Carrefour Plans To Enter Indian Market

Carrefour, the French retailer, plans to enter the Indian market by establishing a wholesale business. The Indian economy is one of the fastest growing in the world, with an increasing middle-class. However, unlike China, India’s growth has been fuelled by consumer spending, a fact that has caught the attention of foreign retail giants. However, restrictions on foreign retailers have meant that they have had to find a different route to enter this fast growing market.

Carrefour joins Wal-Mart (NYSE: WMT), and Metro AG from Germany, which have started cash-and-carry ventures in India. “Carrefour will develop its activities in India with the start of cash & carry activities in 2010," the company said in an email statement to Reuters.

Indian law allows foreign retail firms to have franchise agreements with local players, and Carrefour has been in talks with local firms for 4 years now. "Carrefour and some Indian companies have been discussing partnerships," the company said, but would not to comment on which firms it had spoken with.

Signing up for a Franchise, Its NOW or NEVER

All throughout, I have come across several, its NOW or NEVER opportunities, have never succumbed to it. I remember one of them was a personal self-improvement program, another was an appreciation referral network, I am sure the most common ones would be the time share programs, they get you all charged up and make you sign up with their holiday programs, only later to find out that this is not something that you were seeking, but it is probably too late.

Recently visited the Franchise India 2009 franchise exhibition in Delhi, came across several franchise opportunities, several of them were offering instant discounts for entrepreneurs that wish to sign up the same day for their business opportunities.

To avoid such situations, franchising activity is regulated in several countries, particularly in the US. To protect franchisee’s the law-makers have introduced something called the cool-off period. The cool off period is simply a period after signing the franchise agreement during which the franchisee has the right to back-off from the conditions of the franchise agreement without penalty.

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