Raj Jain has joined as President of Emerging Markets for Wal-Mart International, a position he assumed in May 2006. He is based in Shanghai and is in charge of business development for the emerging markets in the Asia-Pacific region. In his position as President of Emerging Markets for Wal-Mart International, Jain will also play an active role in overseeing the company's business development in India , as will evaluate various opportunities available to the company within existing guidelines.

Wal-Mart recently received approval to open a liaison office to conduct market research in India . "We are currently in the process of setting up this office, which will be staffed by a small team to help our market study activities on the ground. We also continue to focus our efforts on improving our direct sourcing from India through our Global Procurement office in Bangalore,"  a Wal-Mart Spokesperson told IMAGES Retail.

Calvin Klein Inc., the clothing design and marketing studio formed in 1968, is to set up a retail operation in India. The clothing empire and Murjani India Ltd. have announced an agreement for the latter to market and distribute the brand's various labels throughout India and open dozens of retail stores planned for the subcontinent.

The agreement authorises Murjani to market the Calvin Klein lineup through exclusive retail outlets and select department stores approved by the company. It includes the original Calvin Klein Jeans line and the unisex ck Calvin Klein label, which the company introduced in the mid-1990s.

Murjani India, a subsidiary of the Murjani Group, focuses on attracting international brands and retail concepts to India. Murjani forged a separate deal with The Warnaco Group, a New York-based apparel company, granting Warnaco exclusive rights to distribute the Calvin Klein Underwear line of products in India and supply Calvin Klein Jeans to Murjani.

The broad plan is to open at least 40 Calvin Klein-branded stores during the first five years of the operation, with construction beginning as early as March 2007.

The Ravi Jaipuria held company RJ Corp has signed an exclusive master franchise agreement with Disney Consumer Products to source and market Disney character branded cards, stationery, arts, crafts and party products through exclusive Disney Artist stores in India . The first of the stores is to open in Mumbai in January 2007.

Under the Disney Artist brand in India, RJ Corp will sell as vast range of Disney character-led products aimed at the kids and youth category.

"RJ Corp will open five Disney Artist stores in Mumbai and Delhi before expanding to major markets in India . Over the next 12 months, we should have 15 such outlets in place. And by 2011, we will be investing about 100 crore in expanding our presence to 150 stores across India ," Ravi Jaipuiria, Chairman, RJ Corp announced on October 11.

Infiniti Retail, a 100-per cent subsidiary of Tata Sons, has launched the first mega store of Croma , India 's first national chain of multi brand outlets for consumer electronics and durable products. Ratan Tata, Chairman, Tata Sons, and Roger Corbett, Independent Consultant, Woolworths, Australia, jointly launched the first Croma mega store in Juhu, Mumbai , amidst a high-tech display of technology and human interface built around the concept of 'See, Touch and Feel'. The sprawling store, spread over 20,000 sq ft of space, has on display more than 6,000 products across eight categories, namely, home entertainment, small appliances, white goods, computers and peripherals, communication, music, imaging and gaming software. The store currently offers more than 180 national and international brands.

Speaking at the launch of Croma, RK Krishna Kumar, director, Tata Sons, said, " The launch of Croma heralds a whole new retail experience for consumers. With the widest range of products, unparalleled customer service and a unique shopping experience, Croma will set new benchmarks in the consumer durables and electronics retailing in India ."

Roger Corbett, Independent Consultant, Woolworths, said, "We are very delighted to partner the Tatas in their foray into consumer electronics and durables. Woolworths is one of the world's largest retail companies with a multitude of formats. Our association with Tatas will ensure a high-end offering to consumers. We are encouraged by the growth in the Indian economy and as an exciting, emerging market for retail."

In an effort to help consumers make informed decisions, 'Croma' will be equipped with trained professionals who are undergoing an extensive training programme that will equip them with in-depth knowledge of the products and brands available at the store, thereby allowing them to provide the right kind of guidance to the customer.

Wadhawan Food Retail Pvt. Ltd. (WFRL), which operates 10 food retail outlets under the brand name Spinach, has plans to open 60 food and grocery stores in Mumbai and Pune by the end of this year. The company plans to expand further to the Eastern and Northern states in another two years.

WFRPL launched its first store in Mumbai in February this year and targets to cover 1,54,000 sq.ft of retail space by the year end. These stores are mainly in supermarket format and will be rolled out in three sizes -- Spinach Express of about 1,000sq.ft, Spinach Local of 3,000 sq.ft and Spinach Super of 6,000 sq.ft.

"WFRL is projecting a Rs.90-crore turnover in FY 2006-07," Dippankar S Halder, CEO, WFRPL told IMAGES Retail.

Bangalore based real estate developer; Prestige Group, plans to invest Rs.2,500 crore into the mall development business over the next two to three years. The group has plans to set up malls in Chennai, Hyderabad , Bangalore , Mangalore, etc.

As per company sources, each mall will entail an investment of about Rs.200 to 300 crore and will be designed with the expertise of an in-house team and a set of outscourced architects. The company plans to dedicate three million sq.ft of space across the four cities.

Pantaloon Retail India Ltd is shortly to unveil another retail format in the value sphere known as Brand Factory. This formats would occupy 60,000-1,00,000 sq.ft., with a 'fashion at a discount' positioning. The chain will retail known brands at factory pricing. The main revenue drivers are envisaged to be apparel, accessories and footwear.

The first two stores will open in Bangalore and Hyderabad within the next few weeks.

Trinethra Super Retail Ltd. (TSRL), the Hyderabad-based retail marketing chain, will invest Rs.1 billion over the next two years in order to expand business and open more outlets in South India .

According to reports, the number of retail outlets would be increased to 205 by the end of current fiscal from the existing 170. The number of outlets in Andhra Pradesh would be increased to 90 from the present 73, and 50 would be opened in Karnataka. TSRL will open 40 retail shops in Tamil Nadu and 25 in Kerala by the end of FY`07.

All the stores in Kerala would be opened under the group's 'Fabmall' brand. By September end, there would be nine Fabmall stores, including two supermarkets at Aluva and Kottayam and a supercentre at Kakkanad.

The company, which had a total turnover of Rs.2.4 billion in FY`06, has targetted turnovers of Rs.3.6 billion by March 2007 and Rs.6.5 -7 billion by FY`08.

