January 22nd, 2008 at 10:03am
There as a time when well to do Indians had to go abroad to shop their desired items –branded clothes, watches etc. South East Asian tiger countries such as Thailand, Singapore, Malaysia and Hong Kong were ideal for rich Indian for a foreign holiday coupled with shopping for luxury goods. But that scenario is changing rapidly since opening up of the retail sector to the corporate sector and foreign investment. Till recently, organized retail sector accounted only for about 3% of the total retail market size and is projected to grow at a staggering $24bn within next five years.
The recent boom has seen swanky shopping malls with games, restaurant, and multiplexes coming up everywhere in India. These malls are a rich man’s world and the ever increasing number of Indian middle-class with their deep pockets has made this sector highly lucrative to the investors.
Multinational and world famous brands like Gucci, Rolex, Cartiere are lining up their latest products on their outlets to get a pie of Indian economic boom. So long, Indians were not considered serious shoppers, they were perceived mostly as Window Shoppers –spending their time on air-conditioned buildings. But that perception is soon changing and there have been more than 200 shopping malls across India that has come up during last 5 years or so. The promoters are trying to project Indian as an international shopping destination in the near foreseeable future.