CONTENTS OF CHAPTER - III

CONTENT RETAIL INDUSTRY SCENARIO & PROFILE OF THE PAGE

No. STUDY AREA No.

3.1 INTRODUCTION 34

3.2 RETAIL INDUSTRY-GLOBAL SCENARIO 34

3.3 RETAIL INDUSTRY-INDIAN SCENARIO 36

3.4 REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE FROM UNORGANISED 39

RETAIL TO ORGANISED RETAILING

3.5 PROFILE OF THE STUDY AREA 41

3.6 RETAILING IN COCHIN CITY 44

3.7 PROFILE OF THE SELECTED ORGANISED FOOD AND
GROCERY RETAIL STORE 46
 CHAPTER-III

RETAIL INDUSTRY SCENARIO AND PROFILE OF THE STUDY AREA

3.1. INTRODUCTION

India is going through a retail revolution. All the big business houses are
entering this sector and it is growing at a very fast pace. International giants in this
sector like Wal- Mart, Tesco and Carrefour are also trying to enter the Indian market.
Retail is offering tremendous opportunities in employment. The retailing industry,
which, until the early 1990s, was dominated by the unorganized sector, witnessed a
rapid growth in the organized sector with the entry of corporate groups such as Tata,
RPG, ITC and Bennett Coleman & Company into the retailing market. With the
liberalization and growth of the Indian economy the Indian customers witnessed an
increasing exposure to new domestic and foreign products through different media,
such as television and the Internet. Apart from this, social changes such as increase in
the number of nuclear families and the growing number of working couples resulting
in increased spending power also contributed to the increase in the Indian consumers’
personal consumption. Increased availability of retail space, rapid urbanization, and
qualified manpower also boosted the growth of the organized retailing sector. The
organised food and grocery retail sector is expected to grow stronger than GDP
growth in the next five years driven by changing lifestyles, strong income growth,
better products, shopping options, and favourable demographic patterns. In modern
retailing a key strategic choice is the format. Innovation in formats can provide an
edge to retailers.

The universe selected for the present study is Cochin City. As it has already
been indicated, the social, economic, cultural and technological factors are said to
influence the boom of organised retail sector. Hence, for the purpose of understanding
these, the present chapter is attempted to provide a brief scenario of Global, Indian
retail industry along with the profile of the study area and the selected organised food
and grocery retail stores.

3.2. RETAIL INDUSTRY – GLOBAL SCENARIO

Organized retail stores contribute 26% of United States Gross Domestic
Products and third largest employer. Our neighbouring country China on the other
hand has attracted several global retailers in recent decade and retail sector provides
9% employment for the population in China. Major retailers like Wal-Mart &
Carrefour have already entered the Chinese market. The global retail industry has
travelled a long way from a small beginning to an industry where the world wide
retail sales is valued at USD 80,00,000 Crore. The top 200 retailers alone accounts
for 30 % of the worldwide demand. Retail turnover in the European Union is
approximately Euros 2, 00,000 Crore and the sector average growth is showing an
upward pattern. The Asian economies are expected to grow at 9% consistently until
2009-11.

On the Global Retail Stage, little has remained the 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 and it still holds that distinction. Other than Wal-Mart’s dominance,
there’s little about today’s environment that looks like the mid-1990s. The global
economy has changed, consumer demand has shifted, and retailers’ operating systems
today are infused with far more technology than was the case six years ago. Saturated
home markets, fierce competition and restrictive legislation have relentlessly pushed
major food retailers into the globalization mode. Since the mid-1990s, numerous
governments have opened up their economies as well, to the free markets and foreign
investment that has been a plus for many a retailer. However, a more near-term
concern, has been the global economic slowdown that has resulted from dramatic
cutback in corporate IT and other types of capital spending. Consumers themselves
have become much more price and quality sensitive and conservative in their buying,
particularly in the more advanced economies.

From an operational point of view, active practitioners have voiced their

opinion that retailer concerns in 2003 have turned to deflation, lack of pricing power,
global overcapacity, low interest rates, economic stagnation, slump in world tourism
and declining consumer confidence. But, even before the global economic slowdown
that forced retailers into monitoring costs more effectively, technological advances
were a way of life in retail organizations. Technology has become the real enabler for
retailers over the last six years. Supply chain innovations for retailers were
particularly strong in the second half of the 1990s and have continued into today.
With all the emphasis on technology and cost-cutting, a major thrust of retailers
35 
 
 continues to be demand-based: finding new markets through globalization efforts.
Four years ago, more than half (53 per cent) of the top 200 retailers were operating
in only one country. Today, only 44 per cent remain single-country merchants. This
globalization trend can only intensify in the years ahead. The benefits of increased
sales and greater economies of scale are too large to be ignored.