Kaya Skin Clinic, the beauty & wellness services chain from Marico Ltd., plans to open 55 outlets by the end of 2007.

The company is hoping for a tally of 50 such outlets covering a total retail space of 75,000 sq.ft across 18 cities by the end of FY 2006-07. Kaya Skin Clinics - all owned and operated by the company - is targetting to touch a turnover of Rs.65 crore in the current fiscal, growing from Rs.45 crore in the last year.

The chain is also setting up Kaya Skin Zones in malls across India to provide easy access for customers to Kaya range of skin solutions. The company is aiming to establish 15 Kaya skin zones by end-2007.

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Home Solutions Retail ( India ) Ltd, a group company of the Future Group (formerly Pantaloon Retail India Ltd.) has launched E-Zone, its first electronics store at Jayanagar in Bangalore .

The outlet covers an area of 8,500 sq.ft zoned across three dedicated areas - the L iberation zone, Experience zone and the Home zone . The liberation zone offers personal products like computers, laptops, handy cams, MP3 players and mobile phones. Entertainment products are on display in the experience zone that offers Plasma / LCD, Flat TVs, top-of-the-line Home Theatre systems, DVD players, Stereo systems etc. And in the home zone segment, one gets to pick his/her choice of Refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Microwave ovens etc.

E-Zone would have a dedicated service support to be able to deliver this on a sustained basis and the required back-end is being implemented. This will be branded as E-Care . Customers can access service and support by calling to this single point contact, instead of the various different company service centers.

V.Rajesh , chief marketing officer, Home Solutions Retail said, "Our differentiator would be providing a complete 'peace of mind' safety net to the customer's purchase choice. Our brand E- Zone , will represent an excellent shopping experience and most importantly, complete satisfaction and post-purchase peace of mind."

The retailer has also launched a consumer durable brand called "KORYO". Speaking about KORYO, Manoj Kumar, chief - consumer durable & electronics, Home Solutions Retail said: "The differentiator would be the pricing of the KORYO Range . For example, the range of KORYO window air conditioner starts at Rs.7 ,990 , which is comparable to air cooler prices. Similarly all KORYO Products would offer the best in the class technology, features and service backup, at unbelievably low prices."

Pantaloon Retail ( India ) Limited had a turnover of Rs.1 ,084 crore for the financial year ending June 2005.

Marylin Aloysius
©IMAGES Retail

Wal-Mart Stores has followed French retailer Carrefour, in withdrawing from South Korea on May 30, becoming the latest global brand to fail in an economy characteristed by highly localised tastes and strong loyalty to regional brands. Wal-Mart announced that it had agreed to sell all 16 of its South Korean outlets to Shinsegae , a local retailer, for US$882 million.

Shinsegae , a leading department store and hypermarket chain in South Korea , will operate the Wal-Mart stores under its E- Mart brand. E-Mart is the biggest discount store chain in South Korea , with 79 outlets.

Carrefour sold its 32 South Korean stores to the local fashion retailer E-Land last month for $1.85 billion.

Prior to the Wal-Mart sale, the E-Mart chain of Shinsegae accounted for 30 per cent of the local market, followed by Homeplus , which is owned by the British retailer Tesco , with 17 per cent; and Lotte Mart, owned by Lotte Shopping of South Korea, with 12 per cent.

Wal-Mart and Carrefour, which entered the country in 1996, are believed to have failed due to flawed merchandising mixes - preference for western food items and retailing methods - that allowed chains like E-Mart to race ahead with localised product baskets and more interactive retailing tools to connect with consumers.

Over the years, South Korea has been an impossible terrain for some of the most competitive global brands - Nokia, Nestle and Google - who have found it hard to break the stranglehold regional giants such as Samsung and LG have over the South Korean consumers.

Saudi Arabia 's hypermarket giant HyperPanda has extended beyond its country of origin to the UAE, with the opening of its first international store in Dubai Festival City on May 30. The retailer occupies 1 ,75,000 sq.ft of space at the centre, Bassem Terkawi at Dubai Festival City told IMAGES Retail.

HyperPanda is operated by the Savola conglomerate, which owns one of the largest retail food chains in the Middle East - the Panda and Azizia supermarkets - as well as fast food restaurants. The group's interests supply Saudi Arabia , the Middle East and North African countries with edible oils, sugar, and fresh dairy products. Savola's expansion strategy for its retail division has led to a property development drive, mainly in malls, to house their hyper- and supermarkets.

Dubai Festival City, the Creekside mixed-use destination being developed by the Al Futtaim Group, staged the opening of its highly anticipated Festival Centre 'Gateway' in May, the first phase of the development's 2.6 million sq.ft 'urban retail resort', in time for the Dubai Summer Surprises, which runs from 21st June till September 1st.

Creating a unique shopping precinct which caters for all a customer's household needs, the launch includes, besides the HyperPanda opening, the launch of the largest ACE Hardware & Garden Centre outside of North America and the flagship 50,000 square feet Plug-Ins ElectroniX . These big box retailers will join the 245,00 square feet IKEA 'destination' store - the largest in the UAE - which has been open at the development since November last year.

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Books and music retailer 'Landmark' launched its first store in western India at Infiniti Mall, Andheri, Mumbai on April 26. Spread across 18,000 sq. ft Landmark is housed on the 2 nd floor of the mall , with lavish interiors. This is the sixth Landmark store in the country. Landmark so far had five stores - three in Chennai, one each in Kolkata and Bangalore .

Speaking on the launch of Landmark's first store in Mumbai, Hemu Ramaiah , CEO Landmark told IMAGES Retail , "With over 1 ,00,000 plus book titles, 70,000-plus movies, a wide range of stationery, toys, accessories, perfumes, diamond jewellery and an inviting, comfortable environment, Landmark is a category killer in all focus categories. Later this year Landmark plans to open stores in Delhi, Baroda, Pune and one more in Mumbai ."  

Talking about their distribution agency ' Westland ', she said, "It is a different business model. It is our supply chain to Landmark; we are also distributors to 350 retailers across the country. Our purpose is to augment the market; we don't think competitors eat into our share."

