While China seems to grab all the headlines and the focus of companies seeking a huge growth market for retail expansion, India is often left in the shadows.
But the sleeping Indian tiger is now well and truly awake and on the cusp of an enormous retail growth path that should sharpen the attention of franchisors around the world.
India’s leading industry body, the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), recently projected that the retail market in India will reach US$1.2 trillion by 2020 and US$2.1 trillion by 2025 – an amazing growth trajectory from the present level of US$550 billion that will generate 10-12 million new jobs in the next decade.
These figures leave no doubt that India is now clearly one of the fastest growing and most dynamic retail markets in the world that presents significant growth opportunities for international companies.
CII says India retail growth will be driven by rising incomes and demand, increasing urbanisation and attitudinal shifts and the demographics of huge young and tech savvy population (500 million under the age of 25).
While India’s traditional ‘unorganised’ retail sector is expected to continue to dominate the retail market, ‘organised’ retail is forecast to grow seven fold and ‘online’ retail a staggering 26 fold.
India is also forecast to become the world’s fastest growing e-commerce market, highlighting the importance of incorporating online strategies for companies seeking to enter or expand in this exciting retail market where the real growth is still to come.