Retail in India - Some Basic Concepts

I touch upon a conceptual issue in the understanding of retail in India. Everywhere I go to teach, there is a lack of clarity and some difference of opinion on concepts like

• Organised and Unorganised retail in India - the definition and distinction, 
• Modern and Traditional Reail
• Industry Status to Retail In India (" Retail is not an Industry ? No Ma'm. thats not possible...")

My thoughts - Like any other organised sector, if the firm owners pay taxes, they are a part of the organised space, and if not , then unorganised. Now , naturally, simplicity leads to disbelief (in my classes at least). But, being simplistic again I refer to Wikipedia which says...
"Organised retailing, in India, refers to trading activities undertaken by licensed retailers, that is, those who are registered for sales tax, income tax, etc. These include the publicly traded supermarkets, corporate-backed hypermarkets and retail chains, and also the privately owned large retail businesses."


Modern and Traditional Retail are therefore easy to understand...I guess these terms came up a few years ago when organised retailers woke up to the fact that competition to them is not only from other organised players but also any player which sells in a modern environment (planned layouts and store presentations). So,there...the distinction...And as oft quoted, of all the retail sector, only 5% might be organised, but about 10-12 % would be modern.

And yes, Retail does not have an Industry Status in India.. Even in the current budget, there is a discussion on the same. Click here

So yeah, Retail in India has a long way to go , but so does conceptual understanding and awareness.