As part of Prozone's plan to develop India 's largest shopping mall network, Prozone Enterprises, the wholly owned subsidiary of Provogue , signed a JV with Omaxe Group, one of the largest real estate developers in North India , to develop shopping malls in townships owned by the latter.

In the first phase, a SPV promoted by the joint venture will invest Rs.1 ,500 crore to develop 10 malls across north India and in the second phase invest Rs.5,000 crore to develop 30 properties owned by Omaxe .

Omaxe is building 30 townships and 14 malls, has projects worth Rs.12 ,000 crore under implementation and another Rs.10,000 crore under-pipeline projects. At present, Omaxe is developing 4.1 million sq.ft of commercial development, mainly malls. Prozone is developing over 12 million sq.ft . of modern retail space and plans to develop 50 retail malls across the country focused on tier two cities which will come up in two years.

Prozone is putting together a team of world leaders in retail operation, management and design to develop the best planned, designed, managed and maintained shopping environments and will take the lead in providing retail training for all their tenants. Top executives have been headhunted - Kapel Vahi has moved from Trammell Crow Meghraj to head Tenant Relations and Ritesh Munshi , formerly with Inorbit Malls and Kshitij will head Mall Management.

International design expert Stefan Zachary from the UK has signed an exclusive agreement with Prozone and will take charge of all architecture and interior design aspects to launch a new branded mall concept unique to Prozone for the Indian environment. Prozone has also engaged Paul Merrifield from Dubai , CEO, Hot Brands International, to head a dedicated entertainment division.

"The tie-up with Omaxe and the appointments of Stefan Zachary, Kapel Vahi and Ritesh Munshi means that we are right on track with our strategy to be one of India's leading retail infrastructure development houses," Nikhil Chaturvedi , managing director, Provogue (India) Ltd. told IMAGES Retail.

Aeren R Enterprises today (April 19) announced the launch of The Festival City structure - a 2.0 million sq.ft -plus of covered area as an integrated commercial development. Located in the prosperous industrial city of Ludhiana , Festival City is easily accessible to the people of Ludhiana and affluent visitors from Phagwara , Jalandhar , Moga , Khanna , Amritsar , Chandigarh , Ambala and the entire Doaba and Malwa area. Festival City is positioned as a family destination for shopping, entertainment and leisure activity for the entire region.

"The concept of Mall within Malls will be introduced in Ludhiana for the first time. The 3,00,000 sq.ft dedicated to the Interiorz Mall - a one stop shop to meet all your home and office improvement needs is a great example of a Mall within a Mall. Other Specialty Malls like the Kids, Lifestyle, Fashion, Hospitality, Entertainment and Leisure Malls are an integral part of the development," Dr. Rajesh Aeren , Vice Chairman, Supervisory Board Aeren R Enterprises told IMAGES Retail.

• Rs 250-crore Festival City to be Punjab 's biggest mall

• India 's first theme destination mall to be designed around essence of Indian Festivals

• "Malls within a Mall" with Kidz Mall, Fashion Mall, Interior Mall, food court, entertainment plaza and a luxury hotel.

• Punjab 's first IMAX Theatre with 7-screen multiplex

Festival City has been designed by Ms. RTKL of London, a leading international architecture and design firm with commercially successful retail and entertainment landmarks like the LaQua at Tokyo, The Entertainment Center at lrvine spectrum, California; The O2, London; and Lalaport Shopping center, Tokyo to their credit.

Medicine Shoppe wants to take advantage of this situation as it sees India along with China driving the growth outside the US and becoming its key markets in the future, Medicine Shoppe® Vice President and International Business Head Bruce Burnett told IMAGES Retail.

Burnett was in India to mark the opening of 100th store of Medicine Shoppe® in the country. Medicine Shoppe India is managed by the Indian master licensee Melrose Trading Co. Pvt. Ltd.

Said Viraj Gandhi , CEO - Medicine Shoppe India : "We aim to become a 200-plus pharmacy chain by the end of this year and cross 700 mark in 2010, by expanding our operations in urban as well as rural India ."

Medicine Shoppe India has also launched a special loyalty card " ShoppeSelect ". This is a smart card where customer's medication details are stored in the chip. If a customer needs to access their medication history, all they have to do is enter it into any regular smart card reader and the medication history will pop up without any support of proprietary software. In future the card will be configured to store even the medical records. Besides this, the card also acts as a loyalty card where a customer can collect points for spending money and redeem their points at the Medicine Shoppe.

The Medicine Shoppe India is a global partner and the Indian master franchisee of The Medicine Shoppe International. The Medicine Shoppe India started operations in 1999 and works on Franchised Business Model. All The Medicine Shoppe pharmacies in India are franchisee-owned and operated. Medicine Shoppe® India is currently operational in Maharashtra , Gujarat , Goa , Andhra Pradesh, NCR, Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal .

The latest retailing honcho likely to join Reliance shortly is K Radhakrishnan , Vice-President (Merchandising), Spencer's Retail of the RPG group, and part of the original team that put FoodWorld operations in place. He is in all probability to head Reliance Retail's hypermarket vertical.

Radhakrishnan , who had quit the RPG group after an over-seven-year stint, a couple of months ago, was to have spearheaded the retail business of diamond trading company Dimexon .

Pantaloon Retail's lifestyle electronics format 'E-Zone' and its lifestyle furniture chain 'Collection I' are to launch in Indore by the end of April. The stores would come up in the 30,000 sq.ft Treasure Island mall in Indore , Pantaloon Retail India Ltd. North Zone head Mayur Toshniwal today told IMAGES Retail.

E-Zone will have three sections - Personal (mobile phones, iPods etc.), Home (domestic white goods) and Experience (high-end entertainment equipment like plasma screens and home theatres), besides the latest upgrades in consumer electronics. 'Collection I' will be stocking home furniture stuff and it would be a combination of the branded and other sets of home furniture for all budget categories.

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Over 200 industry professionals from more than 25 counties gathered at the 7th Annual Global Retail Technology Forum (February 13-14 ) in Dusseldorf , Germany to share ideas on growing their businesses and brands through customer-centric corporate and IT strategies. For the first time, this year's event was co-located with EuroCIS 2006, Europe 's leading exposition for IT and security in retail.

