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Kolkata, Mar 28: Japanese retail conglomerate Seven & I Holdings Company—which owns the world’s largest chain of convenience stores, 7-Eleven, across 18 countries—and compatriot Seibu Department Stores are believed to be keen on having a presence in India.
Since FDI policy in retail does not allow foreign players in front-end retail, both are scouting for potential Indian partners to franchise brands in the domestic market.
A delegation from Seven & I Holdings already visited India last year. Yoshikazu Takeuchi, former consul general of Japan in Kolkata, said both 7-Eleven and Seibu could make Delhi their first stop.
“Their business model is markedly different from that of Wal-Mart and Metro,” Takeuchi said. Unlike the US retail major, they sell ready-to-eat food rather than vegetables. “Seibu specialises in small pop-and-mom shops. They are interested in bringing Japanese homegrown products to India,” he said.
Both these companies would concentrate on employing local people and teaching them to prepare products according to their specifications. “Japanese firms are not interested in disturbing tradesmen. They would rather coexist with them,” Takeuchi said.
7-Eleven has 31,625 stores around the world, including 11,525 in Japan. The company opened its first store in Beijing, China, in 2004 and now has 1,105 stores in that country.
Seibu Department Stores, an unlisted company, has a significant presence in Hong Kong.
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