India moves toward opening retail sector to foreign firms

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25 July 2011 Sign up Forward Archive Advertise Global retail industry news   Global Industry Watch    NZ's Premier Retail plans to open stores, close others Premier Retail, which owns several retail brands, including Just Jeans, Smiggle and Peter Alexander, is planning to open some new stores while closing about 50 outlets across New Zealand and Australia. The company said it plans to add up to 30 new Peter Alexander locations and as many as 50 new Smiggle stores over the next three years. National Business Review (New Zealand) (25 Jul.)      Retailers might be violating New Zealand consumer act Consumer NZ said that Apple and other consumer technology companies are replacing faulty gadgets with older, refurbished goods, which could be a violation of New Zealand's Consumer Guarantees Act. The act requires faulty products to be replaced by retailers and manufacturers with an "identical type" of product, according to Haydn Green of Consumer NZ. "A refurbished model is not the same as a new one, otherwise they would just say it was new. We don't believe that's acceptable under the act," Green wrote. Stuff (New Zealand)/The Dominion Post (25 Jul.)      ERP & BI: When 1 + 1 = 3 For the majority of fast growing businesses today spreadsheets are still of vital importance. However, the tide is turning on spreadsheets. In this whitepaper, discover why more and more, fast growing businesses are turning to enterprise resource planning (ERP) and business intelligence (BI) solutions to provide the control and visibility they need.   Retail in Europe    Saint-Gobain acquires several retailers Saint-Gobain, the French construction material company, said it will acquire two retail units from Wolseley. The French firm will pay €165 million to acquire the Build Center, which has building materials stores across the UK. Saint-Gobain also will buy Brossette, a French retailer of heating, plumbing and sanitary products, for €186 million. MarketWatch (25 Jul.) Scheduling That Works for Employers and Employees: It's Not a Mirage Download the white paper How Automated Schedule Design and Management Benefits Both Employers and Employees for valuable tips on giving scheduling control and flexibility to employees. The result? Automated scheduling increased employee effectiveness for 84 percent of managers.   Retail in Asia    India's Pantaloon to continue pushing ahead, Biyani says Kishore Biyani, managing director at Pantaloon Retail India, said that the company, which has more than 1,000 outlets, is poised to start reaping the benefits related to economies of scale. Biyani has no intention of resting on Pantaloon's laurels, however, as the company continues to grow. "I think retail is [increasingly] all about the scale, and as the scale of the business grows, the cost definitely comes down," Biyani said. "We are very well placed in terms of our cost structures. ... We are eliminating all the excess costs that are there in the system and becoming very, very competitive." MarketWatch (24 Jul.)      Consumer demand prompts Apple to expand further in China Apple has an enviable problem in Shanghai. Its large stores are often packed, prompting the US-based retailer to ramp up its expansion plans in China. The company's four Chinese outlets have the most traffic of any of its outlets around the world and they generate the most revenue. The New York Times (tiered subscription model) (24 Jul.)      Japan's Uniqlo aims to conquer fashion world Western brands and designers currently dominate the global fashion market, but Japan's Uniqlo is striving to change that. Uniqlo says its innovation in fabrics allows it to stand out from its competitors as it makes its presence felt in Paris, London and soon New York. Bangkok Post (Thailand) (25 Jul.)      How Do You Choose a Health Plan? We'll work to help you find a good balance of benefits and costs. Click here to learn more.   E-commerce Spotlight    PhotoBox acquires Moonpig.com PhotoBox is paying £120 million in a combination of cash, shares and bank loans to purchase the online greetings cards retailer Moonpig.com, which was founded by Nick Jenkins in 1999. Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (25 Jul.)      International operations help boost Wiggles' sales Wiggles, the online swimwear and cycling retailer, saw its sales surge 55% last year. International sales were up 123% as the company reported £10.2 million in profit in the year to January 2011. "We grew our UK and international sales significantly, developed the breadth of our product offering and continued to offer our customers great service," said CEO Humphrey Cobbold. "We now have over one million shopper visits a week to our online store and over 500,000 customers shopped with us in the last 12 months." The Telegraph (London) (24 Jul.)      Executives discuss Ocado's performance, growth and short sellers Tim Steiner and Andrew Bracey, chief executive officer and chief financial officer, respectively, at Ocado Group, discuss the online grocer's performance a year after its initial public offering. "We want to deliver a valuable business -- Ocado grew 25% over the year, we would have liked to have done more and in the future we will -- our job is to focus on running the business for long-term success," Steiner said. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (25 Jul.)      Ad Compliance Best Practices Kit — Stay ahead of consumer concern and government regulation with TRUSTe. Gain an overview of what Behavioral Advertising (OBA) is, why it is important, and what your options are. Insights from the FTC, DAA, TRUSTe, Forbes, Publisher's Clearing House and more. Register Now.   Technology Solutions  Tesco plans to offer customers free in-store WiFi Tesco, under new CEO Philip Clarke, is preparing to give customers the ability to easily compare prices and read product reviews online by offering free WiFi in its stores. Financial Times (tiered subscription model) (24 Jul.)        Spotlight on Mass Merchandise  India moves toward opening retail sector to foreign firms India's Committee of Secretaries has approved a proposal that would open up the country's retail sector to foreign direct investment. The government panel proposed that foreign investors would need to put $100 million or more into developing multibrand retail operations, according to an official. The stores would be required to be located in cities with at least 1 million people. The Wall Street Journal (tiered subscription model) (23 Jul.), Business Standard (India) (23 Jul.), Bloomberg (25 Jul.)        NRF News  Retail's next 10 years: "Turbulent, uncertain and complex" In the midst of changing consumer preferences and demographics, retailers need to make investment decisions now to help them serve future markets. As consumer values and behaviors continue to evolve, a new peer-reviewed white paper in NRF's Retail Reference Center predicts how shoppers' attitudes and patterns of consumption will change over the next decade. Read more.      Join NRF  |  NRF Events  |  FIRAE  |  STORES  |  Training and Certification   SmartQuote  How can you say luck and chance are the same thing? 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