• Products to be sold should be of a ‘single brand’ only

• Products should be sold under the same brand internationally

• ‘Single brand’ product retailing would cover only products that are branded during manufacturing

However, the FDI policy allows for 100 per cent FDI in wholesale cash-and-carry operations, which basically serve the needs of big retailers, corporate houses, traders and small businesses. Wal-Mart, the global multi-branding retail giant, has entered India through a joint venture (JV) with its Indian partner, Bharti Retail Private Limited, in wholesale cash-and-carry operations. Others, like Tesco, have so far stayed away due to FDI restrictions. The Government, in a written statement in the upper house of Parliament, said that investment of $3.31 million has been approved through the single brand route so far. The Government’s experiment with single brand retailing has been successful so far, inviting no opposition.

On the same occasion, minister of state for commerce and industry Ashwini Kumar stated, “Products sold under single brand retail with FDI cater to the brand conscious, young, middle-class clientele having a different niche as compared to that served by small traders. Hence, FDI in retail trade of single brand products is not expected to affect existing small traders.”

Segmented multi-brand retail

Conscious of the recent incidents in which small traders and intermediaries protested against the entry of domestic retail giants into fruit and vegetable retailing, the Government is cautiously addressing the issue of opening of FDI in these segments.

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