Intro: The Retail Revolution

The story of retail India during the last decade has been nothing less than a revolution-shaped by world class designs,quality investment and engaging stakeholders.Devolopers,retailers,authorities and designers have come together in architecting a rich retail landscape which posits a harbinger of what lies ahead for the Indian consumer. The growth of consumerism in India has been helped by a consistent growth of economy,rapid urbanisation rate,favourable demographics and availability of easy credits.The diverse middle class has expanded rapidly with rising income levels,mounting brand consciousness and increasing focus towards value retailing from low-cost retailing.The demand for a superior shopping experience is evident in the metropolitan cities. This surge in demand side has been aptly complemented with construction of organized retail malls across the landscape.Led initially by the Tier I cities,it is rapidly penetrating into Tier II and Tier III cities today.The recent slowdown,however,did impact the story of retailing momentarily.But,the sector has witnessed a rapid adaptation to the ground realities and is now poised at the right crossroads to take the next giant leap in the coming decade. The retail revolution in India

Expanding Middle Class

By 2030,91 million househouseholds will be middle class,up from 21 million today.

Availability of Easy Credit More credit is available to Indian households today through proliferation of credit cards and availability of easy loans,which has increased the affordability of consumers. Rapid Urbanisation The Retail Revolution By 2030,570 million people will live in cities.nearly twice the population of United states today

Rise in Income Levels The per capita income in 2009-2010 more than doubled to USD 849 from USD 348 in 2000-01

Investment in Infrastructure India expects to invest about USD 500 billion in infrastructure,mainly in power,telecommunication, roads,railways and oil pipelines,in the five years ending March 2012

Rising Brand Consciousness There is high brand consciousness among the youth- 60 per cent of India s population is below the age of 30.

Intro for our analysis:

As a new decade began,India s retail sector moved beyond infancy,where organised retail began to get a foothold in major metros,toadolescene where organised retail has penetrated deeper into Indian markets.In order to understand the opportunities in the retail property market as the Indian retail sector progresses in its path of maturity,one needs to go off the path so often taken by devolopers,investors and retailers.both domestic and foreign.An exploration off the beateb track will reveal where the new geography of opportunity lies in the Indian retail property market. For the purpose of our analysis,we have looked beyond the major high streets of Mumbai and focussed on a various places where the retail is in various stages of maturity.Our examination of these new markets also goes into categorising them into levels of maturity and places that against current rental levels ttto assess which ones pose the greatest opportunities for devolopers,investors and occupiers.

The Resiliency of Consumerism:

As in many nations,retail consumption in India was severely impacted as a result of the global economic downturn.Now that the nation s economic recovery is well under way,it is becoming apparent that the underlying factors which propelled India s high-octane consumerism in the past remain true today:
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Demographics are still favourable with the two-thirds of the nations population below age 35 Urbanisation is still rapidly occurring and at a greater depth with many Tier III an Tier IV cities providing concentrations of retailing potential India s economy seems unstoppable,suffering only a slowdown in the rate of growth during the global economic crisis while others contracting India's middle-class is still growing as are per capita incomes and the availability of credit The depth and breadth of organized retail penetration beyond India s major metros is still continuing into markets which offer favourable opportunities doe retailers and property devolopers.

The Indian retail market stood at USD 330 billion in 2007 with little more than 4% of it being attributed to the organised retail.By the end of 2010 the organised retail sector is expected to grow to 10% of total retail within the country.This rapid growth of organised retail is partially attributed to the phenomenal burst of new shopping malls built over the last 3 years, an increasing number of which are located in the nation s smaller, underserved markets. However, organised retail is also being driven throughout India by resilient consumers who are typically young, urbanised and brand-conscious shoppers with changing preferences towards consumerism and the means to pursue it.