India has long been a fertile ground for sourcing highly skilled IT and engineering services, but it’s estimated that manufacturing and retailing is the next boom.
In 2005, India was forecasted as the greatest consumer market opportunity, receiving the highest Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) confidence index. In the last year alone, India’s consumption rose 21.38 percent to $11 billion. Fueled by a rising young, highly-educated, middle-class population, India’s economic boom is not expected to slow in the near future.
Currently, India sits atop the global retail opportunity index as the greatest underserved market in the world. This has significant opportunities for companies waiting to sell in this market. India’s retail industry, the 9th largest globally and valued at $330 billion, is mostly divided among 12 million 'mom-and-pop’ stores.
But as the consumer market grows and demand for more luxury items increases, global leaders are hoping the planned $1 trillion in new investments in mall retail space, logistics infrastructure, and distribution capability will open opportunities to create organized retailing—multi-branded hypermarkets and mall-style shopping experiences.
This new mass-merchant-style organized retailing, which today makes up less than 4 percent of the overall market, is expected to grow to $60 billion and increase the overall retail market by a compound annual growth rate (CAGR) of 21.8 percent by 2015.3
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