UNPC provides detailed classification of the retail segments. Some of the

segments are, food and grocery, textile and apparel, consumer durables, music and
books, speciality products, jewellery, wooden furniture, fast food chains, non store
formats, direct selling and e-tailing, shopping malls etc.

TABLE 3.1
Top 10 Global Retail Players
Sl. Name of Country Retail sales in 2005-2010
Format
No Company of Origin 2010 US m$ *CAGR
Wal-mart stores Hyper market/super
1 inc. US centre/super store 418,952 6%
Hyper market/super
2 Carrefour. S.A France centre/superstore 119,642 3.9%
Hyper market/super
3 Tesco PLC UK centre/super store 92,171 9.3%
Cash and carry/
4 Metro A.G Germany warehouse Club 88,931 3.8%
5 Kroger co; U.S Super market 82,189 6.3%
Schwarz
6 Unternehmens Germany Discount store 79,119 9.8%
Castco Wholesale Cash and
7 corporation U.S carry/warehouse 76,255 8%
The Home
8 Depot,inc. U.S Home improvement 67,997 2.5%
Drug
9 Walgreen co; U.S store/pharmacy 67,420 9.8%
Aldi Einkuif Gmb
10 H and co,HG Germany Discount store 67,112 5.9%
*CAGR: Compound Annual Growth Rate
Source: Global Retail Report 2010

3.3. RETAIL INDUSTRY - INDIAN SCENARIO

A speedy change is happening day by day in retail industry basically because
of growing disposable income of Indians. The food and grocery is a primary area for

36 
 
basic human needs so here the change is very effective. In recent years there is huge
change in the consumption pattern especially in terms of food mostly in lower and
middle income group people. Once in India the concept of buying food items was
from small road side grocer shop and mandis, haats and bazzars by vendors. When
food products (processed and groceries) are retailed through super market stores were
consumers can inspect, select and pick up the products they like in a comfortable
ambience. The bargaining was one of the most important issues. But today shopping
for groceries is no longer a strenuous and uncomfortable affair.

Indian food and grocery industry has revolutionized shopping habits of

Indian consumers. Ireena Vittal, Principal, Mc Kinsey and Co in Food Forum 2008
said “At US $ 175 billion today the food and grocery industry is likely to grow to US
$ 400 billion by 2025”. The Food and Grocery category primarily deals with the
production, distribution and marketing of consumer packaged goods, i.e. those
categories of products that are consumed at regular intervals. Examples include food
& beverage, personal care, pharmaceuticals, plastic goods, paper & stationery and
household products etc. The retail market in India offer tremendous potential and is
growing fast. Organsied retail is on an inflection point and is expected to grow at a
robust speed in the coming years. In the overall pie food and grocery segment alone
comprises of 62% of the $270 billion Indian Retail market. The super markets have
taken an increased share in the food and grocery trade over the last two decades.

The food and grocery retail industry in India gathered a new momentum with
the establishment of different international brand outlets, hyper or super markets,
shopping malls and departmental stores. The Indian retail industry ranks fourth1
amongst 30 countries that were surveyed in Global Retail Development Index 2011.
Comprising of organized and unorganized sectors, Indian retail industry is one of the
fastest growing industries in India, especially over the last few years. Though initially,
the retail industry in India was mostly unorganized, however with the change of tastes
and preferences of the consumers, the industry is getting more popular these days and
getting organized as well. With growing market demand, the industry is expected to
grow at a pace of 25-30% annually.

                                                            
1
Report of AT Kearney’s 10 Annual GRDI 2011.
37 
 
 India has the second2 most attractive FDI destination in the world in 2010,
according to the World Investment Prospects Survey 2010-2012 (China was ranked
number one and Brazil number three). Furthermore, the country’s economy is
expected to grow at 8.6 percent in 2010-2011 and the Indian government is shaping
laws and regulations to make the country an utterly compelling destination for
investment.