"220 delegates from more than 25 countries proves that this joint venture between Retail Systems Alert Group and EHI-Retail Network is an excellent setup for a truly global IT event," Michael Gerling, managing director, EHI-Retail Network told IMAGES Retail.

The event kicked off with an opening host country address by Dr. Hans-Joachim Körber , Chairman and CEO, METRO AG. Dr. Körber described how to further enhance the customer orientation with the use of innovative technologies.

One of the event highlights was the opening marquee lecture, entitled, "Mapping the Way to Customer-centricity," given by John Thompson, SVP & GM at BestBuy.com. Thompson detailed the various roads taken on Best Buy's journey to a customer-centric organization. He revealed the lessons learned from and the business and technology integration requirements for such a journey.

Burlent Ergin , Director, Application Development, Casino Guichard-Perrachon S.A., discussed Casino's supply chain and IT systems transformation, initiated chain-wide after years of merger activities. Ergin described how the initiative resulted in improved accuracy, better inventory turnover, increased sales and lower operating costs.

This year's conference also included the IT Directors Debate that brought together top technology officers from major retailer companies including BestBuy.com, Casino Guichard-Perrachon S.A., The Farmers' Trading Company Ltd., and Amazon.com. Moderator Brian Kilcourse , challenged panellists to provide insights into how technologies supporting customer-centric activities can provide the intelligent shopper with a rewarding experience.

The Opening Party, held at the Jever SkiHalle , featured the 6th Annual Global Retail Achievement Awards. These awards applaud both individuals and retail corporations taking a bold leap to develop applications that raise standards in the industry. This year's winners included entertainment UK , Broadway Marketplace, The Campbell Soup Company, and Deutsche Woolworth.

AFL, a leading provider of integrated supply chain services in India , has launched AFL TouchWorld , India 's first ' Convenience Services ' retail store in Mumbai . The various services offered at the AFL TouchWorld store include Forex , money transfer, international telephony, international and domestic courier, travel insurance and e-ticketing. It is for the first time in India that such a wide range of 'convenience services' is being offered under one roof.

The first TouchWorld store is located near Regal Cinema in south Mumbai and the company plans to expand into all major Indian cities in the near future.

The AFL TouchWorld store will be a small format outlet, driven by technology, offering highest levels of customer service in a professional atmosphere. It will be situated at a convenient high street location. Trained counter staff will attend to customers at the store.

The AFL TouchWorld brand will be primarily focussed on attracting footfall from the growing market of People of Indian Origin (PIO) travelling to India, relatives of PIOs in India, Indians travelling abroad and foreign nationals travelling to India who would be able to avail the various services offered at the AFL TouchWorld store to keep in touch with their own world. They can receive money, buy foreign exchange, make international calls at an extremely competitive rate, send gifts by courier, and buy low cost airline tickets for their travel requirements.

Announcing this, Cyrus Guzder, Chairman & Managing Director, AFL , said, " Over the last six decades, AFL has been providing end-to-end solutions in the area of supply chain management and express services. With the launch of TouchWorld , we are entering a new line of business and we hope to offer the same single-window experience to our retail customers. As the Indian economy continues to grow, more customers will need these 'Convenience Services'. I am delighted that leading service brands such as Western Union , Air Deccan , and Phonewala have affirmed their faith in AFL by offering their products at the TouchWorld store."

Commenting on AFL TouchWorld's expansion plans, Manoj Chandra, Head - Market Development & Brand Communications, AFL, said, " We will now rapidly expand the TouchWorld chain across India in the coming year. We plan to open over 20 AFL TouchWorld outlets in major cities and towns by next year. More 'Convenience Services' will be added at the store over a period of time. The chain will also be expanded by appointing franchisees and these outlets will be titled ' TouchWorld Express'. AFL TouchWorld Express will add around 25 - 50 such franchised outlets every year to its retail network."

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EMKE group, the biggest retail chain based in the UAE with operations spread across the Middle East is all set to enter the Indian retail sector with mega shopping malls and hypermarkets. The group which has the flagship "LULU" Hypermarkets and department stores chain with 48 branches in all major cities of Gulf, controls 34 per cent market share of the middle east retail sector.

The proposed shopping mall is coming up in Cochin , the commercial capital of Kerala . Apart from this one million sq. ft shopping mall, the project also consists of a 250 room five star hotel and an International standard convention centre which will be set up in the second phase.

Ideally located on the main highway with easy access for the shoppers, the mall will have parking facility for more than 2,500 cars. The anchor store of Lulu Shopping Mall will be Lulu hypermarket -the biggest in India with 180,000 sq. ft. of shopping space. The hypermarket will also have a host of ready to cook as well as ready to eat items from around the world in the most scientifically and hygienically designed environment.

Other features of the mall include more than 160 outlets of the leading fashion and lifestyle brands from all over the world, jewellery centres, 40,000 sq. ft furniture & home decor store, 30,000 sq. ft. sarees , churidars and ethnic wear souk , 12 screen multiplex, a food court with more than 18 outlets, coffee shops, restaurants and 40,000 sq. ft. hi-tech indoor amusement centre; all set in a breathtaking architecture and ambience.

Commenting on his maiden retail project in India , Yusuffali MA, managing director of EMKE Group told IMAGES Retail: "We were looking at spreading our operations to India and now is the right time to enter this market with its booming economy and positive government policies. Apart from Cochin we are also starting similar projects in other major cities of South India like Chennai, Bangalore , Hyderabad , etc."

"With majority of our present customers in the Gulf also being Indians, we already know a great about the Indian consumer's mind set and have done extensive research to provide them with a world class shopping and entertainment facility coupled with international standard services at affordable prices. We will be starting our full fledged leasing process very soon," added Yusuffali .

Dubai based design firm W J ATKINS is executing the project through their Bangalore office. The group plans to complete the project by the third quarter of 2007.

Pantaloon Retail is preparing to enter the healthy & beauty segment with beauty salons and diagnostic healthcare centres. The first retail outlet catering to the Big Bazaar profile customers, "Star and Sitara ", will open in Bangalore in March. The salon would be spread across 2,500 sq.ft and will offer services for both sexes. Thereafter Pantaloon plans to enter Ahmedabad, Mumbai, Hyderabad , and other cities where the group would have a mall presence through Kshitij .

