The decision to allow FDI (foreign direct investment) in Indian retail sector is going to kill all small scale store businesses in a few years. Corporate retail giants like Walmart will not think twice before opening their acre long stores in every nook and corner of India as the customer base is so enticing. No matter what they invest, the are going to make a profit - such is the the Indian consumer base and greed to certain extent.
Memories about the "main road" back in my home town is associated with a long array of small individual stores that sells only stationary or house hold items or grocery or vegetables etc. Once the big retailers open their "everything-under-one-roof" style stores, all these stores will be out of business and the whole "main road" is going to look like a zombie strip.
On the positive side, those who have money can plunge themselves in to shopping bliss for hours in those retail stores. There may be an initial price discounts to help such businesses catch up. Hopefully the government will introduce some regulations to these big retailers that they can not operate all over the place and kill local businesses.
Thinking about this, India is emulating that is bad America - like the saggy pants that show your under pants - like focus on celebrity personal life etc. In India, it is capitalism mixed with "license raj" and corruption at each level. We do have all the ingredients to head to an economic situation similar to what USA is in right now. To a worst kind where the poor and unemployed will be a great part of the population and 90% of the wealth will be with nation's 5%.
Memories about the "main road" back in my home town is associated with a long array of small individual stores that sells only stationary or house hold items or grocery or vegetables etc. Once the big retailers open their "everything-under-one-roof" style stores, all these stores will be out of business and the whole "main road" is going to look like a zombie strip.
On the positive side, those who have money can plunge themselves in to shopping bliss for hours in those retail stores. There may be an initial price discounts to help such businesses catch up. Hopefully the government will introduce some regulations to these big retailers that they can not operate all over the place and kill local businesses.
Thinking about this, India is emulating that is bad America - like the saggy pants that show your under pants - like focus on celebrity personal life etc. In India, it is capitalism mixed with "license raj" and corruption at each level. We do have all the ingredients to head to an economic situation similar to what USA is in right now. To a worst kind where the poor and unemployed will be a great part of the population and 90% of the wealth will be with nation's 5%.
