Outlook on organized retailing of perishable produce in India: cross-city comparison

Purpose: The purpose of this paper is to estimate the market demand and compare the average market margins for six broad categories of fresh produce in different retail formats across five select cities of the country. It also tries to qualitatively understand the supply chain management practices of these retailers across cities. Design/methodology/approach: Registered retail outlets were selected randomly from online sources. Market potential was estimated as the average sales of each category of fresh produce. Personal interviews were conducted with the market players in order to collect qualitative data about their supply chain management practices. Findings: Potatoes, onions and tomatoes are the largest consumed category of fresh produce across cities. Consumers in Tier 1 and Tier 2 cities exhibit different buying behavior and preferences. Large retailers and small retailers coexist in the cities. Marketing margins of retail formats are not uniform across cities. Research limitations/implications: The study did not capture the reasons for the differences observed in consumer preferences and buying behavior across cities. The study has taken into consideration only registered neighborhood stores in the study locations. Originality/value: To the best of the authors’ knowledge, the paper is first of its kind which has attempted to estimate the categorywise market potential of fresh produce across study cities.