Looking back at the older posts today, I realise how bad I have been at trying to plot a course for this blog, and sticking to it.
I started with a very grandiose vision of how I would like to discuss a plethora of ideas about Modern Retail in India.
Poor posting discipline meant that I was soon forced to lower my sights, and look at addressing specific themes for the month.
A few historical / nostalgic posts later, this blog had metamorphosed into a Modern Retail weekly round up and analysis bulletin.
Clearly, I am struggling to steer a course - no value judgements whether that's good or bad - its the fact, just as it is.
Maybe with enough time, I will be able to organize the content better into the streams that I had originally wanted to - or maybe something totally different will emerge - only time knows what's in store. I guess I should keep at writing new posts, and then we'll see where they go !
Today's weekly bulletin is short and sweet.
Google threw up a link to an interesting website called RetailDigital - a self styled Global Portal for retailers - India's equivalent is called IndiaRetailing
It has interesting tidbits of information about the retail domain - mostly UK centric, but with a sprinkling of international coverage as well.
India, with its burgeoning population (the glow sign at the AIIMS signal read 1.22 billion on Saturday!) is obviously one of the key markets and on the radar of the western media, especially the guys with the big bucks - who are looking to make killer investments.
The news article is about a research report that tries to explain the significance of the convenience format to India's retail sector - read the press release here. It tries to explain through scientific techniques of analysis how the cracking open the convenience format is going to be the key to retail success in India (the PR doesn't say so explicitly - this is purely my interpretation)
While it is not my intention to take a dig at the folks who do this for a living, or even diss their efforts, it is my humble opinion that such reports and analysis usually are prepared through a lot of data collection efforts.
Thus, they may or may not portray an accurate picture of reality, or even visualize the future correctly.
This is because, the quality and quantity of data reported in our great nation is usually suspect - as the goof ups by the Planning Commision of India have shown us - with the Rs 32 per day estimate of not being poor enough !
So, possibly a better decision would be borne out of a diligent, 3-4 week trip across India, understand the consumer behaviour of the people, and then, marry these insights with data from such reports to possibly devise strategy (of course, the simpler solution is to read this blog !! :P)
The other piece talks about the rapid growth of India's retail sector, thus increasing its attractiveness on the investment quotient, as well as having a long term impact on manpower requirement. An interesting bit of information is how the CBSE, India's biggest educational board, has included courses on retail management at school level.
Truly, this is a path breaking idea that can work wonders if implemented well. India's huge population needs more and more employment opportunities, and trained professionals will always be in ever increasing demand as the sector opens up and reforms.
That's all for tonight folks. A more detailed examination of certain ideas to follow.
I started with a very grandiose vision of how I would like to discuss a plethora of ideas about Modern Retail in India.
Poor posting discipline meant that I was soon forced to lower my sights, and look at addressing specific themes for the month.
A few historical / nostalgic posts later, this blog had metamorphosed into a Modern Retail weekly round up and analysis bulletin.
Clearly, I am struggling to steer a course - no value judgements whether that's good or bad - its the fact, just as it is.
Maybe with enough time, I will be able to organize the content better into the streams that I had originally wanted to - or maybe something totally different will emerge - only time knows what's in store. I guess I should keep at writing new posts, and then we'll see where they go !
Today's weekly bulletin is short and sweet.
Google threw up a link to an interesting website called RetailDigital - a self styled Global Portal for retailers - India's equivalent is called IndiaRetailing
It has interesting tidbits of information about the retail domain - mostly UK centric, but with a sprinkling of international coverage as well.
India, with its burgeoning population (the glow sign at the AIIMS signal read 1.22 billion on Saturday!) is obviously one of the key markets and on the radar of the western media, especially the guys with the big bucks - who are looking to make killer investments.
The news article is about a research report that tries to explain the significance of the convenience format to India's retail sector - read the press release here. It tries to explain through scientific techniques of analysis how the cracking open the convenience format is going to be the key to retail success in India (the PR doesn't say so explicitly - this is purely my interpretation)
While it is not my intention to take a dig at the folks who do this for a living, or even diss their efforts, it is my humble opinion that such reports and analysis usually are prepared through a lot of data collection efforts.
Thus, they may or may not portray an accurate picture of reality, or even visualize the future correctly.
This is because, the quality and quantity of data reported in our great nation is usually suspect - as the goof ups by the Planning Commision of India have shown us - with the Rs 32 per day estimate of not being poor enough !
So, possibly a better decision would be borne out of a diligent, 3-4 week trip across India, understand the consumer behaviour of the people, and then, marry these insights with data from such reports to possibly devise strategy (of course, the simpler solution is to read this blog !! :P)
The other piece talks about the rapid growth of India's retail sector, thus increasing its attractiveness on the investment quotient, as well as having a long term impact on manpower requirement. An interesting bit of information is how the CBSE, India's biggest educational board, has included courses on retail management at school level.
Truly, this is a path breaking idea that can work wonders if implemented well. India's huge population needs more and more employment opportunities, and trained professionals will always be in ever increasing demand as the sector opens up and reforms.
That's all for tonight folks. A more detailed examination of certain ideas to follow.
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