IMPLICATIONS OF ALLOWING FDI IN INDIAN MULTI- BRAND RETAIL

IMPLICATIONS OF ALLOWING FDI IN INDIAN MULTI- BRAND RETAIL

The retail industry in India has often been hailed as one of the sunrise sectors in the economy.The Indian government is mulling about allowing FDI in multi- brand retailing. While some people welcome this move, others oppose it. The study tries to identify the opinion of retailers towards this move. The study examines the issues related to various aspects of FDI including, product related, place related, process related, promotion related, people related, price related issues, physical evidence and environmental related issues. Survey research method was followed in this study. Questionnaire was used for collecting primary data. Secondary data is collected from selective sources of data like journals, websites, text books, company brochures, magazines and newspapers. The convenience sampling technique was used. A sample of 200 retailers was selected from the Bangalore city. The statistical techniques which are used in the study include descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages, reliability test, chi- square test, one- way ANOVA, two- way ANOVA and Correlation. The following were the hypotheses in the study: H1 ?? Agreement on FDI in retail is dependent on the duration of business among the retailers H2 ?? Agreement on FDI in retail is dependent on the level of investment among the retailers H3 ?? There is statistically significant difference on perception on agreement of FDI in retail by various levels of agreed and non- agreed retailers H4 ?? There is statistically significant difference on perception on agreement of FDI in retail by various levels of investments of business among retailers H5 ?? There is statistically significant influence on perception on agreement of FDI in retail based on both agreed level and level of investments H6 ?? There is statistically significant relations among the perceived factors of agreement on FDI in retail among retailers. The major findings of the study was that there is a mixed reaction among the retailerstowards allowing FDI in multi- brand retail, a majority of them seems to directly or indirectly prefer the entry of foreign players. However the respondents prefer a calibrated and cautious approach towards the introduction of FDI thereby safeguarding the interests of small retailers. If FDI is allowed in retail, there could be a multi ?? sector growth. India Inc. can expect a path of growth to achieve its target of 9 per cent GDP growth rate. The new firms that enter the market will get new technology and can acquire competitiveness. . It is estimated that FDI in multi- brand retail will create nearly 10 million job opportunities in the next three to four years. This will help in reducing the countrys unemployment to a large extent. The creation of more jobs will enhance the standard of living of farmers as they would get better returns on their yields by selling directly to the retailers rather than selling it in the intermediaries. FDI will also help in bringing food inflation under control. Key Words: Multi- brand Retailing, FDI, Organized Retailing, Unorganized Retailing

George Sona

Management Studies