http://www.wikinvest.

com/industry/Retail
The retail industry is a sector of the economy that is comprised of individuals and companies engaged in the

selling of finished products to end user consumers. Multi-store retail chains in the U.S. are both publicly

traded on the stock exchange and privately owned.

The retail industry is the second largest industry in the U.S. (responsible for approximately 12% of all US

employment) with over $3.8 trillion in sales annually ($4.2 trillion if food sales are included). Although the

vast majority of all retail stores in the U.S. (approximately 90%) are single-store businesses, however these

single-store businesses account for substantially less than half of all retail sales. Thus the majority of the

revenue in the retail industry is generated by companies that run retail "chains". The biggest retailer in the

world is Wal-Mart, which generated over $344 billion in revenue in its last fiscal year.

There are two basic forms of retailers: wholesale and specialty. Wholesale retailers, also known as "big box"

retailers or department stores, are companies like Wal-Mart and Target that sell a wide variety of items at

discounted prices. Specialty retailers offer a limited scope of products in order to serve a smaller market

more effectively, such as consumer electronics retailers like Best Buy or office supply retailers such as

Staples.

Retail Industry Sectors

The retail industry can be divided into a number of smaller sectors or "sub-industries":

Discount Stores
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Pakis r doing it

 Target

Off-Price Retailers
Off-price retailers purchase retail merchandise directly from suppliers, taking advantage of manufacture

overruns and canceled orders to acquire retail goods at an opportunistic discount. They also utilize

"packaway", items purchased at discount at the end of a season, then held in inventory until the next

appropriate season for sale. The off-price retail sector as a whole is growing faster than most other retail

segments, with a CAGR greater than 10% over the past five years, well above the 4% average annual

growth rate for apparel retail.

 TJ Maxx and Marshall's

  Ross

Apparel

 The Gap

 Abercrombie & Fitch

 Guess? (GES)

 American Eagle Outfitters (AEO)

 Aeropostale (ARO)

 Urban Outfitters

 Pacific Sunwear

 J. Crew

 AnnTaylor

 Phillips-Van Heusen

 Lululemon

 Revenue - Old Navy

Consumer Electronics

 Best Buy

 Radioshack

 Gamestop

Home Improvement

 Home Depot

 Lowe's

Office Supplies

 Staples

 OfficeMax

 Office Depot

Pharmaceuticals

 CVS
  Walgreen's

 Rite Aid

Home Products

 Bed Bath & Beyond

 Pier 1 Imports

Sporting Goods

 Dick's Sporting Goods

 Cabela's

Academy

Footwear

 Foot Locker

 Finish Line

Jewelry

 Tiffany

 Signet

Retail Industry Trends

Wal-Mart's Impact
Wal-Mart is by far the largest retailer (and company) in the U.S. and the world in terms of revenue

generated. The company operates a chain of discount wholesale stores that emphasize incredibly low prices

and efficiency that enables the company to offer such low prices. Wal-Mart's successful business model has

pushed down prices throughout the retail industry, forcing companies to adapt their business models in

order to effectively operate in the new landscape, and forced small single-store businesses out of the

markets which Wal-Mart enters.

Big box retail stores account for only a small percentage of the total number of stores in the total 'General

Merchandise Stores' sector in the US. In 2008 there were 35 big box retailers with 3,451 outlets. Despite
this, the industry still generated revenue of approximately $335.0 billion over the year which equates to more

than half of total revenue in 'General Merchandise Stores' sector in the US [1]

Wal-mart is the largest player in the industry in the US. The chain was founded by Sam Walton in 1962. It

has become an important figure in social, economic and political debates, from health care to immigration to

gun control. Despite the downturn in the US, Walmart still grew in 2008 with financial turmoil seeing

struggling consumers substitute high end retail with the relatively less expensive alternatives offered by Wal-

Mart. [2]

Increasing Importance of E-Commerce

In the past ten years the Internet has changed the landscape of the retail industry. The Internet has enabled

consumers to shop for and purchase goods online from the comfort of their home. This type of E-Commerce

has created successful companies such as Amazon.com and eBay. Also, E-commerce has added new

dimensions to traditional retailers as nearly every major company in the retail industry sells products through

their own website (note that some retailers choose to run E-commerce operations in-house while others

outsource the operations to E-commerce specialists). The profitable e-commerce market has served as a

launch pad for companies like GSI Commerce (GSIC) that provide e-commerce services for retailers. These

companies design, create and manage e-commerce sales for retailers that do not wish to run online sales

in-house. E-commerce currently represents approximately 2.7% of total retail industry revenue ($104 billion

annually), a number that has steadily grown in past years. As younger, Internet-savvy customers mature and

Internet-usage becomes more widespread over time among consumers of all ages, E-commerce will

become increasingly relevant.

Product Cycles
One of the most influential growth factors for retailers is product cycles. In many cases, newly innovated

products (such as new flat-panel TVs or an updated line of iPods are released with high prices to maximize

profits early on. Competition between consumer retailers and increased supply from manufacturers drive

down prices over time until each retailer makes little profit by the end of a product's life cycle. How quickly

product cycles mature drives the profit a retailer makes. There are many product cycles co-occurring at any

given point in time, and these product cycles vary between retail industry sub-sectors; for example, an

important product cycle in consumer electronics retail currently is flat panel HDTVs).

Credit Crunch
The 2007 credit market squeeze caused by the subprime lending crisis has hurt consumer confidence which

has begun to make significant negative impacts on retail sales. A range of retailers such as Target, Office
Depot, Dick's Sporting Goods, J. Crew Group (JCG), and AnnTaylor Stores (ANN) have reported falling

same store sales and challenging selling environments due to the economy's struggles.

