ASHISH BHALLA’S TAKE ON THE RETAIL SECTOR OF INDIA

Ashish Bhalla agrees to the fact that India is growing because various industrial sectors in India are developing at a fast pace. Retail sector in the country contributes a lot to the economy of India, and it is also counted in the top retail industries of the entire world. The country has out-beaten China, and some of the factors that led its way to the upfront include high consumption rates, rapidly developing economy, increase in the number of middle class people, and increasing number of urban population. Ashish Bhalla analyses the statistics and states that by the end of the year 2018, the retail market of India will grow to touch the mark of US $950 billion, and it will eventually increase the compound annual growth rate at 13% which was just 7.5% in the year 2000.

Ashish Bhalla says there are various components of the Indian retail industry, and among all, food and grocery plays a vital and biggest role contributing to the major part in the revenue. This sector reflects 16% of the gross domestic product, and it is predicted by the experts that it is going to make 66% of the retails revenue by the end of 2020. This is how it is considered as rapid paced and dynamic player in the Indian retail sector.

How is Indian retail market categorized?

As per his research, Ashish Bhalla comes down to a conclusion that the retail industry is categorized into organized and unorganized markets, wherein 9% is held by the former and rest 91% is the latter’s share. The organized sector that includes super markets, department stores, e-tailers, gourmet stores, and discount stores is turning out to be stronger by improving at a rate of 20 to 25% CAGR every year. On the other hand, the unorganized sector is covered by street markets, kirana and general stores, and convenience stores.

Ashish Bhalla explains in brief about the modern sectors of the Indian retail market as follows.

• Modern retail: As per RAI’s reports, the current size of this sector is 871 billion, however it is estimated that the figure will reach to 1718 billion in the coming three years. The factors that led to the growth of modern retail include mobile wallets, plastic money, and digital platform as they are the need of today’s modern life, as mentioned by Ashish Bhalla. It has also been predicted that the number of retail stores will touch a mark of 100,000 by the end of the year 2020.
• Imported food: Ashish Bhalla says this sector contributes around 15 to 20% in the organized sector of Indian retail market. Lots of nuts, fruits, and vegetables are imported to various parts of the world every year and so the industry is developing at a fast speed. Some of the major factors that led to the growth of this sector are increase in foreign travel, improvement in urbanization, improvement in health awareness, and rise in the form of organized retails.
• E retail or online retail: In the past five years, there has been an immense development in the field of online retail sector. Delhi, Mumbai, and Kolkata are the cities that contribute a lot. With features such as on time delivery and affordable price, along with discounts and offers, Ashish Bhalla says that the population is shifting towards this sector.

In addition to this, Ashish Bhalla also mentions the two aspects that serve to be the pillar for Indian retail sector of the country, they are Goods and Service tax and FDI policy. He also says that very soon, there are more and more modern elements to be implemented in retail sector which are going to benefit the entire nation.