The BMI India Retail Report for the fourth quarter of 2011 forecast that total
retail sales will grow from US$ 411.28 billion in 2011 to US$ 804.06 billion by
20153. According to the 10th GRDI of AT Kearney, India retail industry is the most
promising emerging market for investment. GRDI helps retailers prioritize their
global development strategies by ranking the retail expansion attractiveness of
emerging countries based on a set of 25 variables including economic and political
risk, retail market attractiveness, retail saturation levels, and modern retailing sales
area and sales growth.

TABLE 3.2
Global Retail Development Index

Country 2010 Rank 2011 Rank Change

Brazil 5 1 +4
Uruguay 8 2 +6
Chile 6 3 +3
India 3 4 -1
Kuwait 2 5 -3
China 1 6 -5
Saudi Arabia 4 7 -3
Peru 9 8 +1
U.A.E. 7 9 -2
Turkey 18 10 +8
Source: Report of AT Kearney’s 10 annual Global Retail Development Index 2011

With a contribution of 14 per cent to GDP and employing 7 per cent of the
total workforce or 42 million (only agriculture employs more) in the country, the
                                                            
2
Report: World Investment Prospects Survey 2010-2012.
3
BMI Indian Retail Report 2011.
38 
 
retail industry is definitely one of the pillars of the economy4. After agriculture, retail
is the largest source of employment and has deep penetration into rural India. As per
ASSOCHAM the overall retail market is expected to grow by 36%. With expanding
urbanization and a huge population, it is an attractive target in Emerging Asia.
Additionally, the country has been boosting its organized retail sales, which account
for six5 percent of total retail sales, a figure that is expected to amount to 20 percent
by 2020.
A report by BMI) suggests that enhancing middle and upper class consumer
base has set vast opportunities in India's tier-II & tier-III cities. The greater
availability of personal credit, improved mobility, better tourism et al, are all small,
but significant contributors to the growth of Indian organised retail industry. Also,
more and more companies are willing to invest in India due to significant growth
forecasts on gross domestic product (GDP) (BMI predicts average annual GDP
growth of 7.6 per cent through 2015).

TABLE: 3.3
Major Food and Grocery Retailers in India
Ownership Brand Name Market Entry Formats No. of stores
Reliance Fresh,
Reliance Retail Reliance Mart 2006 C,H 688
Spenser’s Hyper,
RPG Spenser’s Daily 1996 H,S 422
More. For you,
Aditya Birla Retail more. 1986 S,H 251
Regulated by
co- operatives Margin Free 1993 S,D 286
Food Bazaar,
Pantaloon Retail Big Bazaar, Mall 2002 S,O,H,D 698
Key: S-Super markets, H- Hyper Markets, D- Discount Stores, C- Convenience Stores,
O- Others.

3.4. REVOLUTIONARY CHANGE FROM UNORGANIZED TO

ORGANISED RETAILING

As Indian retailing is witnessing rapid transformation in different areas of

business by using ascendable and gainful retail models across different categories,
                                                            
4
Singhal, Arvind, Indian Retail: The Road Ahead, Retail biz, www.etretailbiz.com
5
Source: ICRIER Technopak Analysis
39 
 
consumers started accepting the modern retail irresistibly. Organised retailing refers
to the trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers and who are registered for
sales tax, income tax etc. These include corporate backed by hyper markets and retail
chains and also the privately owned large retail outlets. An unorganised retailer on the
other hand refers to the traditional format of low cost retailing. The unorganised
market is making its way for modern retail formats such as malls, provision stores,
hypermarkets, discount stores etc. Most of the malls started expanding from metros to
tier 2 cities as part of the expansion plans. Consumers are more attracted to these
because of the shopping experience they provide and extra facilities like food court,
entertainment which is set under one roof.

The Indian retail market, which was largely unorganized till recently, has
undergone an immense transformation in the post liberalization era. Given the
attractiveness of the Indian retail sector, foreign retailers like Wal-Mart, Carrefour
SA, Europe's largest retailer and Tesco Plc, the UK's largest retailer, were keen to
enter this growing market. The retail environment is changing more rapidly than ever
before (Dabholkar, 1996). It is characterized by intensifying competition from both
domestic and foreign companies, a spate of mergers and acquisitions, and more
sophisticated and demanding customers who have great expectations related to their
consumption experiences. Consequently, retailers today must differentiate themselves
by meeting the needs of their customers better than the competition. There is general
agreement that a basic retailing strategy for creating competitive advantage is the
delivery of high service quality.

