One of the things which struck me when you arrive in India (or at least in Bangalore) is the number of smaller 'mom-and-pop stores' as they are called in the US.
These typically tend to be really small food-outlets/grocery stores/convience centres/tailors/you-name-it. And from what I have been seeing is that these are always packed with customers. There seems to be a continous transaction flow - which to me seems amazing, that these small shop owners are generating so much business.
Now, the next question is are these owners thriving or barely surviving (breaking even). By thriving, I mean, sustainable profitability. Note, there is no competitive advantage in these business(es), unless of course you have a niche - for example, a food outlet with some amazing recipe. More often than not, it is location and of course loyal customer base. By competitive advantage, I mean, it really doesn't take much time for some one to open a similar store (it is just the grunt work of getting your supply chain ready).
None of my immediate family members shop in big retail outlets, we still rely on stores nearby for our daily convenience shopping.
I'm still looking for some relevant information on what the revenue/profit structure is.
Talking with my cousin, who has a lot more knowledge on retail than I do, his take is that the Indian retail segment is poised to grow from 65$ billion to 300$ billion in the next 5-10 years and apparently, there is room for both big retail as well as these small shops.
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