Reliance Retail Director Subramaniam V. predicts that the Indian retail business, one of the fastest expanding in the world, will be worth $2 trillion by 2032. According to his predictions, the unorganised retail sector of India’s retail business will account for about 87% of the total market value of USD 844 billion in 2022. During a recent event hosted by the FICCI, Subramaniam boasted that “the retail sector is anticipated to increase at 10 per cent yearly to reach a staggering 2 trillion by 2032,” making it the fastest growing retail market in the world.
When asked about the unorganised retail sector, Subramaniam said it is severely fragmented and lacks contemporary infrastructure and technology because of lower volume and less resources. Subramaniam said that the government’s policies and the business practises of the large companies should assist the inclusive growth of the small players and the unorganised participants in the sector. SMEs require help modernising their operations to produce high-quality products, thus “there is a need to build a sourcing ecosystem that allows SMEs to do so,” he said.
In addition, resources need to be allocated towards improving the supply-chain infrastructure in India by connecting all major sourcing areas via a scalable storage and logistics ecosystem, with the goal of shortening the sourcing process and speeding up the distribution of goods.
According to Subramaniam, the industry is “on the threshold” of implementing innovations in both brick-and-mortar and digital commerce thanks to the application of cutting-edge technology like artificial intelligence and machine learning.
He also noted that “many more novel scenarios helped by 5G in retail area” are on the horizon.
Subramaniam highlighted licencing as an example of a problem plaguing the retail business. He stated that, at present, between ten and seventy licences are needed to build a single retail store, and he proposed legislative involvement in this area.
Instead of requiring several licences from the state for a single enterprise, he advocated for a “one licence.”