EXHIBIT 3.1
Organised Retail: Share 1
100%
20%
80%
65% 70%
60% 80% Unorganised Retail
94%
40% 80% Organised Retail
20% 35% 30%
20%
0% 6%
India Brazil China Russia USA

Source: ICRIER Technopak Analysis

40 
 
 From the above exhibit 3.1, it can be inferred that the organised retail share in
India is lower when compared with other major countries. But, the last few years have
witnessed a sudden increase of organized retail formats like supermarkets and
hypermarkets in an otherwise fragmented Indian retail market. India is witnessing an
unparalleled consumption explosion.

The Kerala model of development is famous for the achievements it has made
in the field of social infrastructure development like health care and education. Things
have changed dramatically in the past few years especially the quantum leap in the IT
sector. The architecture of shops in all the cities and towns in the state has changed
beyond recognition. Shopping malls are mushrooming all over Kerala. From the cities
it has spread over to tier II and tier II towns and eyeing up villages now. Kerala has a
vibrant market of 30 million people spread over 38,863 sq.kms. The 100 % literacy
state has only 3.7% of the Indian population but accounts for 12% of the Indian
consumer market.

In Kerala, there has been an explosion in retailing in the last few years, thanks
to the foreign exchange remittance by expatriates and the high salary earned by the
employees of the new economy. However, it was largely an unorganised affair except
for one or two groups like Varkey’s at Kochi and Spencer's at Thiruvananthapuram,
and the Margin Free Market. Varkey’s and Spencer's are, at best, medium-sized
convenience stores, and Margin Free Markets are discount stores. These are big hits,
and consequently, large stores run by individuals and small groups have begun to
appear all over Kerala

3.5 PROFILE OF THE STUDY AREA

3.5.1. LOCATION
The city of Cochin is located by the Lakshadweep Sea in Ernakulam district
and is the commercial and industrial hub of Kerala. Geographically Ernakulam district
situated between Northern Latitude 9o 47”, and 10o 17” and eastern latitude 760 9”
and 760 47”. It is bounded by Thrissur district on the north and Alappuzha and
Kottayam on the south, Idduki on the east and Lakshadweep Sea on the west.

41 
 
3.5.2. HISTORY OF COCHIN
Ancient travellers and tradesmen referred to Kochi in their writings,
variously alluding to it as Cocym, Cochym, Cochin and Kochi-“facts about India”
corporation of Cochin 2010. The Urban Agglomeration (UA) of Kochi formerly
known as Cochin is a port of the Greater Cochin region and the largest Urban
Agglomeration in the Indian State of Kerala. Developments in the city and
surrounding area have taken a fast stride in the last two decades. The development of
Kochi as prime city of Kerala is closely linked with the political and administrative
history of the Malabar Coast. The erstwhile rulers of Kochi established their head
quarters at Thripunithara, the present neighbouring town of Kochi, most probably
since the present Ernakulam was water logged area then.

Kochi, formerly Cochin, is a major port city on the west coast of India by
the Arabian Sea. Kochi is part of the district of Ernakulam in the state of
Kerala. Kochi is often called by the name Ernakulam, which refers to the western part
of the mainland Kochi. The civic body that governs the city is the Corporation of
Cochin, which was constituted in the year 1967, and the statutory bodies that oversee
its development are the Greater Cochin Development Authority and the Goshree
Islands Development Authority.

Undoubtedly the commercial capital of Kerala, the city of Cochin is where

ancient civilization gracefully mingles with modern life. Right from early years,
Cochin has had cultural and trade relations with the outside world and has also
experienced pulsating episodes of European colonial rivalry.

Kochi city is also a part of Greater Cochin region and is classified as a B-1
grade city by the Government of India, making it the highest graded city in the state.
Kochi ranks first in the total number of international and domestic tourists in Kerala.
In recent years the city has witnessed heavy investment, thus making it one of the
fastest-growing second-tier metro cities in India. The district contributes the highest
portion, 14.47%, of the state's GDP Construction and manufacturing combined
contributes 37%, and trade, tourism and hospitality together provides another 20%.
Major business sectors include construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding,
transportation/shipping, seafood and spices exports, chemical industries, IT,

42 
 
tourism, health services, and banking. Kochi is recognized as one of the seventeen
major industrial cities of India by World Bank.

