India Needs Western Supermarkets

India has approved allowing foreign investors to hold majority stakes in multibrand retail. Critics blast the plans – worrying about store closures, job losses, profits going to foreigners, and homogeneity – and they vow protectionist measures in some states. But fast-growing India needs the so-called “big box stores” with their dependable supplies and reduced prices for consumers, argues Salil Tripathi in a blog for the Guardian. “Inbuilt inefficiencies and wastage in distribution and storage account for why, according to some estimates, as much as 40% of food production doesn't reach consumers,” he writes. “Profit-driven, cost-conscious companies will avoid waste and loss, the government hopes.” Foreign retailers will have to adapt to India’s eccentricities says Tripathi. If the plan succeeds, the modern markets could ease inflation, add jobs and inspire Indian business people to learn and add their own twists to the big-box store business model. – YaleGlobal