Also, trouble in the US housing market has intensified due to the credit crunch. Downturns in the housing

market hurt retailers like Home Depot and Lowe's directly, but also hurts consumer electronics retailers like

Best Buy and Circuit City because consumers who have recently purchased a home are more often to

purchase new home theater and entertainment products to complement their new residence. Thank you.

Importance of Retail Sales

The Retail Sales report is an important leading indicator because it gives us a glimpse into what the

upcoming quarterly Gross Domestic Product (GDP) number—a number that gives an idea of how fast the

economy is growing or shrinking—might look like. Consumers make up approximately 70 percent of the

United State's GDP. So if consumers are out there spending their money, GDP will probably show that the

economy is growing, and vice versa.

Retail Sales and Unemployment

The Retail Sales report also gives a glimpse into what the future unemployment picture might look like.

Unemployment tends to rise when the economy slows down or shrinks, and it tends to decline when the

economy is strong and growing. Retail Sales affecting the GDP gives an idea of how the economy might be

performing, it gives an insight into how the GDP numbers would affect unemployment.

Retail Sales and Company Profits=

The Retail Sales report provides a crucial glimpse into how individual retailers will most likely perform in the

future. When retail sales are up, you know that earnings and profits at retailers like Walmart (NYSE: WMT),
Home Depot (NYSE: HD) and Macy's (NYSE: M) are going to be growing. Conversely, when retail sales are

down, earnings and profits at most retailers are going to be down. However, Walmart does seem to be one

retailer that is able to buck that trend—thanks to its position as a discount retailer that thrives during difficult

economic times. One of the worst histories in my life........ THANK YOU!!!!!!

References

1. ↑ " Big Box Retail Stores in the US" IBISWorld, 2009

2. ↑ "Wal-Mart Stores Inc " New York Times, 2008

http://business.mapsofindia.com/india-retail-industry/
 The Indian retail industry is the fifth largest in the world. Comprising of organized and
unorganized sectors, India 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. The India
retail industry is expected to grow from Rs. 35,000 crore in 2004-05 to Rs. 109,000 crore
by the year 2010.

Growth of Indian Retail

According to the 8th Annual Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) of AT Kearney,
India retail industry is the most promising emerging market for investment. In 2007, the
retail trade in India had a share of 8-10% in the GDP (Gross Domestic Product) of the
country. In 2009, it rose to 12%. It is also expected to reach 22% by 2010.

According to a report by Northbride Capita, the India retail industry is expected to grow
to US$ 700 billion by 2010. By the same time, the organized sector will be 20% of the
total market share. It can be mentioned here that, the share of organized sector in 2007
was 7.5% of the total retail market.

Major Retailers in India

Pantaloon:

Pantaloon is one of the biggest retailers in India with more than 450 stores across the
country. Headquartered in Mumbai, it has more than 5 million sq. ft retail space located
across the country. It's growing at an enviable pace and is expected to reach 30 million
sq. ft by the year 2010. In 2001, Pantaloon launched country's first hypermarket ‘Big
Bazaar’. It has the following retail segments:

•Food & Grocery: Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar

• Home Solutions: Hometown, Furniture Bazaar, Collection-i
• Consumer Electronics: e-zone
• Shoes: Shoe Factory
• Books, Music & Gifts: Depot
• Health & Beauty Care: Star, Sitara
• E-tailing: Futurebazaar.com
• Entertainment: Bowling Co.

Tata Group

Tata group is another major player in Indian retail industry with its subsidiary Trent,
which operates Westside and Star India Bazaar. Established in 1998, it also acquired the
largest book and music retailer in India ‘Landmark’ in 2005. Trent owns over 4 lakh sq. ft
retail space across the country.

RPG Group
 RPG Group is one of the earlier entrants in the Indian retail market, when it came into
food & grocery retailing in 1996 with its retail Foodworld stores. Later it also opened the
pharmacy and beauty care outlets ‘Health & Glow’.

Reliance

Reliance is one of the biggest players in Indian retail industry. More than 300 Reliance
Fresh stores and Reliance Mart are quite popular in the Indian retail market. It's expecting
its sales to reach Rs. 90,000 crores by 2010.

AV Birla Group

AV Birla Group has a strong presence in Indian apparel retailing. The brands like Louis
Phillipe, Allen Solly, Van Heusen, Peter England are quite popular. It's also investing in
other segments of retail. It will invest Rs. 8000-9000 crores by 2010.

Retail formats in India

Hypermarts/supermarkets: large self-servicing outlets offering products from a variety of

categories.

• Mom-and-pop stores: they are family owned business catering to small sections;
they are individually handled retail outlets and have a personal touch.
• Departmental stores: are general retail merchandisers offering quality products
and services.
• Convenience stores: are located in residential areas with slightly higher prices
goods due to the convenience offered.
• Shopping malls: the biggest form of retail in India, malls offers customers a mix
of all types of products and services including entertainment and food under a
single roof.
• E-trailers: are retailers providing online buying and selling of products and
services.
• Discount stores: these are factory outlets that give discount on the MRP.
• Vending: it is a relatively new entry, in the retail sector. Here beverages, snacks
and other small items can be bought via vending machine.
• Category killers: small specialty stores that offer a variety of categories. They are
known as category killers as they focus on specific categories, such as electronics
and sporting goods. This is also known as Multi Brand Outlets or MBO's.
• Specialty stores: are retail chains dealing in specific categories and provide deep
assortment. Mumbai's Crossword Book Store and RPG's Music World are a
couple of examples.

Challenges facing Indian retail industry

• The tax structure in India favors small retail business

• Lack of adequate infrastructure facilities
 • High cost of real estate
• Dissimilarity in consumer groups
• Restrictions in Foreign Direct Investment
• Shortage of retail study options
• Shortage of trained manpower
• Low retail management skill