International supermarket news 1 July 08

Farmers in India and other developing countries stand to gain up to 50 per cent more when they sell their produce to supermarkets, where consumers also get the products at a much cheaper price compared to traditional retail shops, a new study says.

Planet Retail 30 Jun 2008

According to unconfirmed reports in the Indian press, Pantaloon is looking to set up a joint venture with an international retailer to carry out back end operations such as sourcing and logistics. Reportedly, managing director Kishore Biyani has been meeting retailers in the USA, France and Germany with Carrefour, Casino, Metro and Costco all cited as likely partners. It is understood that the move to find a foreign partner is part of the company's plan to split the Big Bazaar hypermarket format into front end and back end retail entities.

Planet Retail 18 Jun 2008

Speaking at the Reuters Consumer and Retail Summit yesterday, the managing director of Bharti Retail in India, Rajan Bharti Mittal, said that the group's new neighbourhood stores have been received well by Indian consumers and that plans to ramp up its retail presence with Wal-Mart remain on track.

Planet Retail 13 Jun 2008

Speaking at the company's annual general meeting, the chairman of Reliance Industries in India, Mukesh Ambani, has said that the group's retail business will generate more than half a million jobs in the next five years. "We have now grown to nearly 700 stores, comprising fourteen distinct formats, across 60 towns and cities," Ambani said adding that "the Reliance Fresh format, which was the first format launched by the retail venture has grown to nearly 600 stores."

Planet Retail  10 Jun 2008

According to local reports in India, Bharti is planning to expand its retail business across the country. Bharti Enterprises managing director Rajan Bharti Mittal said, the company has already set up stores (small format) in Ludhiana. He added that the focus this year will be to set up medium scale stores covering an area of 2,788-4,182 square metres. The company has also set up a distribution centre spread across 16,188 square metres near Banur (Punjab). Next year the company will set up hypermarket stores, which will be in a covered area ranging from 6,970-9,394 square metres, Mittal said. In addition, Bharti Wal-Mart (India) CEO Raj Jain said that Wal-Mart was providing training to the employees in India to run the store and related supply and distribution operations smoothly.

Business Standard. Mumbai May 28, 200

Organised retail chains in the country have adopted unique business strategies to distinguish themselves from each other in a bid to grow in the fast growing modern retail market, said a report on the impact of big retail chains from the Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (Icrier). 

Planet Retail 26 May 2008

Anders Moberg, CEO of Carrefour's Middle East franchise partner Majid Al Futtaim Group, has said in an interview that the company is planning to enter Iran with the Carrefour banner this year. "We are going to enter Iran this year with the launch of [a hypermarket under the name of] Carrefour, and have just bought land for a hotel there. Our regional market focus covers Egypt to Pakistan, including Iran, which altogether corresponds to access to 450 million consumers," he said. The entry into the Iranian market will make Carrefour the first hypermarket operator in the country.

Planet Retail 5 May 2008

Reports in The Indian Express suggest that the Indian government has decided to issue a fresh set of guidelines aimed at governing wholesale trading under the Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy, in order to clamp down on misuse of the current policy. According to ministry officials, "it was essential to come up with detailed guidelines on wholesale trading permitted under the current FDI policy. These guidelines will have built-in checks and measures to prevent misuse of the current policy." Refusing to share details, the source added that the guidelines were awaiting internal clearance and were likely to be announced within a month.

Planet Retail 25 Apr 2008

According to reports in the Indian press, Metro's local cash & carry operation is planning a training programme to organise the activities of conventional retailers. The programme, expected to be launched by year-end, will be designed to improve the facilities in small corner shops. According to John Indicula, director (human resources), Metro Cash & Carry, "Metro's key objective is to make traditional kirana stores more organised by helping them to improve offerings, assortments and liquidity." He refused to reveal details of the proposed programme. The company also intends to increase its workforce in India from 1,800 to 5,000 in the next two years.

Commodity Online 12 April 2008
NEW DELHI: The Global Agro Industries Forum 2008, that concluded in New Delhi on Friday called for the creation of adequate infrastructure by various governments to facilitate the promotion of sustainable agro-industries benefiting the vulnerable sections of rural society.