I was recently invited as a guest speaker by the Confederation of Indian Industry at their 2019 conclave held in New Delhi, on June 28.
The CII paves the way for industry betterment by working in close alliance with the government on policies, and with inputs from various leaders on evolving business scenario in India, offering a multitude of services and worldwide partnerships. Undoubtedly, it is a sound board for networking on key parameters of business growth.
I struck on the significance of taking businesses to the next level using the backdrop of tier 3 & 4 townships across India. V-Mart already has been the pioneer of taking organized value retail to tier 2 & 3 cities; and now has delved further by expanding into tier 4 regions.
There are 3 factors at play here. Firstly, the people in such socio-economic settings do possess fashion aspirations akin to their counterparts in tier 1 cities. Secondly, this has received a boost with the rapid mobile internet penetration in tier 3 & 4 cities and townships – the sizeable young population in such areas wants to emulate people in metropolitan cities as far as dressing fashionably is concerned.
Lastly, such regions offer an excellent opportunity as far as business operations are concerned owing to the low level entry wages. So, setting up retail operations in such areas would lead to employment generation as well.
However, it must be borne in mind that adopting and seamlessly incorporating technology to retail operations is paramount even in tier 3 & 4 townships. Firstly, to streamline operations and avoid wastages; and secondly to be able to meet consumer demand from an omni-channel perspective. Considerable investment in technology is something which businesses cannot overlook. So, the tier 2/3/4 cities and townships offer a spawning canvas of yet-to-be-fully-tapped retail opportunities.