As in most of Kerala, remittances from non-resident Indians (NRI) s are a

major source of income. Kochi is the most promising growth oriented development
region in the state of Kerala. Developments in the city and surrounding area have
taken a fast stride in the last two decades. The Information Technology Institutions at
Kakkanad, the International Airport at Nedumbassery, the new bridge linking Vypeen
islands to the main land and the high impact residential and commercial developments
in the city and the surrounding areas have caused direct and indirect development
impacts in many sectors.

3.5.3. GEOGRAPHY
Being a coastal district majority of the Cochin region is within the low land
regions of the state. The average altitude towards the eastern fringes is about 7.5 m
above MSL and towards the west the altitude is less than on meter on an average. The
whole of the land slopes gradually from east to west. The flat terrain of the central
city with the low altitude interspersed with a network of canal system provide link to
the backwaters. Most of the effluents which are located are in the water fronts and
river side. Cochin is probably the only city in India formed from parts of three
different states via, the two princely states of Travancore and Cochin, and the British
Malabar. Today with a natural, all-weather harbors, an international airport, and
replete with serene backwaters, beautiful lagoons, wooded isles, and a magnificent sea
scope, Cochin is indeed the queen of the Arabian Sea. This vibrant city is known for
providing breathtakingly scenic view of the Kerala state hailed as “God’s Own
Country”. Apart from that this city is the industrial and commercial capital of this
state of south India.

3.5.4. DEMOGRAPHY
The area constituted on the basis of census data 2011, consists of corporation
of Kochi, 8 municipalities, 14 panchayaths and parts of 4 panchayaths. The 8
municipalities are Thrippunithara, Maradu, Thrikkakara, Kalamassery, Eloor, North
Paravur, Aluva and Angamali. The 14 Panchayaths consists of Cheranelloor,

43 
 
Varapuzha, Chennemangalam, Kadamakkudy, Mulavukad, Kodungallor, Alemgad,
Chengamanad, Nedumbassery, Chottinikkara, Choorikkara, Edathala, Kottuvally and
Vypin Island.

TABLE 3.4
CENSUS 2011 DATA
Description 2011 2001
Actual population 3,279,860 3,105,798
Male 1,617,602 1,538,397
Female 1,662,258 1,567,401
Population growth 5.60% 9.35%
Average literacy 95.68% 93.20%
Male literacy 97.14% 95.81%
Female literacy 94.27% 90.66%
Literates 2,861,509 2,578,813
Male literates 1,427,572 1,307,846
Female literates 1,433,937 1,270,967
Source: Government of India census report 2011

3.5.5. ECONOMY
Kochi is a city in southern India and the commercial hub of the state of Kerala.
In recent years the city has witnessed heavy investment, posting a GDP growth rate of
8.3%, thus making it one of the fastest second-tier metro cities in India. The economy
of the city can be classified as a business economy with emphasis on the service
sector. Major business sectors include construction, manufacturing, shipbuilding,
transportation, sea food and spices, export, chemical industries, information
technology, tourism, health service and banking. The High court of Kerala is situated
in the city. As most of Kerala, inward remittances from abroad by Non Resident
Indian are a major source of income. Kochi is recognised as one of the seventeen
major industrial cities of India by World Bank. In the 2009 rankings of east to start
and operate a business, Kochi was ranked sixteen, above Kolkata. Tourism has of
late, became a major contributor to the city’s income.

44 
 
3.6. RETAILING IN COCHIN CITY
Kochi is a shopping hub for the central Kerala. The highest GDP and per
capita income in the surrounding district promotes the retail business. Kochi houses
the most number of shopping malls in the state of Kerala. The Kerala consumers got
certain unique cultural bound characters and this is reflecting on their purchasing
behaviour too. They give more importance to, trust, safety, health, reasonable price,
attractive behaviour, personal care and attention. Practically it is very difficult to
attract them towards organized retailing because they only shift from legacy
unorganized retail shops if they found an attractive receivable benefit .So keeping this
in mind and coming up with right retail strategy could only work on Kerala.