Currently Pantaloon plans to reach the target customers through malls and shop-in-shop models within the group's other retail formats. "Various tie-ups are being explored; the target is to partner companies with long term vision and high commitment to customer service with a value focus," Rahul Bhalchandra , head, Wellness Business at Pantaloon Retail told IMAGES Retail.

The diagnostic centres will offer eye, skin, dental treatments and preventive care. They will also include pharmaceuticals, beauty centres and will also provide alternative treatments like ayurveda and homeopathy.  

Pantaloon Retail ( India ) Ltd's sales in July 2005 rose 103 per cent from a year earlier to 1.3 billion rupees, its best month ever.

Sales in its value retail segment (including hypermarkets and discount grocery and apparel stores -- Big Bazaar, Food Bazaar and Fashion Station) rose 116 per cent to 850 million rupees, while sales at its Pantaloon department stores and the Central mall rose 81 per cent to 450 million rupees.

The company had sales of 1.16 billion rupees in June.

The Ministry of Commerce is likely to call for a second round of discussions regarding the Real Estate Mutual Fund (REMF), the retail finance proposition submitted by the Retailers' Association of India (RAI) in March earlier this year.

Structured on the lines of the Retail Real Estate Investment Trusts (Retail REITs ) in the US that buy develop, manage and sells real estate assets, the REMF concept has been mooted with the principal objective of "enabling retailers to raise funds for expanding their businesses through real estate development," Gibson Vedamani , President, RAI told IMAGES Retail.

Basically, the proposed REMF will function like any other mutual fund, but, instead of investing in conventional stock or bonds, it would invest directly in property development or in the equity of real estate investment trusts. As per the model formatted by RAI, the fund is proposed to be a close ended or interval fund, which could be open ended once liquidity picks up.

Hermann J Kircher, Founder, Kircher Research Associates Ltd ., a leading Canada-based shopping centre advisory has this to add on the prospects of a successful real estate finance fund in India :

" REITs grew up in North America , once the real estate sector was relatively mature, with easy and generally accurate projections of future income streams. It also required special legislation, which is complex, but well established by now. Although REIT started in the US , they can now be found in most mature markets."

"It may be a little early for a successful REIT in India , but it will likely come, once the market is more mature and the 'right' product is available," he points out.

Global investment in real estate increased by 12 per cent to US$457 billion in 2004 (on 2003) according to a report published by Jones Lang LaSalle. Of this total, Asia Pacific accounted for 11 per cent at US$48.3 billion. The report, "Global Real Estate Capital - Travelling Further to Return Stronger" also identified that 60 per cent of cross border investment (US$60bn) took place region-to-region, showing that investors seeking international diversification are more likely to do so across continental boundaries rather than within their own region.

In Asia Pacific, the total real estate investment of US$48.3 billion is a 74 per cent increase over 2003. Of this amount, 24 per cent came from cross-border investment, which has grown by over 146 per cent to reach US$11.5 billion. The bulk of the cross-border activity came from North American investors who traded US$5.1 billion of assets and invested a net US$0.7 billion in the Asia Pacific region. Amongst all the real estate sectors, the office market was the most highly traded asset, accounting for 45per cent of all capital market flows in Asia Pacific.

According to Richard Johnson, Managing Director of Asian Capital Markets Group at Jones Lang LaSalle , "As well as Asian sources, there is an unprecedented level of capital from around the world looking for opportunities in all the key Asian locations. Previously, North American and European investors have been the dominant foreign players in Asian markets but we now see increasing interest from Australasian, Middle Eastern and other foreign investors seeking real estate opportunities in this region."

"In the past, such foreign capital was largely opportunistic in nature and focused primarily on the major locations and core sectors. This has changed. Now, a wide range of capital - opportunistic, development and institutional - is seeking investments in all sectors, in both primary and secondary locations," he adds.

Says Mridul Upreti , Head, Corporate Finance and Investments, Jones Lang LaSalle India: " Investment interest in India comes primarily from US opportunity funds, US and UK private equity and venture capital firms, Asian real estate funds and Singapore developers and domestic real estate dedicated private equity funds are expected to be active investors, this increased Institutional investor interest is expected to push the market to higher "efficiency" levels".

"Looking ahead, we expect to see exponential growth in foreign investments across four to five key markets in India . These will be focused on suburban business parks, large residential schemes, city centre mixed-use schemes with hotel/serviced apartment components. There could be further acceleration of investment interest in shopping centre development projects in India , pending the soon-to-be announced easing of foreign investment rules in the Indian retailing industry ," he states.

Other headline findings highlighted in the report include :

• Approximately 5 per cent of the global investible universe was traded in 2004.

• Cross-border investment totalled US$99 billion, with rapid growth in Asia-Pacific and North America .

• North American investors were the key source of capital in the global investment market, and Europe was the most active location for cross-border investment.

• The office sector accounted for 59 per cent of global capital flows in 2004, due to its size, familiarity and improved performance prospects

• Sales activity by global investors marginally outweighed purchase activity, with investors actively managing international portfolios by trading on the buy- and sell-side.

Trends for the future highlighted in the report include :

• Strong real estate performance over the short to medium term is expected to emerge as market cycles offer upside opportunities and investor demand continues to exert downward pressure on yields

• Capital allocations to global real estate are expected to grow as equity continues to flow from pension funds and low interest rates fuel the debt-driven sector, re info rcing yield compression and positive returns.

• Accordingly , demand from core and value-add investors will grow, with a focus on solid risk-adjusted returns in markets with high transparency and good liquidity

• Given the current weight and expected new sources of capital, the fastest short-term growth in Inter-Regional investment will be in markets where there are significant improvements in transparency and a large stock of institutional quality investible real estate.

• Less mature markets generally require more significant improvements in transparency before rapid growth of global capital flows is seen, particularly from core and value-add investors.

Westfield Retail Pvt. Ltd (McDonald's West India Master Franchisee) is currently developing a mammoth retail-cum-amusement property at Kalyan, Maharashtra. The 10 lakh square feet Metro Junction township mall will compose of a two lakh square feet Amusement Park and five lakh square feet of dedicated retail space, Subhash Purohit, marketing manager, Westfield Retail Pvt. Ltd. told IMAGES Retail.

