Younger Indians Eager to Embrace Foreign Big-Box Stores and Malls

The following is an excerpt from an article in:


The New York Times
Wednesday, October 10, 2012

Younger Indians Eager to Embrace Foreign Big-Box Stores and Malls

By VIKAS BAJAJ

PATNA, India — A long-festering controversy about whether India should allow foreign retailers like Wal-Mart into the country has often been cast as a battle between millions of small shopkeepers and large corporate interests. But in much of the country, including in this eastern city, the issue often divides Indians as much by age as by their livelihoods.

Those younger than 25, a group that includes about half the country’s 1.2 billion people, appear quite open and eager to try foreign brands and shopping experiences, researchers say. They already while away their afternoons at Western-style malls like the year-old P&M mall here where they try on T-shirts by Benetton, eat pizza from Domino’s and watch movies in a Mexican-owned theater chain, Cinepolis.

Aakash Singh, a 20-year-old college student who recently came to the mall here one afternoon, summed up his generation’s attitude toward foreign retailers this way: “Absolutely, they should come. The country will benefit.”

But many older Indians who came of age in an earlier era of socialist policies say they are not entirely comfortable with the idea of big-box stores and sprawling malls. They worry that foreign companies will siphon profits and business from Indian competitors, forcing millions of family-owned shops to close.

Isahak Sanatan, 34, counts himself among that worried generation even though he has worked for foreign telecommunications companies for most of his career. “Why are we allowing outsiders” into this industry? he asked during a recent visit to the mall with his wife and 3-year-old daughter. “The foreigners will take the profits out of the country.”

So far, the older generation is prevailing. After years of debating the issue, Indian policy makers last month allowed big foreign chains like Wal-Mart and Tesco to set up stores in the country. But, in an acknowledgment of the significant dissent that remains, each of the country’s 29 state governments was granted the ability to forbid foreign-owned outlets in their territories.

Leaders of most Indian states, including Bihar, of which Patna is the capital, have said they will not allow foreign retail outlets to operate within their borders. Companies like Benetton and Domino’s that sell goods under a single brand or through franchisees had already been free to set up stores with Indian partners.

The policy change has touched off a political reaction, with one important regional political party withdrawing support from the national governing coalition led by the Indian National Congress Party. Analysts say the opposition from many politicians reflects in part the fact that the median age of Indian ministers is 65, compared with 25 for the general population.

Also, the young have so far been less likely than their parents to vote, so their strength in numbers has not yet compelled policy makers to pay much heed to them.

For more, visit www.nytimes.com.