Every news paper and show is saturated with the recently approved FDI in retail and its impact on the livelihood of millions of small businesses in India. I am sure everyone has an opinion on it. However, what caught my eye was the recent tweet by US President on his support for the small businesses in the US via the fantastic initiative #smallbusinesssaturday. I am sure this will add more fuel to the fire.
Our views & work at AaramShop is clearly focused at making the small business owner / independent neighborhood retailer competitive and relevant to the changing shopper behavior of the residents of the neighborhood.
We firmly believe that the independent retailers have a number of unmatchable strengths which emerge from his proximity to the customers, willingness to provide delivery at the consumer's doorstep and years of relationship that have developed into a strong bond of trust. These, combined with increased accessibility of the storefront on the web, and the huge change in the way consumers use technology will make the local retailer more relevant to the consumer.
AaramShop is already being used by over 600 retailers across 18 cities in India in the short 4 months of AaramShop's presence.
2 comments:
There is simply NO REASON why supermarkets should lead to the extinction of small shops.Today in India there are many families who now also to make tea, buy 5 ruppes of mils, 5 rupees of sugar and 2 rupees of tea.
Would any supermarket sell stuff in such small quantities? Would anyone take the trouble to go to a supermarket to buy such small quantities?
NO!
Where the masses are poor, bulk has to be broken down into extremely small quantities. Cigarettes are sold loose all over India. Shampoo in 1 rupee sachets accounts for 70 percent of all shampoo sold in India.
However, while it is ABSOLUTELY CERTAIN that supermarkets and small shops will happily co-exist, allowing foreign capital to freely test Indian waters without let or hindrance will HUGELY BENEFIT our poor people, especially those seeking employment.
We are a country rich in labour and deficit in capital.
Agree with you with the logic, however, for the 12+ million to thrive they need to sell all pack sizes and to all kinds of consumers. I believe that the solution of the future is integrated online + offline, where-in I believe there are significant advantages for the inde retailers.
I am not against FDI, however, I do not subscribe to the normally stated logic of increase in employment and lower costs.
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