08 March 2023, Mumbai
Indian retail market is set to reach a staggering USD 2 trillion by 2032, making it one of the fastest growing in the world.
Speaking at a FICCI industry event, Subramaniam V, Reliance Retail Director during FICCI event as reported by ET, projected that the retail market is estimated to be worth USD 844 billion in 2022, with unorganised retail accounting for 87 per cent of the share.
Despite the market's impressive growth, Subramaniam stressed the need for a more inclusive and sustainable operating environment that would promote growth for small players in the unorganised sector. Subramaniam highlighted the unorganised retail segment's fragmented nature and lack of modern-day infrastructure and technology due to smaller volumes and financial resources. To address this, he suggested building a sourcing ecosystem that supports small producers and manufacturers to modernise their operations and produce high-quality products. Additionally, investments are needed to develop India's supply chain infrastructure by linking all major sourcing locations through scalable warehousing and logistics ecosystems to reduce sourcing time and enable faster movement of goods.
The retail sector is on the cusp of experiencing innovation in both physical and e-commerce through the use of cutting-edge technologies such as artificial intelligence and machine learning, the sector is likely to see many new cases aided by 5G in the retail space.
Subramaniam also highlighted the challenges faced by the retail industry, including licensing. Currently, 10 to 70 licenses are required to open one retail store, and he suggested policy intervention in this space. Subramaniam proposed a "single license" for a business entity by the state government instead of multiple licenses.
