Amelioration in Retailing in India and GCC Region

Abstract

Organized retailing is now one of the most discussed issues globally. Every weekend, there is an advertisement of opening up of a big retail mall. It is another fact that retail sector may be one of the largest job providing sector in near future. Retailing in India and GCC countries is one of the pillars of their economy and accounts for 14 to 15 percent of its GDP in India.Retail industry has thrived in the GCC region over the last several years largely due to increasing purchasing power, growing expatriate population, changing lifestyle and an expanding tourism & hospitality industry. Implementation of governments’ progressive policy agenda and increasing private sector contribution to the overall economic growth has made the Gulf one of the widely pursued retail destinations in the world. The industry grew despite political uncertainty in some countries within the region and a global economic deceleration, reaching a market size of US$ 186.7 billion. Its fundamental structure remained broadly unchanged, with the region’s two largest economies, Saudi Arabia and the UAE, primarily fuelling the sector’s growth¹.