Hi Friends,

Even as I launch this today ( my 80th Birthday ), I realize that there is yet so much to say and do. There is just no time to look back, no time to wonder,"Will anyone read these pages?"

With regards,
Hemen Parekh
27 June 2013

Now as I approach my 90th birthday ( 27 June 2023 ) , I invite you to visit my Digital Avatar ( www.hemenparekh.ai ) – and continue chatting with me , even when I am no more here physically

Friday 10 July 2015

FDI in Retail ?

These days , a lot of heated debate is going on re FDI in " Retail "

There are many camps , viz:

>  Brick-and-Mortar Retail traders

>  E-Com Retail Traders

>  Wholesalers

>  FDI Investors / Overseas Manufacturers 

>  Single Brand vs Multi-Brand Formats

>  Payment Gateways

>  Central / State Governments

>  Tax Authorities

>  Bankers ...........etc


As far as I can see , the entire debate is centered around " Retailing of Physical Goods "

But how long before " Retailing of Services " too , enters the equation  ?

Or does anyone think that to be a far-fetched idea ?

Just wait for 2018 to arrive  !

Some 40 years back , marketing guru Ted Levitt wrote a seminal essay , aptly titled :

"  Marketing  Myopia "

The central observation Levitt made was :

"  Why do companies fail to ask : Ultimately what business are we in ? "

Among many example that he gave was the case of American Railroad companies

They believed themselves to be in " Railroad Business " - and failed to see that they were , really into the business of " Transporting People " !

So , along came the " Car Companies " and the " Air Lines Companies " which made " Railroad Companies " obsolete  !

Now , 40 years later , are " Car Companies " and the " Air Lines Companies " asking themselves : What business are we in ?

If the correct answer is : We are in the business of enabling people to meet and talk to other people :

then they would shift to Video-Conferencing / Holographic Projection business !

Or , if another answer is :

We are in the business of enabling a person sitting in hot Sahara desert to " Experience " the cool climate of Europe thru " Virtual Reality " ,

then they should be shifting to manufacture of future versions of Google Glass !

Levitt added :

"  If you don't make yourself obsolete , then someone else will "

And more and more , it is happening that , that someone is NOT even anyone from your current competitors !

Have physical goods retailers , considered that soon , retailing itself might become obsolete ?

And if that happens , the question of FDI in retailing too will disappear  !

A unknown guy sitting in a small cubicle in Estonia , will deliver to my grand daughter,  sitting in Mumbai , any physical consumer product , through the 3D printer , sitting on her kitchen platform  !

Or a Start-Up belonging to a bunch of 24+ something IIT guys would  set up :

" 3D Printing Kiosks " ( like the PCOs of a few years ago ) ,

in 1000 cities / towns of India , to deliver at your doorstep ( obviously using Drones ! ) , any Foreign Brand product , at a moment's notice  !

And a Central Government committed to Digital India , may even give them Rs 100 crores , by way of Venture Capital  !


For the quarreling parties of FDI , it is time to ask of themselves :


How can we stop being made irrelevant ?

How do we re-invent ourselves ?

How do we stop becoming obsolete  ?

How do we co-operate / collaborate to re-write the " Rules of the Retail Game " for the rest of the World  ?

-------------------------------------------------------------------------------------

hemen  parekh
11 July , 2015
hcp@RecruitGuru.com
B2BmessageBlaster

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