The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which represents about 70 million traders in the nation, said that despite predatory pricing and deep discounting by foreign e-commerce businesses and efforts by certain FMCG companies to sideline the distributor network, thousands of small brands are leading the consumer market.
“If the government gives support policies to non-corporate sector and tighten the e-commerce companies to obey the policy and the law both in letter and spirit, the retail trade of the country is bound to blossom in pursuance of the vision of PM Narendra Modi for Make in India and Atmnirbhar Bharat,” stated CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.
According to CAIT, it is a fallacy that around 3,000 major multinational brands supply the country’s demands, mainly in the FMCG, consumer durables, and cosmetics sectors. As per the report, there are over 30,000 small and medium regional brands that contribute the most to meeting India’s demand.
As per the latest survey conducted by the CAIT Research & Trade Development Society (CRTDS), a research branch of CAIT, roughly 3,000 multinational brands serve the needs of nearly 20% of India’s population, while over 30,000 thousand small and medium companies meet the needs of the other 80%.
“These include products manufactured by small and tiny manufacturers and producers whose products are sold across the Country in loose quantity,” said Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal.
According to Bhartia and Khandelwal, corporate brands are in demand among the upper and upper-middle classes due to extensive media and outdoor publicity and celebrity endorsements, whereas small and tiny manufacturer brands are sold through one-on-one contact with customers and shopkeepers, as well as through word of mouth publicity among the middle and lower-middle classes and the economically weaker section.
Foodgrain, oil, and Kirana goods were among the trade verticals in which the survey was done, according to Bhartia and Khandelwal. Cosmetics, innerwear, readymade clothing, footwear, toys, educational games, and health care were among the other categories.
