The figure he mentioned, Rs 10,500 crore (Rs 105 billion) in 10 years, was considered audacious, as the business accounted for only Rs 150 crore (Rs 1.5 billion).
But the retail vertical accounted for Rs 12,664 crore (Rs 126.64 billion) in FY12.
That the growth engine continues to be in full throttle is evident from that the vertical, which includes listed and unlisted companies such as Trent, Titan, Tata Starbucks, Infiniti Retail and the group’s telecom and agri retail stores, has posted revenue of Rs 16,480 crore for FY14, according to figures provided by the Tata group.
Of this, Rs 10,927 crore has been contributed by Titan, which makes and retails watches, jewellery and eyewear. Exports accounted for Rs 220 crore.
Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail posted revenue of Rs 14,496 crore in FY14. The Kishore Biyani-led Future Group’s three main listed companies — Future Retail, Future Lifestyle Fashions and Future Consumer Products — recorded revenue of Rs 15,404 crore.
Perhaps, the group’s leadership position and potential in the retail segment prompted Tata Sons Chairman Cyrus Mistry to identify retail as one of the group’s four growth clusters in his recent Vision 2025 statement.
“Organised retail penetration is very low. By being in the retail sector, the Tatas have made the right choice,” said Bhaskar Bhat, managing director, Titan Industries.
While the group’s retail business accounts for just two per cent of its revenue of Rs 6,24,757 crore ($103.27 billion), India’s organised retail segment is eight per cent of the total retail market of $478 billion. Retail consultant Technopak said organised retail was expected to account for 14 per cent of the overall retail market by FY19.
A Tata executive said: “If you look at the country’s electronics market, Croma has big potential to grow. But we will always focus on the bottom line.”
The group’s retail segment runs 1,400 stores across Trent, Titan, Infiniti Retail and Tata Starbucks. Reliance Retail runs 1,691 stores, Future Group 850 stores.
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