Retail is India's largest industry, accounting for over 10 per cent of the country's GDP and around eight per cent of the employment. Retail industry in India is at the crossroads. It has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. But because of the heavy initial investments required, break even is difficult to achieve and many of these players have not tasted success so far. However, the future is promising; the market is growing, government policies are becoming more favorable and emerging technologies are facilitating operations.

Retailing in India is gradually inching its way toward becoming the next boom industry. The whole concept of shopping has altered in terms of format and consumer buying behavior, ushering in a revolution in shopping in India. Modern retail has entered India as seen in sprawling shopping centres, multi-storeyed malls and huge complexes offer shopping, entertainment and food all under one roof. The Indian retailing sector is at an inflexion point where the growth of organized retailing and growth in the consumption by the Indian population is going to take a higher growth trajectory. The Indian population is witnessing a significant change in its demographics. A large young working population with median age of 24 years, nuclear families in urban areas, along with increasing working-women population and emerging opportunities in the services sector are going to be the key growth drivers of the organized retail sector in India.

Retailing is one of the pillars of the economy in India and accounts for 35% of GDP.The retail industry is divided into organised and unorganised sectors. Over 12 million outlets operate in the country and only 4% of them being larger than 500 sq ft (46 m 2 ) in size. Organised retailing refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, and also the privately owned large retail businesses. Unorganised retailing, on the other hand, refers to the traditional formats of low-cost retailing, for example, the local kirana shops, owner manned general stores, paan /beedi shops, convenience stores, hand cart and pavement vendors, etc.

Objectives of the Study

The main objective of my study is to measure "To find out the organized retailing in India". For the purpose of measuring it is to decide some other objectives of my study which are as follows :

1. To find out the stocking pattern of the retailers

2. To find out the market shares of various brands.

3. To know which kind of promotion means affect the retailers sale.

4. To know the comparison of various brand's quality & Price.

5. To know the comparison of various brand's availability the product.

6. To know the present status of the retailers in India.

The scope of my study restricts itself to analyze the organised retailer's profitability drivers on the basis of Garments, Gifts, Cards and Music Department where as in the recent trend its seen that the key players in this Industry are more emphasizing on the Garments, Personal Grooming, Home furnishings, Life style and Footwear Departments in their Stores

The study is based on descriptive research design because the data were collected to reveal accurate descriptions of variables related to the decisions being faced, without demonstrating that some relationship exists between variables. For the purpose of present study a related sample of stores were selected on the basis of convenience.

The data, which is collected for the purpose of study, is divided into 2 bases:

•  Primary Source: The primary data comprises information survey of "Comparative Study on Profitability Drivers of India 's Retail Industry" . The data has been collected directly from respondent with the help of structured questionnaires.

Secondary Source: The secondary data was collected from internet and references from Library and various journals on retail industry.

Key Points of Indian Organised Retail Industry

1. Potential to be the third largest economy in terms of GDP in next few years .
2. It ranks high amongst the top 10 FDI destinations of the world .
3. Fastest growing tourist market in Asia.
4. World bank states, India to be worlds second largest economy after China by the year 2050.
5. Stable and investor friendly Central Government at the helm of affairs.
6. Introduction of Value Added Tax or VAT and tax reforms.
7. High degree of professionalism and corporate ethics.
8. Excellent Investment opportunities in Indian retail sector and in allied sectors; sure and high returns on investments.
9. To invest US $130 billion for the development of infrastructure, by year 2010.
10. Bullish stock markets.
11. Hordes of foreign investors are thronging in to invest in Indian retail markets.
12. Highly educated English speaking young workforce.
13. Vibrant and multi cultured cities.
14. Huge opportunity exists, especially in semi-rural and rural areas.
15. Till date the second largest employer after agriculture sector, for the huge semi-skilled Indian population.
16. Offers highest shop density in the whole world.
17. Having almost 1,20,000 shops, across the length and breadth of the country.

Formats in Indian Organized Retail Sector

1. Supermarkets: A supermarket, also called a grocery store is a self-service store offering a wide variety of food and household merchandise, organized into departments. It is larger in size and has a wider selection than a traditional grocery store and it is smaller than a hypermarket or superstore.

2. Hypermarkets: A hypermarket is a superstore which combines a supermarket and a department store. The result is a very large retail facility which carries an enormous range of products under one roof, including full lines of groceries and general merchandise. In theory, hypermarkets allow customers to satisfy all their routine weekly shopping needs in one trip.

3. Department Stores: A department store is a retail establishment which specializes in satisfying a wide range of the consumer's personal and residential durable goods product needs; and at the same time offering the consumer a choice multiple merchandise lines, at variable price points, in all product categories. Department stores usually sell products including apparel, furniture, appliances, electronics, and additionally select other lines of products such as paint, hardware, toiletries, cosmetics, photographic equipment, jewelery, toys, and sporting goods. Certain department stores are further classified as discount department stores. Discount department stores commonly have central customer checkout areas, generally in the front area of the store. Department stores are usually part of a retail chain of many stores situated around a country or several countries.

4. Shopping malls: A shopping mall or shopping centre is a building or set of buildings which contain retail units, with interconnecting walkways enabling visitors to easily walk from unit to unit.

5. Specialty Chains: A Specialty Chains is numbers stores which are specialized in a specific range of merchandise and related items. Most stores have an extensive width and depth of stock in the item that they specify in and provide high levels of service and expertise. They differ from department stores and supermarkets which carry a wide range of merchandise.

Limitations of the Study

In attempt to make this project authentic and reliable, every possible aspect of the topic was kept in mind. Nevertheless, despite of fact constraints were at play during the formulation of this project. The main limitations are as follows:

•  Due to limitation of time only few retail stores are taken into consideration of this study. So the sample of retailers was not enough to generalize the findings of the study.

•  The main source of data for the study was primary data with the help of self-administered questionnaires. Hence, the chances of unbiased information are less.

•  Concern person from the organised retail stores were hesitant to disclose the true facts as the data related to strategic secrets.

•  The chance of biased response can't be eliminated though all necessary steps were taken to avoid the same.

Reference :

www.google.com
www.wikipedia.org