ICRIER kicks off retail survey

Economic think-tank ICRIER, which has been tasked by the commerce ministry to study the impact of organised retail on mom-n-pop stores, has kicked off the exercise with a plan to focus on 20 Indian cities which have seen a mushrooming of malls.

"We are carrying out survey among consumers, retailers, and malls across India in two phases. In the first phase, the study will be conducted in 20 cities that already have malls," said Rajiv Kumar, director, ICRIER.

The second phase of the study will focus on those cities where organised retail is at a nascent stage. "We will study the response of small shops and consumers in these cities," he added.

The study will also talk to organised retailers about their investment and employment generation plans.

"We will study the net employment effect. We have been given five months to complete the report, starting this month," Kumar added.

ICRIER has roped in research organisations "" Development and Research Services and Technopak "" for conducting the studies. The latter will have an advisory role.

"Given our understanding of the Indian retail sector, we have been roped in to provide advisory service for the study. We will design the whole survey that is being conducted," Technopak Vice-President Preeti Reddy said.

The retail study was commissioned following UPA Chairperson Sonia Gandhi's much-publicised letter to the Prime Minister's Office. That letter had expressed concern over the impact of transnational retail chains on small retailers.

The Indian organised retail market accounts for around 3 per cent of the total retail market and is valued at $6 billion.

Technopack data states that the organised retail market is growing at 35 per cent per annum, as against 6 per cent growth of un-organised retail. Share of organised retail is estimated to be at 20 per cent of total retail trade by 2010 with a 15-fold increase from 2002 to 2010.