There are many industries which go through a trial by fire. The notable reasons being, evolving policy framework, requirement of extremely patient long term capital, intense competition coming from a strong player, basic structure being very low net margins, sudden change in technology coming as a threat. The five of the many reasons listed above, probably Indian retailers, is an industry which has seen all of them. Right from a policy framework on how much foreign equity can come ? Whether it can come in direct consumer retailing or only in wholesale trade? To a giant like Reliance Industries entering into this space to the birth of flipkart to the entry of Amazon in India. You name it, the Indian retail industry has faced headwinds of all sorts. But it is more than two decades since the birth of organised retailing in India and that is a long enough period for any industry to complete its trial by fire, leaving it with few companies which are able to finally grow. Has the industry reached that point or there is still a long way to go ?