Slated to become operational by end-2006, Metro Junction will house Big Bazaar as the main anchor, with Fame Adlabs (with a 4-screen multiplex), Timezone and McDonald's listed as the other major retailers. Although Purohit declined from revealing exact retail spaces booked by each retailer, he confirmed that the mall would house "the largest Big Bazaar outlet on a single level anywhere in India".

Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited & Liberty Shoes Limited on September 2, entered into a JV for setting up a chain of stores for footwear retailing and other accessories .  PRIL will hold 51% and Liberty 49% stake in the new company; having an authori s ed capital of Rs. 25 crore .  The company will set up a chain of large format footwear stores across the country, with each store covering an area of 10,000-15,000 sq. ft.  The  first store will be rolled out  before the end of 2005, company sources said.

The new Company will target a turnover of Rs. 350 crore by year -three with EBDITA   (Earnings before Depreciation, Interest, Tax, Amortisation)  levels in excess of  eight per cent.

The proposed JV will combine the property and retail expertise of Pantaloon with the design sourcing & merchandising expertise of Liberty.  This will provide a focused attention to the footwear category, which today commands a sizeable portion of the consumer spending. The MOU is only for retailing and not for manufacturing, it will retail all brands and products sources from all over the world as well as India.

Pantaloon Retail (India) Limited is slated to end this year with a turnover of Rs. 1, 100 crore.  The company operates across various formats in the Lifestyle and Value segments and is present in 19 cities with 2.1 million square feet of retail space.

Media group Deccan Chronicle Holdings (DCHL) on September 5 announced that it had acquired South India-based retail chain Odyssey for Rs 61 crore, in an all-cash deal, and upped its revenue and profit targets for this fiscal.

DCHL, which went public earlier this year, said as part of the deal, it has acquired 100 per cent equity of Odyssey, which currently has 50,000 sq.ft of retail space in 12 locations in six cities -- Chennai, Hyderabad, Trichy, Coimbatore, Salem and Varanasi.

Odyssey has lined up major expansion plans, including growth in western and northern India by March 2008. The retail chain sells books, music, toys, greeting cards and FMCG products of leading domestic and international brands, including that of ITC, Cadbury, Duracell, Parker and Penguin.

Crossover is a new and unique retailing concept brought to international markets from the world's largest film industry - Bollywood. Bringing the movies and fashion together, Crossover-Bollywood Se is an exclusive style lounge, retailing Bollywood-inspired fashion.

The first store is being opened in Khalid Bin Walid Road , Bank Street , Dubai by Meghna Pagrani, Director , Cottony Middle East on October 2, 2005 . This is a venture of Fashion Bollywood Ishtyle Apparels Pvt. Ltd. whose promoters are Suniel Shetty and Prakash Khubchandani, who have also successful ventures like Popcorn Entertainment and Mumbai's only water sports complex, H2O, to their name.

A roll-out plan of 10 stores in the next two years across 10 cities of the world is scheduled for Crossover-Bollywood Se.

Commenting on the launch, Khubchandani told IMAGES Retail , "For each store, Rs.6 crore has been invested. To wear designer clothes is a rage overseas and what better time to launch than during the wedding season."

Each store will be spread over 4 , 000 sq.ft and the interiors will offer glimpses of the fiction and reality that Bollywood dreams are made of - minimalist props to exotic sets , v ignettes of films and stars, song and dance.everything that Bollywood promises comes alive through fashion at Crossover. 

Crossover Bollywood Se will be a one-stop shop for Indian designer clothing abroad. Bollywood and mainstream designers have come together to retail a special line of prêt, diffusion, couture and bridal wear for  both sexes . The 20 designers who are making the crossover are Aki Narula, Anita Dongre, Rohit Bal, Vikram Phadnis, Manish Malhotra, Suneet Verma, Shantanu & Nikhil, Falguni & Shane Peacock, Shahid Aamir, Shahbina Khan, Seema Khan, Nisha Sagar, Neeta Lulla, Narendra Kumar Ahmed, Meera Mahadavia, Lascelles Simmons, Khushali Kumar, Deepika Gehani, Azeem Khan and Arjun Khanna.

Suniel Suniel says, "Clothes will be priced above Rs.2000 and most of the designs will be a mix of the designers ' individual styles with what is presented on screen."

Diamond jewellery from Adora would also be retailed at the store. Accessories exclusively and intricately made inspired by Bollywood are also available as part of the collection. Crossover takes this experience further with Hakim's Aalim salon and a new  catering brand called ' Chai Coffi ' by Café Basilico.

The world's largest home improvement retailer Home Depot will invest US$15.5 million in China to establish a store network, after receiving approval from  the Chinese Ministry of Commerce. Confirming this, Jeff Nichols, Real Esta t e Director for the firm told IMAGES  R etail that The Home Depot (China) Building Material and Home Improvement Co Ltd is expected to be established in Shanghai.

Established in 1978, The Home Depot's 2004 sales totalled US$73.1 billion, generated from its 1,900 stores across North America - in the US, Canada, Mexico, Puerto Rico and Virgin Islands. Home Depot stores are large, averaging 1,09,000 sq.ft and warehouse-style, stocking a large range of supplies including hardware, paint, paint sundries, janitorial, appliances, communications, electrical, lighting, irrigation, plumbing and other goods.

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The Mallz99 chain of  value-retail stores has been launched in India with the opening of the first concept  outlet in South Delhi 's Malviya Nagar. The store model has been derived from the US concept of 'Dollar Stores'.

The 6,500 sq.ft. Mallz99 outlet offers a wide range of products that are priced at Rs.99 and imported from  the US, Thailand , China , Taiwan , H ong Kong , Europe and Malaysia .

"We retail about 1,500 products available ranging from gifts, cosmetics, household, plastics, hardware, automotive, fashion accessories and jewellery, artificial flowers, candles, toys, perfumes, electronics, kitchenware, glassware etc.," Vikas Gulaty, Director, Mallz99 told IMAGES Retail.

"Another 3,000 sq. ft. of retail space will be added next month, to extend the SKUs," he added.

The second store is to launch within the next few weeks in Gurgaon, housed in a 50,000 sq.ft independent structure, Gulaty info rmed.

