Retail franchising in India is a crowded playing field which is emerging as a prospective hub offering numerous franchise opportunities from apparel industry to robot retailing, grocery stores to vending machines. Under the various retail categories which include Consumer Durable Information Technology (CDIT) segment, apparel and textile industry, gems and jewelry, food retail sector, flower retailing and so on majority of the players are growing their respective economies by expanding their businesses across the nation via franchising.

According to the Business Monitor International (BMI) India Retail Report for the second-quarter of 2011, the total Indian retail industry is $ 395.96 billion in 2011 and is expected to grow to $785.12 billion by 2015. The industry is driven by the growth of organized retail coupled with changing consumer habits and lifestyle, rising urbanization and improving purchasing powers.

If you are thinking of setting up a small business yet you are still unsure of what you exactly want to do or are scared to death of not being able to generate good business, then you must try looking into different types of franchise opportunities and choose the right one that will suit your taste and budget. An important factor to take in consideration is your ability to actually run your chosen franchise opportunity efficiently and successfully.

One of the most popular and profitable franchise opportunities nowadays is the supermarket franchise opportunity. This is a good business investment options for those who have a sound financial background as this is a capital intensive venture.

When it comes to supermarkets, they often succeed due to the fact that they can afford to offer special prices to the public. Supermarkets can do this because they have the power to negotiate huge quantity deals at reduced prices, allowing them to offer various products at lower prices than the individual kirana stores. Pricing is one the major aspects where supermarkets stay at an advantage.

Supermarkets can also supply many items along with food, such as clothing and house ware or televisions and other electrical equipment’s. The idea is that the supermarket can supply everything and can be the proverbial one stop shop, saving the consumer time from having to drive to different stores at different locations, and money.

If you are starting a new Supermarket business from scratch, it obviously requires more than just an idea and funding. To be successful, you will need to build brand recognition, have a sound business plan, a good location, plus much more. Whilst starting a new business can be beneficial and profitable, you may decide that buying an existing supermarket franchise has more advantages to offer. While making these decisions, you need to consider many factors to increase your chance of success and to minimize the risk of failure.

But the Indian government restrictions of the FDI are creating ripples among the various foreign players such as Walmart, Tesco, Carrefour, Spar Hypermarket, and many others who are struggling to enter India and mark their presence felt in the Indian markets. However, recent news says that the government is likely to allow FDI in multi-brand retailing only in the six big metros. The emerging agreement of the government is that the reference of the Department of Commerce and Industry to allow such stores in cities with over one million populations is premature. Thus, franchising, strategic licensing and cash & carry wholesale trading modes are the most preferred alternatives left for the international players at present as the government allows only 51 per cent FDI in the sector to a single brand shops. The well established Indian retailers like Reliance, ITC Limited, Arvind Limited, Dabur and many more are rapidly taking up the franchise route to make significant investments in the retail industry, thereby leading to the emergence of successful franchisees.

When buying a supermarket franchise that is already known and has clients, you have an advantage and may not need to outlay as much business investment on start-up costs because people are already aware that the business exists. It could also provide locational benefits and existing employees with skills, knowledge and expertise to help run the business when you take over.

In India, retail market is a booming. India presents an enormous opportunity for supermarket business. The country has over 12 million retailers which surpasses even China. This makes India the country with the highest retail outlet density in the world. India currently has about 17 million households or 90 million people that belong to the country's middle class, with earnings between $4,500 and $22,000 according to the National Council for Applied Economic Research.

The opening up of retail trade for foreign direct investment (FDI) promises to usher in revolutionary changes to the Indian consumer market in the days to come. There are many international supermarket franchises spreading their wings in Indian market. So, if you wish to start a supermarket franchise in India, now you have the options to choose from domestic franchises and international franchises.

As more and more people have the ambition of getting into self-employed businesses, the franchise opportunity will remain high. With their rising acceptance and preference for franchising, there is a huge potential for both the franchisors and the franchisees to grow with the rapidly growing retail industry. As Raman says, “The safest way to get started with a business is to join hands with a well-established retail chain that have learnt modern retailing in India the hard way, unless the aspirants wish to reinvent the wheel.” Moreover, retail companies like Dabur, Bluue Mango, VESAG, LUXUS India Pvt. Ltd, Piebee and many more have started weighing their options to expand their presence across the nation via franchise route, thus contributing to the immense growth of franchising in retail industry.

To summarise, franchising in retail industry is poised to grow at a fast pace and offers a rewarding franchise opportunity to the aspiring entrepreneurs.

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