News: S. Korea's Lotte Shopping eyes India entry

(RTR 05/12/2006) Mumbai - Lotte Shopping Co. , South Korea's top retailer, is planning to enter India, the Economic Times daily reported on Tuesday.

Lotte, which runs South Korea's biggest department store and No. 3 discount store chain, has set up an office in New Delhi to study the Indian market, and is looking for an Indian franchise partner, the newspaper said, quoting sources.

Lotte, which in January raised $ 3.54 billion via the world's largest retail IPO, is present in India through its confectionery unit, Lotte India Corp. Ltd.

Interest in India's fast-growing retail industry has heightened after Wal-Mart Stores Inc. last week signed a joint venture agreement with India's Bharti Enterprises for cash-and-carry stores in Asia's fourth-biggest economy.

Bharti had also been in talks with other global heavyweights including Tesco Plc and France's Carrefour

Tesco said last week it still planned to enter India, and some local media reports said it may be in talks with India's Tata group, which has a venture with Woolworths for retailing consumer electronics and appliances in India.

But a Tata spokesman denied the reports to Reuters.

Only single-brand retailers are now allowed to take 51 per cent in a joint venture with a local Indian firm.

Multiple-brand retailers can only operate cash-and-carry stores or through franchises and licensees, such as Metro AG and Shoprite have chosen.

India's retail industry is estimated at about $ 300 billion, and is forecast to grow to $ 427 billion in 2010, according to consultancy KSA Technopak Advisors. But organised, or branded, retail, only makes up about 3 per cent of this market.

With the entry of deep-pocketed companies including Reliance Industries Ltd. cigarette maker ITC Ltd. , the Tatas and the Aditya Birla group, that share is forecast to rise to 15 to 18 per cent by 2011/12.