The plan is to roll out 200 stores of 2,500-50,000 sq.ft. company-owned and franchised outlets over the next four years as part of the expansion strategy in India .

"We are in the process of appointing master franchisees in all main zones of the country," he added.

International franchise consultants are being retained to guide the company through the complete franchising route, franchise selection, technical know-how and putting systems in place for effective management of the operations. The company also has plans to take out an IPO by 2008 to fund its future expansion plans.

The CDF commenced commercial operations from its three outlets in May 2002. Cochin duty free shop is owned and managed by CIAL, which has appointed Alpha Kreol India ltd (AKIL) as the sole and exclusive retail management consultancy provider for an unspecified period. AKIL is a joint venture company established by Alpha Airport Holdings BV. (AAH) and Kreol Trading Est.

Shoppers' Stop would be opening its first home store 'Home Stop' in Bangalore next month. Apart from this, the hypermarket 'Hypercity' would also be ready by the end of this financial year.

In Bangalore , Home Stop will open at the former Shoppers' Stop location at Margareth Road , occupying a retail space of approximately 30,000 sq.ft., B S Nagesh, CEO & MD, Shopper's Stop Limited told IMAGES Retail. The outlet will be a one-stop home solutions store and would have products ranging from furnishings to crockery on offer

Hypercity, which will be spread over 1,00,000 square feet of retail space, will open its first store in Mumbai by March/ April 2006, Nagesh confirmed. The company plans to open eight such hypermarkets over the next two years.

Simultaneously, post its exclusive franchise tie-up with British infantwear brand Mothercare, Shoppers' Stop will be opening 40 Mothercare outlets over the next five years. The brand operates 232 stores in the UK and 247 franchised stores in Europe , the Middle East , Dubai and Singapore . Mothercare products will be imported and partly sourced from the British company's partners in India .

"We will open the first Mothercare flagship in Delhi in the first quarter of fiscal 2006-07 ," Nagesh said.

Earlier this year, Shoppers' Stop entered into a similar tie-up with a cosmetics brand, MAC, to set up the latter's exclusive stores in the country, which gave the former a presence in the high-end beauty and cosmetics market.

"The first store has been very successful, and we will open the second in Delhi in first quarter of next financial year," he added.

At present, Shopper's Stop, which has Rs 511 crore revenue in 2004-05, has a network of 20 stores across 10 cities in India

Siri Maha Mart Trading Pvt. Ltd hopes to expand its Magna chain of Hypermarkets and supermarkets swiftly, to touch a total retail space of 1.5 lakh sq.ft . by the end of the current fiscal. To achieve this target, the company will be pumping in about Rs.30 crore on opening five Magna outlets in Hyderabad and one in Visakhapatnam , adding to the operational 45,000 sq.ft . outlet in Vijayawada , which opened in August 2005.

The second outlet will open in Hyderabad in the first week of November, followed by Vishakhapatnam in end-November, Sriram Kakkera , CEO, Siri Maha Mart Trading Pvt. Ltd. told IMAGES Retail.

While the Hyderabad store will cover a retail space of 10,000 sq.ft , the latter will encompass 20,000 sq.ft . Both stores will replicate the Vijayawada merchandise mix - Grocery 40 per cent; Apparel 30-35 per cent; the balance split between Consumer Durables and a five-cuisine Food Court called 'Taste Buds', he said.

The Magna flagship brand that essentially comprises three formats - a hypermarket, a supermarket christened ' Foodex ' and the 'Taste Buds' food court. "While they are components of the hypermarket, we will also be launching stand-alone Foodex and Taste Buds outlets wherever the catchment ensures its viability," Kakkera added.

A stand-along Foodex outlet opened in Hyderabad on October 19, covering a retail space of 5,000 sq.ft

The operational Vijayawada Magna was set up on a cost of Rs.5 crore and is reported to be raking in Rs.1.5 crore in sales every month.

Two years after the split of Ludhiana -based yarn manufacturer Oswal Group, a breakaway group led by Ashok Oswal is foraying into retail with major expansion plans for the existing fashion chain stores AO's and Sensa , through Amram Trading Pvt . Ltd.

Sensa , among India 's first multi-brand intimate wear retail chains with about 16 brands, plans to set up 120 stores by the next three years with total investment of Rs.30 crore .

"An average investment of Rs.22 lakh has been set aside for a 1,000 sq.ft Sensa outlet. As for AO's, Rs.12-14 lakh for a 500-700 sq.ft . area will be invested," Adish Oswal , managing director, Amram Trading Pvt . Ltd. told IMAGES Retail

"As for now we have invested about nine crore rupees. We plan to open about 20 AO's outlets and 15 Sensa outlets by March 2006," he added.

Discussions are underway to bring in some more international lingerie brands within the Sensa retail operations in the next two months, he confirmed. The group targets to achieve a group turnover of Rs.500 crore by year 2007. As for the retail business, the (2008-09) projection stands at Rs.175 crore

Adidas India is planning to expand its distribution network in North India , targeting the tier II and III towns. To add on to the current 80 exclusive outlets, company plans to open 60 new brand stores. Adidas India is following a franchise model and prefers to be located on high streets and through stand alones.

"For the tier II towns, an investment of Rs.20-40 lakh has been planned for an average retail area of 1,200-2,000 sq.ft . per store. As for the tier III towns, an investment of Rs.8-12 lakh has been envisaged for average store size of 500-1,000 sq.ft ., " Andreas Gellner , managing director, Adidas India Trading Pvt . Ltd. told IMAGES Retail.

All exclusive outlets will store the brand's complete product range; and the merchandise may be customised for cities and consumers (to match spending power). "A complete product mix is skewed towards the entry of brands with mid price points in the tier II and III cities. But we are considering locations that have an amazing capability to sell premium footwear from Rs.4 ,000 to Rs.8,000 as well," Gellner added.

Ansal Plaza Vaishali , positioned as North India 's first branded factory outlet mall, is to be officially launched by the second week of November. Developed by Ansal Housing and Constructions Ltd. with 2 ,25,000 sq.ft . built-up area, the mall would be 80 per cent operational by the launch period. The anchor at the centre is Vishal Mega Mart, occupying a retail space of 35,000 sq.ft . and operational on two floors.

