Many global retailers absent in India due to various reasons

Restrictions in foreign investment in multi-brand retail and lack of quality real estate space have prevented more than 39 per cent of global retailers such as 7Eleven, Costco and FamilyMart from entering India, said a CBRE report.
CBRE undertook a research study of 317 prominent global brands across numerous segments and geographies. Of these 317 brands, only 196 brands are operational in India.
Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and Managing Director, CBRE South Asia, said: "India is still a largely untapped and unorganised retail market as a large number of prominent global retailers are yet to commence operations here.
"The country holds a considerable advantage over other emerging retail destinations due to its strong domestic consumption and low-rate of market penetration by international retailers."

He, however, said that with political and economic sentiments already showing signs of improvement, this is the right time for international retailers to look at India for expansion.
According to the survey, most global retailers active in India are in the fashion and apparel, accessories, and F&B categories.

Hypermarkets have remained an under-penetrated segment because of stringent FDI regulations restricting the entry of foreign supermarket chains in the country.
The report, 'Expanding Horizons of Global Retailers in India' said majority of the international retailers surveyed opted to enter India by opening a store in a metropolitan city, such as New Delhi (79 per cent) or Mumbai (68 per cent), before gradually expanding their footprint to other tier I locations, including Bangalore, Chennai, Hyderabad, Kolkata and Pune.

"Retailers of the size of Ikea often find it challenging to secure space in a prime mall. This is essentially because the majority of retail space developed in India to date lags behind global standards, and does not provide the quality, ambience, design, services or post-construction maintenance that global retailers are accustomed to," it added.