9,750 tonne of pepper valued at Rs 150.64 crore as against 12,750 tonne at valued Rs 215.70 crore of same period in the last fiscal. The drop is 30% in value terms.
Deceleration in exports is being felt across all spices as buyers are opting for minimal inventory. Export of pepper is likely to be on the lower side for the remaining months as the availability has fallen drastically.
Chilli, another major volume and value player, has suffered due to stiff competition from China combined with nil demand from Pakistan. Chilli, which contributed 40% volume of Indias 470,520 tonne spices exports during 2008-09, is also weighed down by global economic recession, Board sources said. The export of chilli during April-September 2009 has been 82,000 tonne valued at Rs 510.08 crore as against 109,000 tonne valued at Rs 581.17 crore of last year.
Last year Pakistan had imported 22,000 tonne of chilli during the first five months of 2008-09. Exports have decreased by 25% in volume and 12% in value for the first half of the current fiscal. Export of cumin, vanilla, mint products and spice oils & oleoresins are also seen lower both in terms of volume and value as compared to the same period of last year.
The Board had scaled down the export target for the current fiscal to 4,35,000 tonne valued at Rs 4,500.00 crore ($ 1000.00 million) as against the performance of 4,70,520 tonne valued at Rs 5,300.25…
Rosebys plans 500-700 stores over next 5 yrs
October 19, 2009 By Leave a Comment
Mumbai: In a mega-expansion spree, Dalmia group’s home decor retail chain, Rosebys, plans to rollout 500-700-stores across the country over the next 3-5 years.
The UK store, which was acquired by Sanjay Dalmia-led Gujarat Heavy Chemicals Limited in 2006, presently operates 70 outlets in the country.
“We will have a total of 125-stores by March-2010. On a broader horizon, we plan to open between 500-700-stores over the next 3-5-years,” Rosebys Interiors India, Director, Nikhil Sen, said.
He said the company would set up at least 30 franchise stores, on 700 to 2,000 sq ft of area, by December-end.
The retailer already has a footprint through franchisees in cities like Mumbai, Delhi and NCR (National Capital Region), Kolkata, Hyderabad, Hubli, Vizag, Jamshedpur and some towns in Punjab, Haryana and Tamil Nadu.
“We are predominantly a franchise chain. At best, we will have 5 per cent stores as company-owned,” Sen said, adding the franchise model of expansion suited them best.
Rosebys had last year toyed with the idea of expanding into markets like Romania, Poland and Vietnam.
“We are talking with some potential partners. Nothing is decided and we will take it as it comes,” Sen said.
Rosebys had a turnover of Rs 81-crore in fiscal 2009 and is targeting a Rs 85-90 crore annual turnover this year.
Indian car exports surge 36%
October 13, 2009 By Leave a Comment
New Delhi: Car exports from India in the first half of this fiscal jumped by 35.73 per cent as major manufacturers like Hyundai Motor India and Maruti Suzuki cashed in on scrappage incentives provided in Europe, despite other segments of the auto industry witnessing decline.
According to Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers Association (SIAM), car exports during April-September stood at 2,10,088 units as against 1,54,783 units in the year-ago period.
The European Union (EU) nations had incentivised buying of new cars in exchange of the old ones under a scrappage programme in May that will run till February 2010.
The growth in exports were largely driven by the country’s largest car maker Maruti Suzuki India as its overseas shipments rose over two-fold during April-September to 65,752 units from 29,699 units in the year-ago period, SIAM said.
Hyundai Motor India, the country’s largest car exporter Hyundai reported 16.02 per cent jump in exports at 1,39,971 units against 1,20,648 units in the same period last year.
There is, however, a question mark on whether car exports can sustain the momentum it witnessed in the first half of the fiscal as the scrappage scheme is subject to the condition that respective governments in the EU have not exhausted their allocated funds till the deadline.
“The question is whether you will see European car market growing once the scrappage programme is taken back. So we are cautiously optimistic for the export sector in this fiscal,” SIAM Director General Dilip Chenoy told reporters here.
According to SIAM’s latest data, the overall vehicle exports from India grew by 4.41 per cent during the first half of this fiscal at 8,08,455 units as against 7,74,302 units during the same period of last fiscal.
All other segments of the industry, however, registered decline in overseas sales in April-September period. During the period, motorcycle exports were down marginally at 4,97,611 units compared with 5,02,031 units.
Total two-wheeler exports also fell by 1.30 per cent to 5,12,939 units as against 5,19,684 units in the year-ago period, it added.
Exports of commercial vehicles decreased to 17,466 units in the six months from 27,146 units in the corresponding period in 2008, down 35.66 per cent.
SIAM said exports of the total passenger vehicles, including utility cars, grew by 34.29 per cent in the six
months at 2,11,645 as against 1,57,601 units in the same period last year.
In September, total exports from India rose by 10.03 per cent at 1,53,009. The passenger car segment increased to 38,642…
FDI norms in retail sector should be relaxed
October 11, 2009 By 2 Comments
New Delhi: The Government needs to relax norms on foreign direct investment in retail to facilitate fresh infusion of funds and also promote competition in the sector, which has been hit by the economic slowdown, real estate consultant CB Richard Ellis has said.
“The existing FDI rules are a constraint. There is need to open up the sector a bit more as it will facilitate fresh infusion of funds and also promote competition,” CB Richard Ellis (CBRE) Chairman and MD (South Asia) Anshuman Magazine said.
Currently, 100 per cent FDI is allowed in wholesale cash-and-carry business, while in single-brand retailing 51 per cent FDI is allowed but none in multi-brand retailing.
The Parliamentary Committee on Commerce had earlier this year submitted a report opposing further opening up of the retail sector for FDI.
However, a report by the Indian Council of Research in International Economic Relation (ICRIER) in 2008, had mooted liberal FDI norms in the sector saying the sector would grow to USD 590 billion by 2011-12, of which organised retail would have a share of 16 per cent.
Sharing ICRIER’s views, Magazine said: “(Curently) the share of organised retail is still very small in the overall market and has scope for growth.”
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