Page 26 - DMGT550_RETAIL_MANAGEMENT

Unit 2: Retailing in India

Today people look for better quality product at cheap rate, better service, better ambience for Notes
shopping and better shopping experience. Organized retail promises to provide all these.

Task Name some big players in the organised retail market in India. Find out
about their origin and their present business areas.

Self Assessment

Fill in the blanks:
1. ........................ retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is,
those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc.

2. ........................ retailing refers to traditional formats of low cost retailing.
3. Big Bazaar and More 4 U are a part of ........................ retailing.

2.2 Evolution of Retail in India

Today the general store, stacked with barrels, bins and sacks filled with everything from soaps
to pickles, has all but disappointed almost through the world. And in its place we find the more
refined self service ‘cash and carry’ organized retail stores in the form of supermarkets, department
stores, shopping malls and the like. These stores signified the beginning of organized retailing
and its evolution across the world. This new breed of organized retailers have their shelves
neatly stacked with a huge variety of products which include anything from cans, packed food,
bread, dairy products, fresh meat and fish, apparel, shoes, furniture or any conceivable item one
can think of. This phenomenon of new fund modern super markets, department stores is in
sharp contrast to the old and orthodox grocery stores that had existed.

Story of Retail Revolution

It is the revolution in the shopping habits of the people across the entire world, which has
virtually brought the super market to the main street. This revolution is unparallel in human
history as it has engendered the development of distribution system that delivers food and
other products to the consumer in unprecedented abundance, variety and quality retailing was
never as it is seen today. It has gone through its natural process of evolution in all areas from the
initial concept of the super market and department store to the shopping mall as it exists today.

Did u know? The first departmental store in the world was founded in Paris in 1852 by
Aristide Boucicaut and was named Bon Marche.

At that point of time, the department store business was a bare-bones operation. It was only
after World War-II that retailers in the west began to upgrade their services, facilities and
merchandise selection to offer a fascinating way of additional benefits to consumers through
organized retailing.

One Stop Shopping

The changes occur in retail sector due to the changes in environmental conditions. In the early
part of the 20th century, the American housewife, which shopping for her family’s dinner,
thought various products at various places and tired a lot. Then she thought that if all products

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