Consumers in Kerala are similar to consumers everywhere. Kerala's local

infrastructure is all ready to support chained stores. The difference in chaining in
Kerala is that retailers may not have the numbers within a single city to put up
multiple stores, save for a place like Cochin. But instead they have vast number of
towns that they can take retail formats to, with consumers with bulging purses, thanks
to remittances from the Middle East and even the US. Another factor that favours
organised retailers is the condescending attitude of the mom n' pop stores in Kerala.
It’s hard for such mom n pop store owners to shake of their careless attitude as they
have been protected by the socialist policies. This attitude of theirs is fertile ground
for big time retailers to come in and offer services virtually unheard of, and never
experienced by consumers in Kerala. The State is essentially a consumer State, which
consumes almost 14 per cent of the nation's production. Undoubtedly, the State is all
set to welcome large supermarket chains.

Oberon mall is the first and currently the largest full format mall in the state.
Gold Souck Grande Kochi is a layer mall which is partially for business. Apart from
these Lulu mall which will be the largest mall in India, when open. Thus Cochin is the
largest shopping area in that city and is synonymous with the term ‘downtown’, the
CBD of Kerala.

45 
 
 TABLE 3.5
Major Malls in Cochin City

Name Location Year Size

Centre Square
Mall MG Road 2012 420,000 sq.ft
Q1 Mall Edapally 2012 440,000 sq.ft
Oberon Mall Edapally 2008 350,000 sq.ft
Lulu Cochin Mall Edapally 2011 2,000,000 sq.ft
Gold Souk Grande   Vyttila 2010 500,000 sq.ft
Marine
Bay Pride Mall Drive 2006 75,000 sq.ft
Abad Nucleus
Mall Maradu 2010 230,000 sq.ft
Source: 1. The Hindu Business Line: Peevees to set up shopping mall in Kochi
2. "Switching to swanky and smart offices". The Hindu (Chennai, India).
2011-01-08.

3.7. PROFILE OF THE SELECTED ORGANISED FOOD AND GROCERY

RETAIL STORES
3.7.1. RELIANCE FRESH

Reliance Fresh is the retail chain division of Reliance Industries of India

which is headed by Mukesh Ambani. Reliance has entered into this segment by
opening new retail stores into almost every metropolitan and regional area of India.
Reliance plans to invest Rs 25000 crore in the next 4 years in their retail division and
plans to begin retail stores in 784 cities across the country. The Reliance Fresh
supermarket chain is RIL’s Rs 25,000 crore venture and it plans to add more stores
across different g, and eventually have a pan-India footprint by year 2011. The super
marts will sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice bars and dairy
products and also will sport a separate enclosure and supply-chain for non-vegetarian
products. Besides, the stores would provide direct employment to 5 lakh young
Indians and indirect job opportunities to a million people, according to the company.
The company also has plans to train students and housewives in customer care and
quality services for part-time jobs.

46 
 
 This is quite different from what the firm had originally planned. When the
first Reliance Fresh store opened in Hyderabad last October, not only did the
company said the store’s main focus would be fresh produce like fruits and vegetables
at a much lower price, but also spoke at length about its “farm-to-fork’’ theory. The
idea the company spoke about was to source from farmers and sell directly to the
consumer removing middlemen out of the way. Reliance may exit some businesses if
the business does not increases by March 2008. Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart,
Reliance Digital, Reliance Trendz, Reliance Footprint, Reliance Wellness, Reliance
Jewels, Reliance Timeout and Reliance Super are various formats that Reliance has
rolled out. In addition, Reliance Retail has entered into an alliance with Apple for
setting up a chain of Apple Specialty Stores branded as iStore, starting with
Bangalore. Elamakkara, kadavanthara, K.P Vallon road, Jawahar nagar, PT Jacob
road, pookkattupadi, thoppinpadi, chengampuzha and kothamangalam are its area of
operation in Cochin City.

3.7.2. SPENCER DAILY

Spencer’s Retail is one of India’s fastest growing retail stores with multiple
formats and retailing food, apparel, fashion, electronics, lifestyle products, music and
books. Established in 1996, Spencer’s has become a popular destination for shoppers
in India with supermarkets, hypermarkets and dailies spread all over India. Spencer’s
has retail footage of over 1.3 million square feet and over 350 Spencer’s stores in 50
cities. The company operates through the following formats: Spencer’s Hypermarkets:
a fast growing retail network of hypermarkets with large format stores in Mumbai,
Gurgaon, Ghaziabad, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Calicut, Hyderabad, Vizag, Vijayawada,
Aurangabad Durgapur and Kolkata. Spencer’s super: one of the largest supermarket
chains in the food and grocery segment in India.
Spencer’s Daily: small format stores conveniently located with a range of products to
meet your daily household needs. MG Road Ernakulam, veekshanam road,
palarivattom, chengannur, kallor, kadavanthara and Thripoonithura are its area of
operation in Cochin City.

