Date:19/11/2006 URL: http://www.thehindubusinessline.com/2006/11/19/stories/2006111904200100.htm

Back Logistics players set to ride retail boom

Neha Kaushik

Other allied areas
Commercial refrigeration and AC firms are also exploring opportunities.
Initiate talks with retailers for providing cold storages.

New Delhi , Nov. 18

The boom in the retail sector is opening up a gamut of opportunities for players in allied areas, who are now aggressively expanding their operations to cater to future demand set to come from this sector.

Industry officials point that it is the logistics companies which will benefit the most from the retail wave. It comes as no surprise then that a number of foreign logistics companies are now looking to launch full-scale operations in India and are talking to several retail firms for tie-ups.

According to industry officials, logistics firms that are looking to expand their operations in India including American logistics major Bax Global, Prologis, PWC Logistics, along with a clutch of others.

An indication of the potential could be seen from the trend of increased private equity investments in logistics companies, points an industry analyst.

Players in other related sectors such as commercial refrigeration and air-conditioning, too, are exploring opportunities being thrown up by the estimated $412 billion investment, which is expected to flow into the Indian retail sector by 2011. While larger commercial refrigeration and AC firms such as Carrier and Blue Star are learnt to have initiated discussions with retailers for providing cold storages, smaller Indian firms, too, have diversified into this sector in order to cash in on the opportunity.

An example is the Rs 460-crore Acme Tele Power Ltd, which recently forayed into cold chain systems. Carrier, meanwhile, has said that it has already initiated discussions with retail players such as Reliance and Bharti.