Noted economist and consulting editor for The Economic Times, Swaminathan Aiyar has written an interesting article on strategy in retail markets.

Aiyar argues that as Mukesh Ambani (one of the wealthiest people in the world), who is driving Reliance Industries’ foray into retail, could learn lessons from the much talked e-Choupal project of ITC. Reliance aims to invest USD 6 billion by 2011 in retail, with sales of possibly USD 25 billion, generating over 500,000 jobs directly and one million jobs indirectly. However, the launch of Reliance Fresh outlets has faced agitation from small players and is being branded in the same space as Wal-Mart.

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