Top 10 Retailers in India

The retailing landscape in Asia Pacific has become challenging than ever, and major retail companies are transforming themselves in order to stay relevant. As per study by leading research agency Euromonitor urbanisation, more single households, ageing and increased wealth are key factors changing consumers’ behavior. The report also lists out the key retail companies operating in India.

Followings are the key excerpts of the report..

Sneak Peek of Asia Pacific Retail

Southeast Asia is often quoted as one of the world’s fastest growing regions, yet each country’s cultural and economic diversity makes it challenging for retailers to thrive. Digital commerce and consumers’ increased appetite are two decisive factors causing retail consumption in the region. Retailers that have been able to adapt to these changes have seen much success.

As per the Euromonitor study, Seven & I Holdings Co Ltd maintained its lead as the largest retailing player in Southeast Asia in 2018. The company is best known for its 7-Eleven convenience stores and forecourt retailers. These formats are increasingly popular with young urbanites who place value on convenience. In fact, 7-Eleven has reported that fresh foods and cup drinks now account for 25% of its overall sales in the Philippines. Last year, US-based 7-Eleven made master franchise agreement with Future Group develop and operate 7-Eleven stores within India.

With the region’s rising internet connectivity and high mobile penetration, internet retailers have enjoyed strong growth over the past year. 2018 has seen players such as Giosis Group’s Qoo10 and Sea Ltd’s Shopee leapfrog in Southeast Asia’s Retail rankings. Shopee’s mobile-first approach and strong promotions for Singles’ Day and Birthday Sale have fuelled its recent growth. Shopee’s partnership with popular South Korean girl group, BLACKPINK, has also caught the attention of the millennial population in Southeast Asia.

The India Story

As per the study, both store-based and non-store retailing in India continued to see strong current value growth in 2018. However, consumers’ habits are changing. Many urban households are adopting more modern lifestyles, especially in big cities such as Bangalore, Mumbai, Pune, Delhi and Hyderabad. This behavioural change is impacting retailing in the country. Due to households’ hectic lifestyles and the busy schedules of working adults, most consumers in urban areas prefer to make their monthly purchases in modern grocery retailers instead of traditional grocery retailers. It saves time and there is a wide product choice for many different consumer groups.

Modern grocery retailers are capitalising on this behavioural change by developing new marketing schemes and strategies to attract these households to their stores. Some are launching interesting payment schemes and methods, while others are developing effective pricing strategies to propel sales. For example, Future Group launched its payment wallet Future Pay, which can be used in all its retail outlets. The leading store-based retailers are increasingly deploying a multichannel presence and are investing heavily in developing online platforms that are also smartphone- and tablet-compatible to drive internet sales. As a result, many retailers integrated multichannel retailing into their operations. They offer customers the possibility to make purchases via tablet or smartphone and to choose between home delivery, drive-in pick-up, pick-up at a railway station or retrieving purchases from the store itself or from a dedicated collection point. By contrast, pure play internet retailers expanded into the store-based channel by opening brick-and-mortar stores.

Top 10 Companies within Retailing in India

                                                                                                                                                                     ( Source: Euromonitor)