Fathom this. Seventy per cent of India’s and 12 per cent of global population lives in rural India and contributes 50 per cent of the country’s GDP. Their population of 75 crore (750 million) is more than that of US, UK, France, Japan, Italy and Germany put together. In fact, as per Mckinsey, despite rising urbanisation, 63 per cent of India’s population will continue to live in the rural areas even in 2025.

Surging ahead in terms of growth

As per National Council of Applied Economic Research, rural market accounts for 55 per cent of LIC [Get Quote] policies, 70 per cent of toilet soap consumption, and 50 per cent of TV, fans, bicycles, tea and wrist watch consumption. So as a target market, it is attractive not only because of the size, but also because of impressive growth potential.

Rural GDP has been witnessing strong growth in the last four years (avg of 4 per cent) not only on the back of increase in minimum support prices for the agri-products but also due to availability of alternative employment opportunities.

Income_Distribution

Source: Business Today

In 2008, the rural areas grew at a robust rate of 25 per cent as compared to 10 per cent growth in urban retail market According to a McKinsey, rural India, would become bigger than the total consumer market in countries such as South Korea or Canada in another twenty years. It would grow almost four times from estimated size of $577 bn in 2007. While the per capita income is lower than urban areas, the customer base is thrice that of urban areas.

Resilient to slowdown

On account of negligible tax liability and little or no burden of loan repayments, the Indian rural population has a higher propensity to save. The rural areas account for 33 per cent India’s total savings. Being more conservative than their urban counterparts, the rural populace has not burnt their fingers in the real estate or stock market bust. Further, the rural income distribution pattern is also changing and the bottom is getting narrower.

While 18 per cent of rural India has earnings in the range Rs 45,000 to Rs 215,000 per annum, 58 per cent of urban population earns in this range. However, 27 m individuals form a part of this income bracket in rural areas while in urban areas it is about 29 m; of which large base is already tapped.

No of households (m)

Source : Ministry of Communications & Information Technology , India

As per the Associated Chambers of Commerce and Industry of India, the rural market is becoming increasingly attractive for FMCG, automobiles and organised retail businesses. Rural India accounts for more than 40 per cent consumption in major FMCG categories such as personal care, fabric care, and hot beverages.

FMCG sector in rural areas is expected to grow by 40 per cent as against 25 per cent in urban areas in the coming quarters. The size of retail market in India is estimated at US$ 280 bn of which the rural retail market works out to be $112 bn. This is expected to double in next 4 to 5 years because of the huge potential. Even auto companies in recent times are witnessing shift in trend as they are gearing to explore the huge market potential lying in the rural areas.

Source: Mint

As rural India becomes more lucrative and the government becomes more committed to its development, schemes like the rural employment guarantee, Bharat Nirman, focus on rural education, debt waiver plan and higher support prices will aid the rural demand. Although the penetration levels are still very low, the scope is huge. And India Inc. is not letting go of this opportunity.

“There’s still a lot of stress,” Wal-Mart CEO Mike Duke said on a taped interview on NBC’s “Today Show.”

“It’s not a ‘V’ recession, where we’re just going to bounce out and come back,” he said.

Duke’s comments aired a day after a government report showed that sales at U.S. retailers unexpectedly fell 1.1 percent in March and after Wal-Mart last week reported a lower-than-expected rise in March sales at U.S. stores open at least a year.

Also on Wednesday, Burger King Holdings Inc (BKC.N) said it faced an “unanticipated traffic slowdown” in March across most company-owned hamburger restaurants, while the government said U.S. consumer prices fell unexpectedly last month, recording their first annual drop since 1955, as slumping demand pushed down energy and food costs.

The reports have dimmed hopes that the U.S. recession is close to hitting bottom, and show consumers are keeping a tight grip on their wallets. In early trading, Wal-Mart shares gained 10 cents to $51.22.

Duke said that by the end of the month, just before traditional paydays, customers are left with only a few dollars to spend.

He said the downturn will lead to a “sustained change” in the way that families live. But he added that customers are buying electronics, like flat screen TVs or video game systems, as they cut back on entertainment outside of the home or scrap vacation plans.

Separately, Wal-Mart’s China unit said it will eliminate one management layer of its stores in China to improve efficiency, affecting up to 1,400 people.

The retailer, which has 147 outlets in China and employs more than 50,000, will offer affected employees the option to move to new stores or take other positions with lower salaries.

© Thomson Reuters 2009 All rights reserved

The UK continues to lead the world as the most international retail market, as Europe maintains its ability to attract the world’s top retailers, according to new research.

The 2009 edition of the How Global is the Business of Retail? report from CB Richard Ellis mapped the footprint of 280 top global retailers across 67 countries, exploring the globalisation of the retail industry at national and city levels to highlight differences between sectors and regions, identifying trends in the patterns of global retail expansion.

The UK outperformed other major European economies such as Spain, France, Germany and Italy to take the number one position within the top 15 most international retail markets, with 58% of all retailers surveyed present.

Europe continues to dominate, containing eight out of the top 15 most international retail locations, although emerging economies such as China, Russia and the United Arab Emirates have gained significant ground in the past 12 months. China, Russia and Japan performed particularly strongly in the 2008 global retail ranking, achieving sixth, seventh and 14th positions respectively. Middle Eastern countries have also seen a marked increase in retailers entering the region. The UAE jumped two places in the ranking, from sixth in 2007 to fourth in 2008, with 45% of international retailers present compared to 39% in 2007. Saudi Arabia also made a notable leap up the rankings from 28th position in 2007 to 15th position in 2008, with 37% of international brands present.

