Kolkata the highest revenue-earner for big retailers

Though West Bengal’s chief minister Mamata Banerjee

led Trinmool Congress is against government allowing 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, India’s big retail chains and food outlets are finding Kolkata to be the highest revenue earner for them. For instance, Spencer’s Retail, Pantaloons and Future Group’s Home Town have their top-selling outlets in Kolkata. And it’s the top-performing market for American chicken fries-and-burger chain KFC, despite Delhi and Mumbai having double the number of outlets. To marketers’ surprise, the city has been showcasing stable consumption pattern unlike other metros.

No wonder, Kishore Biyani, CEO of the Future Group has decided to launch its every new retail format in Kolkata and KFC is planning to expand its network in the city. The reasons being cited by the analysts are: growth in employment generating sectors like BPO, IT and services sector along with increasing consumer aspirations and penetration of modern retail trade. According to Nielsen data, for example, modern trade adoption in Kolkata has grown by 21 per cent over last year. The share of modern trade in FMCG sales is 12.5 per cent in Kolkata against national average of 9.2 per cent.