Emergence of private labels impact on Indian retail industry

Abstract

India’s history of retailing is predominantly dominated by small businesses or kirana shops and is largely unorganized. Although, it has the highest retail density (by some counts 11 shops per 1000 people) in the world, out of the 12 million retail outlets only 4 percent were larger than 500 square feet. Organized retailer’s began to emerge in the 1990’s, with the rise of customer expectations and disposable income. Shopper’s Stop, was one of the first retailers with the opening of a departmental store in Mumbai, followed by Pantaloon Retail India. The Indian retail industry has been growing at a CAGR of around 28% for the last 5 years and it is the second-largest employer after agriculture, with retail trade employing 35.06 million and wholesale trade generating an additional employment of 5.48 million1. India’s retail market, valued at US$ 350 billion in 2008–09, is projected to grow at 13 per cent per annum.