The US registered in 10th position globally, with 39% of international retailers present. This can be attributed, at least in part, to the size, maturity and strength of its domestic market. US retailers tend to penetrate their vast national market extensively before considering international expansion. Canada made the strongest rise up the global ranking of any country in the Americas in 2008, moving into 13th position from 18th, with 37% of international retailers present, a 6% increase from 2007.

Peter Gold, Head of EMEA Cross Border Retail at CB Richard Ellis, says, “Despite the global economic slowdown, many retailers, especially cash-rich private companies, have continued their expansion plans throughout the past 12 months. Our survey of 280 retailers saw them expand their international presence by an average of 12% in the past year, being represented in a further two more countries than in the previous year. This was primarily driven by clothing, footwear and accessories retailers from Europe. Interestingly, retailers have continued not just to internationalise, but to globalise – 40% of all new store openings in 2008 were outside the retailer’s home region.

“It remains to be seen whether this pace of expansion into emerging markets will be sustained through 2009 and 2010. Yet the globalisation of the retail industry is undoubtedly an ongoing long-term trend which is not going away,” adds Gold.

The report analysed which types or categories of retailers have the strongest international presence, and found that luxury retailers dominate global retail in terms of their footprint around the world. Some 90% of luxury retailers have a presence in more than 10 markets and 40% are present in more than 30 countries.

India is an important market for us due to the opportunities it presents. We have plans to launch more than 32 new models here, of which six will be touch phones, while many other models will be 3G-enabled and some of these will also be entry level phones. At present, we have about three touch phones and six 3G-enabled handsets already in the market and we plan to have about 10 models each in both these segments by the year-end. We are betting big on the touch screen segment and we are targeting sales of up to six lakh units  and a 10% market share in this space alone within the next six months.

What will be your investments in India this fiscal?

We will double our investment this year and the company as a whole will spend about Rs 400 crore on advertising this year. Additionally, we will invest Rs 200 crore in R&D to study market dynamics and consumer behaviour here. We are looking at increasing our headcount in our sales vertical to enhance our presence.

How many of the products you sell here are made here? How have your sales been so far?

Currently, we manufacture mobile phones at two units located in Pune and Greater Noida and these plants have a production capacity of three million units per year. About 70% of the production is exported while the rest is for domestic consumption. We sold about 2.4 million GSM handsets in India last year and we expect a 50% increase in sales this year.

Our institutional sales account for just 10% our total mobile sales.
Currently the Indian mobile handset market is dominated by some of your competitors.

How are you looking at improving your brand visibility here?

LG is rapidly gaining market share in the GSM market, despite being a late entrant. We are already the fifth-largest player in the segment. I believe our distribution line was poor earlier, but now we are reworking our strategy here. Based on the analysis of our marketing team, we are deploying 1,000 additional shop sales executives and we will be launching about 1,000 additional shop-inshop formats in rural and tier II cities. On the organised retail front, the overall channel coverage is at 42%.

India is an important market for us due to the opportunities it presents. We have plans to launch more than 32 new models here… We are betting big on the touch screen segment
MOON B SHIN

MANAGING DIRECTOR, LG

Several American and European retail brands in segments as varied as fashion, cosmetics, lingerie, food & beverages, among others, are preparing to make their presence felt in the Indian market through franchise route, as a result of sharp drop in sales in these markets following economic slowdown. Certain brands from countries like the UAE, Brazil and Thailand are also eyeing Indian market.

“Drop in retail sales in Europe and the US markets are leading to this phenomenon. Retail brands that built great amount of manufacturing capacities are under pressure to offload excess inventories and are therefore entering into alternative sales practices by setting up their franchise in large-sized markets like India,” Gaurav Marya, franchising expert and president, Franchise India Holding, told ET.

Following the collapse of the international retail markets, several brands like Beverley Hills Polo (USA), Spa Siam (Thailand), Taman Gang Restaurants (UK) and others entered Indian market through franchise route.

Others like Revive Juice Bars (UK), Mrs Fields Cookies (USA), Jamba Juice (USA), fashion brand Jules (France), cosmetics brand Mikyajy (UAE), lingerie brand Nayomi (UAE), car-wash service brand Moly Company (Thailand), food & beverages brands Habibs (Brazil) and Herfy, BBQ Chicken (Singapore), Pizza Company and Spicchio Pizza (both Thailand), Marina Furniture (UAE), and Alto Cafe (France) are learnt to be at various levels of negotiation to start their services in India. Companies that have long nurtured ambition to enter retail-friendly markets like India and China are finding this a convenient time as sales in their own countries have tapered. They are trying to convert this as an opportunity to taste Indian waters, which they plan to do for 2-3 years before they decide on their future plans in these countries, says business strategy specialist Harish Bijoor.

“Several brands are looking for green pastures, and India having a decent GDP growth of 4.3% holds lots of potential for them. They are taking up franchise route as they cannot risk coming on their own at this juncture. This also means a big chunk of business coming in for entrepreneurs,” Mr Bijoor said.

Several brands are targeting grade B and C cities rather than expanding in metros, as smaller cities are more brand hungry and retail is not much hit here, say experts.

With the presence of limited brands in India markets, the country holds big opportunity for these brands as this would also help them re-route inventories and orders to new markets and keep their sagging sales volume intact. At the same time, their Indian counterparts are finding this a right opportunity to strike negotiations to their advantage,” added Mr Marya.