47 
 
3.7.3. MORE
‘MORE’s mission is to change the way people shop”. Aditya Birla Retail
Limited re-brands its Fabmall grocery supermarkets to ‘More’, with the underlying
objective to enhance the shopping experience for consumers, the new stores will
continue to be built around the proposition of quality, affordability and convenience
with new in-store merchandise and a whole new retail experience. The acquisition of
Trinethra Super Retail has provided Aditya Birla Retail with a strong retail footprint
in South India extending to 275 stores and over more than half a million square feet in
Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Kerala, where it is the leading food and
grocery retailer.
The rapid growth of this industry is confirmation that the idea of organised
retailing has taken root in India. The industry is today valued at around US$ 320
billion. Within the organised retail sector, food and groceries account for around 14
per cent of the total market with potential to garner an even bigger share of the
market. About Aditya Birla Retail Ltd.: Aditya Birla Retail Ltd is the retail arm of the
Aditya Birla Group, a US$ 24 billion corporation with a market capital of US$ 31.5
billion and in the league of Fortune 500 companies. In May 2007, Aditya Birla Retail
Ltd launched its first store, ‘More’ in Pune and currently has 100 stores across the
country. Kakkanad, MG Road, Panampilly nagar, Edappally, Kadavanthara,
Palarivattom, Mattamcherry, Kaloor, Thripunithara, Perumbavoor, Thiruvamkulam,
Aluva and Mulamthuruthy are its area of operation in Cochin City.

3.7.4. MARGIN FREE

Margin free Market is a chain of speciality supermarkets in South India.

During the past six years, a price increase of essential commodities by 100 to 200%
became a regular feature in Kerala. Some of the citizens in Trivandrum City thought
of organizing a forum which could help the consumers in their day to day needs. This
is the background of the formation of Consumer Protection & Guidance
Society registered in the year 1993. It is the policy of the Society to give full support
to the Government, in controlling the price of essential commodities. Amongst other
things, the Society has given importance to open a venue where the consumers can get
products at reasonable rates. The idea of "Margin Free" programme came up as a first

48 
 
step, based on these ends in view. The Margin Free Market is a co-operative venture
of the Consumer Protection & Guidance Society and the management, which came
forward to take up the responsibility of launching it. The First Margin Free Market,
Fort, Trivandrum was inaugurated on 26 January 1994 by the Hon. District Collector
Nivethitha P Haran.

Margin free Market chain in Kerala helps consumers buy products for prices
discounted from Maximum Retail Price (MRP). Margin free Market chain is
responsible for running home the idea of buying products at lowest prices, much
below usual MRP rates. Margin free Market has been delivering grocery and
consumer products at margin-free rates since January 26, 1994. Margin free chain
today has more than 350 shops in and outside Kerala. Annual turnover exceeds Rs.
720/- Crore (INR 7.2 billion). The total discounts to consumers exceed Rs. 80/- Crore
(INR 800 million).

Margin free brought before rural consumers a new shopping experience. It

delivers highest quality food products at lowest prices. Consumers who trust Margin
free brand also take advantage of MFREEM Consumer Card, which entitle them for
additional discounts for the products they buy from Margin free franchisee shops.
Provisions, Toiletries, Gift Articles, Kitchenware, plastic goods, fans,
mixers, pressure cookers etc. are being sold at reduced rates varying from 1 to 40%
less than the maximum retail price fixed by the companies. The society could create
awareness among the people which has resulted in opening a few Margin Free Shops
at various parts of Kerala on their own accord. Charitable deeds like providing help to
physically handicapped inmates of Cheshire Home, Orphanages etc. are also
undertaken. Kaloor, vaduthala, edappally, thykattukara, mulamthurathy, palarivattom,
MG road, varapuzha and Edapally are its area of operation in Cochin City.

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 MAP 3.1
MAP OF COCHIN CITY

 
 

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