"Apart from this, a multi brand outlet 'Mega Store', Arvind Brands, Discount Circuit and an 8,000 sq.ft . Food Court on the ground floor are currently operational," Vipin Mehta, DGM-Marketing, Ansal Housing & Constructions Ltd. told IMAGES Retail.

Post-launch, the mall expects an average footfall of 7,000-8,000 consumers on weekends. Targetting the catchments of East Delhi , Vaishali , Indirapuram , Kaushambi , Ghaziabad and Noida , the centre facilitates parking for 800 four-wheelers and 100 two wheelers automobiles within the property, Mehta added.

Department store chain Westside today (October 22) opened a new outlet at Pacific Mall, Ghaziabad . Occupying a retail space of 25,000 sq.ft , the store is the third anchor at the shopping centre and takes up space on two floors. The outlet is positioned as a one-stop family solutions outlet and retails products ranging from apparel, accessories and furnishing.

Developed by Bansal Group, Pacific Mall began operations on October 15. The mall has a built up area of 5 ,00,000 sq.ft . with other anchor stores being RPG Group's Spencer's and Globus . Among other operational retailers are Ritu Wears and Chunmun .

Speaking to Images Retail, Abhishek Bansal , executive director of Bansal Group said: "Currently, the mall is 35 per cent operational. IMAX and Adlabs occupying a cumulative area of 40,000 sq.ft . will be operational by mid-November."

The $325-million privately-owned fashion company and US footwear major Global Brand Marketing, Inc. (GBMI) will launch retail operations in India next year, with the opening of exclusive brand stores across the country.

Founded in late 1996, GBMI is the majority owner of Pony International, LLC, owner of the Dry- shoD brand and retail store chain Global Feet and Global Feet Kids, and the authorised global footwear licensee of Diesel, XOXO, Nautica , and Mecca . Based in California , GBMI designs, develops and markets stylish apparel, footwear and accessories for men, women and children, and is distributed in over 130 countries worldwide.

"In India , we are launching PONY, Nautica , Diesel and XOXO first in 2006. We will then launch Dry- shoD , FunFlopps and the other brands that we are in the process of acquiring in late 2006 and early 2007," Killick Datta , Founder and CEO, GBMI told IMAGES Retail in a telecon from Santa Barbara, California.

GBMI hopes to open some stores next year and is targeting a hundred stores in the next three years. "The outlets will be under the banner 'GLOBAL FEET', 'GLOBAL FEET KIDS' and 'GLOBAL FEET LUXE', and the PONY stores," Datta added.

Averaging between 1,000 to 2,000 square feet, these stores would be launched in New Delhi , Mumbai, Chennai, Bangalore , and  Kolkata .  The company is looking at both high street and mall locations, subject to availability. 

"Just like in China , where GBMI is opening one store every two weeks, we feel India has a huge a potential for all of GBMI's brands," Datta said.

GBMI currently sources at least 1 ,00,000 pairs of mocassin construction shoes and boat shoes for Nautica and Diesel from Chennai. It also sources kolhapuri sandals for Xoxo . Datta's long-term plans include manufacture of high performance shoes in India , after importing mid soles.

Siri Maha Mart Trading Pvt. Ltd hopes to expand its Magna chain of Hypermarkets and supermarkets swiftly, to touch a total retail space of 1.5 lakh sq.ft . by the end of the current fiscal. To achieve this target, the company will be pumping in about Rs.30 crore on opening five Magna outlets in Hyderabad and one in Visakhapatnam , adding to the operational 45,000 sq.ft . outlet in Vijayawada , which opened in August 2005.

The second outlet will open in Hyderabad in the first week of November, followed by Vishakhapatnam in end-November, Sriram Kakkera , CEO, Siri Maha Mart Trading Pvt. Ltd. told IMAGES Retail.

While the Hyderabad store will cover a retail space of 10,000 sq.ft , the latter will encompass 20,000 sq.ft . Both stores will replicate the Vijayawada merchandise mix - Grocery 40 per cent; Apparel 30-35 per cent; the balance split between Consumer Durables and a five-cuisine Food Court called 'Taste Buds', he said.

The Magna flagship brand that essentially comprises three formats - a hypermarket, a supermarket christened ' Foodex ' and the 'Taste Buds' food court. "While they are components of the hypermarket, we will also be launching stand-alone Foodex and Taste Buds outlets wherever the catchment ensures its viability," Kakkera added.

A stand-along Foodex outlet opened in Hyderabad on October 19, covering a retail space of 5,000 sq.ft.

The operational Vijayawada Magna was set up on a cost of Rs.5 crore and is reported to be raking in Rs.1.5 crore in sales every month.

Chennai-based apparel retailer Derby Clothing Pvt. Ltd is to open a shop-in-shop in Colombo , Sri Lanka on November 15. The outlet is a new venture of DSI group Samson & Sons Ltd. - the largest footwear brand in Sri Lanka . The launch is part of the current fiscal's expansion targets for the company, which hopes to set up 12 more stores this year.

"The new outlets will see Derby expanding into Gujarat (one more store in Ahmedabad , one each in Baroda and Surat ), Kolkata , and more stores in Bangalore and Chennai," Vijay Kapoor , MD, Derby Clothing Pvt. Ltd. told IMAGES Retail.

The stores would be located on either high streets or malls, depending majorly on viabilities and visibilities, Kapoor added.

Derby Clothing currently has 14 exclusive stores, eight of which are company-owned and six are franchised. The existing stores are spread over Tamil Nadu , Andhra Pradesh, Kerala , Karnataka and Gujarat (one store at Ahmedabad ). With typical store size of around 800 sq.ft. and median shop-in-shop space of about 150 sq.ft., average investment per store is around Rs.25 lakh , Kapoor info rmed.

The " Derby " menswear brand offers shirts priced between Rs.545 and Rs.895 and trousers ranging between Rs.649 and Rs.1 ,499 , in styles encompassing corporate formals, business casuals, prints and club wear.

"We are talking about a projected turnover of Rs.18 crore for this fiscal," Kapoor said.

The company is also setting up two new manufacturing units at Chennai, to buttress its current production capacity of 20,000 shirts and 9,000 trousers, he added.