Corporate Retail Outlets are Blessings in Disguise for Unorganized Retail Outlets: An Empirical Analysis in the Indian Context

The objective of the present study is to answer the question whether the corporate organized retail outlets (ORO) have exerted any harmful effects on the small unorganized retail outlets(URO) in India. Answer to this question will facilitate us to gauge the impact of corporate FDI in retail on the survival of the small unorganized retail outlets, which is currently debated rigorously in India. Based on the primary survey data collected from the National Capital Region and Chennai between November 2008 and March 2010, the analysis in this study shows that the emergence of ORO did displace some URO, but increased employment in urban areas. The displaced URO, which opened businesses away from ORO have increased their profits. This indeed is a blessing in disguise for the small unorganized retail outlets. Thus, the total effects produced net social benefit in terms of income and employment generation in the concerned region