'Retailing in India to grow faster than in US'

Fitch, one of the largest design consultancies in the world that has designed stores of Wal-Mart, Target, Marks & Spencer, Best Buy and Tesco among others, is betting big on India's organised retail sector. Already in the country to serve clients such as Aditya Birla Retail, Reliance Retail, Tatas and so on, Fitch plans to treble the number of staff and open new offices in the country. Founder and Chairman Rodney Fitch speaks about the opportunities the country's retail segment offers to design companies such as Fitch.

How do you look at opportunities in India's organised retail sector?

I will describe it in three words -- wonderful, exciting and challenging. In India, there is very strong visual culture, but there isn't enough design resources at present. That is why firms such as Fitch, Portland, Landor and Brand Union are here to serve the retailers. Hypermarkets, supermarkets, online retailing, small stores, everything will happen in the country at a much faster pace than they happened in the US and Europe. They will also co-exist.

But don't you think that domestic design firms are better placed than you to understand the needs of Indian consumers and retailers?

Seventy per cent of retailing is same in any country with the same vision, laws of physics, walk-through and so on. Organised retailing is a new phenomenon in India, and hence domestic organised retailers need to know what has been happening elsewhere in the world. Unless Reliance

Fresh knows what has made Tesco so successful, it cannot write a success story here.

There is a lot of hue and cry about big retail chains destroying small stores in the country. What is your take on that?

Though 95 per cent of retailing happens in the country from less than 500 square feet area, I do not think individually they can cater to whole new world of rising middle class, their rising incomes and the growing economy. What I for-see is many of them coming together to form a co-operative. What Dutch retailers did in 1932, someone should do it here in 2008.

What is your opinion on the organised retail chains in India?

I think they are fairly doing well and have adopted international best practices. They should study the neighbourhood, consumer demands, area dynamics before setting up their stores like the way international retailers do it in the west.

What are your expansion plans for India?

We are a part of communication group WPP. We have 25 people working for us between Mumbai and Delhi. We plan to open an office in Bangalore soon and in other cities. We can also double or treble our staff strength in the country. From a standing start in 2007, we want to double our revenues in 2008.

How do you look at the future of Indian retailing?

Expect a lot of activity on this front. The total dollar inflows in the country's retail sector could be higher than what some European countries spend in their own countries.