Implications of Allowing FDI in Indian Multi-Brand Retail : An Incisive Analysis

The retail industry in India has often been hailed as one of the sunrise sectors in the economy. The Indian government is mulling about allowing FDI in multi- brand retailing. While some people welcome this move, others oppose it. The study tries to identify the opinion of retailers towards this move. The study examines the issues related to various aspects of FDI including, product related, place related, process related, promotion related, people related, price related issues, physical evidence and environmental related issues. A sample of 200 retailers was selected from the Bangalore city. The statistical techniques which are used in the study include descriptive statistics, frequencies and percentages, reliability test, chi- square test, one- way ANOVA, two- way ANOVA and Correlation. The major findings of the study was that there is a mixed reaction among the retailers towards allowing FDI in multi- brand retail, a majority of them seems to directly or indirectly prefer the entry of foreign players. However the respondents prefer a calibrated and cautious approach towards the introduction of FDI thereby safeguarding the interests of small retailers.