The Walt Disney (DIS) company has gained their first foothold in India as they announced they've opened their first retail store in the country on Saturday.
The current rules for foreign companies to enter the India retail market are that they must offer only single-brand products and form a partnership with Indian companies.
Companies have been looking for opportunities to enter the Indian market as a robust middle-class has been rising which is causing an increasing demand for branded products, especially from the West.
Disney's first foray is in branded stationary products being sold as "Disney Artist." The store opened in Gurgaon, which is a suburb of New Delhi.
Arjun Verma, chief financial officer of Devyani International Ltd. said, "There is a lot of potential for retailing the Disney brands, which are not currently available in India," Verma told The Associated Press, adding that they planned to set up 150 outlets over the next three years.
"Right now we are just going to concentrate on the stationery but other things may follow."
India's retail market is estimated at around $200 billion a year. The reason for the restrictions in India are the millions of mom-and-pop stores that the government is protecting from foreign competition. Stores that sell multi-products are banned altogether from the country.
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Tracked on: March 19, 2007 11:43 PM | Permalink to Trackback