Retailing in more developed countries is big business and better organized that what it is in India.

Report published by McKinsey & Co. in partnership with Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) states that the global retail business is worth a staggering US $ 7 trillion. The ratio of organized retailing to unorganized in US is around 80 to 20, in Europe it is 70 to 30, while in Asia it comes to around 20 to 80.

In India the scenario is quiet unique, organized retailing accounts for a mere 5% of the total retail sector. Although there are around 5 million retail stores in India, 90% of these have a floor space area of 500 sq.ft. or less. The emergence of organised retailing in India is a recent phenomenon and is concentrated in the top 20 urban towns and cities.

The Reason

This emergence of organized retailing has been due to the demographic and psychographic changes taking place in the life of urban consumers.

Growing number of nuclear families, working women, greater work pressure, changing values and Lifestyles, increased commuting time, influence of western way of life etc. have meant that the needs and wants of consumers have shifted from just being Cost and Relationship drive to Brand and Experience driven, while the Value element still dominating the buying decisions.

Global Scenario of organized retail

Retail stores constitute 20% of US GDP & are the 3 rd largest employer segment in USA. China on the other hand has attracted several global retailers in recent times. Retail sector employs 7% of the population in China. Major retailers like WalMart & Carrefour have already entered the Chinese market. In the year 2003, Wal-Mart & Carrefour had sales of US $ 70.4 Crore & US $ 160 Crore respectively.

The global retail industry has traveled a long way from a small beginning to an industry where the world wide retail sales is valued at $ 7 x 10 5 Crore. The top 200 retailers alone accounts for 30 % of the worldwide demand. Retail turnover in the EU is approximately Euros 2,00,000 Crore and the sector average growth is showing an upward pattern. The Asian economies (excluding Japan) are expected to grow at 6% consistently till 2005-06.

On

the

global

Retail

stage,

little

has

remained

same

over

the

last

decade. One of the few similarities with today is that Wal-Mart was ranked the top retailer in the world then & it still holds dominance, there's a little about that distinction. Other than Wal-Mart's

today's environment that looks like the mid-

1990s. The global economy has changed, consumer demand has shifted & retailers' operating systems today are infused with far more technology than was the case six years ago.

Organized retail in India

The Indian organized retail industry is valued at about $300 billion and is expected to grow to $427 billion in 2012 and $637 billion in 2015. Retail Market India today is the second fastest growing economy of the world after China. Indian economy will grow larger than Britain's by 2022, Japan by 2032 and by 2050 will become the second largest economy of the world after China. Indian market has become the most lucrative market for retail investment in the world. Some of the factors which have contributed to the growth of organized retail in India are: increase in the purchasing power of Indians, rapid urbanization, increase in the number of working women, large number of working young population.

Today people look for better quality product at cheap rate, better service, better ambience for shopping and better shopping experience. Organized retail promises to provide all these. The Industry The various formats of organized retail are: Hypermarkets: They store products of multiple brands comprising food items and nonfood items. Supermarkets: These are self service stores selling food and personal care products. E.g.: Subhiksha. Departmental stores: Retails branded goods in non-food categories. E.g.: Shoppers Stop. Specialty Chains : These stores focuses on a branded product or a product category. E.g.: Bata Convenience stores: These are small self service outlet located in crowded urban area. Malls: A huge enclosures which has different retail formats. e.g.: Nucleus Key players in organised retail are: Pantaloon Retail: It was started by Kishore Biyani- India's largest retailer. The various formats of

pantaloon retail are: Pantaloons, Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar, Central etc. RPG Retail: Its various formats are: Food World, Music World, Health & Glow, Spencer's Tata Retail (known as TRENT): Its various formats are: CromaWestsideStar India Bazaar K Raheja Corp. Group: Shoppers' Stop, Hypercity, Crossword, InOrbit Mall Reliance Retail Job Opportunities: Retail accounts for 8% employment in the country. In the next 2 years the sector is set to provide 2.5 lakh job opportunities.

The types of jobs available in retail are: Retail sales, Store management, Stock management, Supply chain management, warehousing and operations. In organised retail the frontliners like shop floor executives, sales executives etc are in great demand. The frontliners have to directly communicate with the customers. The other jobs are for store managers, store planners, cashiers, stockists, logistics, operations, distribution, marketing, finance, HR, IT etc. Good communication skill, high interpersonal skills, convincing power, positive attitude and ability to handle stress is a prerequisite for these jobs. Fresh graduates who want to make career in retail can easily fill these jobs. Stock planners, Operations, logistics, cashiers have to deal with the numbers daily. Besides having good communication skills they also require numerical and analytical ability.

Bharati retail is planning to invest $2.5bn by 2015 which will create employment opportunity for 60,000 people. Bharti Resources, a learning and development solutions subsidiary of Bharti Group, has tied-up with Global Retail School (GRS) to groom graduates and undergraduates in retail management and other sectors. They will provide 3-month and 6-month certificate courses for Rs 30,000 and Rs 15,000

respectively in Retail Sales and Marketing, Retail Visual Merchandising and Space Planning, Retail Supply Chain Management, for creating frontend manpower professionals. Indeed it is a fact that organised retail in India is all set to grow at an stupendous pace

Indian organized retail market is growing at a fast pace due to the boom in the India retail industry. In 2009, the retail industry in India amounted to Rs 10,000 billion accounting for about 10% to the country's GDP. The organized retail market in India out of this total market accounted for Rs 350 billion which is about 3.5% of the total revenues.

Retail market in the Indian organized sector is expected to cross Rs 1000 billion by 2012. Traditionally the retail industry in India was largely unorganized, comprising of drug stores, medium, and small grocery stores. Most of the organized retailing in India have started recently and is concentrating mainly in metropolitan cities.

The growth in the Indian organized retail market is mainly due to the change in the consumers behavior. This change has come in the consumer due to increased income, changing lifestyles, and patterns of demography which are favorable. Now the consumer wants to shop at a place where he can get food, entertainment, and shopping all under one roof. This has given Indian organized retail market a major boost.

Retail market in the organized sector in India is growing can be seen from the fact that 1500 supermarkets, 325 departmental stores, and 300 new malls are being built. Many Indian companies are entering the Indian retail market which is giving Indian organized retail market a boost. One such company is the Reliance Industries Limited. It plans to invest US$ 6 billion in the Indian retail market by opening 1000 hypermarkets and 1500 supermarkets.

Pantaloons is another Indian company which plans to increase its retail space to 30 million square feet with an investment of US$ 1 billion. Bharti Telecoms an Indian company is in talks with Tesco a global giant for a 750 million joint venture. A number of global retail giants such as Walmart, Carrefour, and Metro AG are also planning to set up shop in India. Indian organized retail market will definitely grow as a result of all this investments.

Indian organized retail market is increasing and for this growth to continue the Indian retailers as well as government must make a combined effort.