Organized retail in India, which stands at around 2-3% of the total retail, is showing signs of bigger and better growth. The outside conditions influencing the retail industry include fast growth, end-users' knowledge and direct competitors. A product or service cannot make a leap from being a commodity to a brand unless an ideational dimension is added to it and this is true of retail too. Branding is a strategic point of view, not mere select set of activities. It is central to create customer value, not just image. It is a key tool for creating and maintaining competitive advantages. Brands are cultures that circulate in society as conventional stories. Brand strategies must be engineered into the marketing matrix addressing distinct components of brand value. This article deals with the changing dynamics in Indian retail sector, the changing external environment and the various branding strategies being adopted by the retailers for creating value in the customers' minds for their products and services. The retail industry can draw lessons from the current branding practices of the peers for a profitable growth.

Organized retail in India which stands at around 2-3% of the total retail is showing signs of bigger and better growth. In India, organized players with established brands—both domestic and international—are set for big growth riding on organized retails or organized retails will have their own presence through private labels. India's $250-300 bn retail market—around $5 bn organized retail—is growing at about 25-30% annually against economic growth of around 8% a year. Credit Rating and Information Services of India Ltd. (CRISIL), estimates that an investment of Rs. 31 bn per year is required for the retailing industry in India for the next five years to maintain healthy growth rate.

A recent A T Kearney annual global retail development index has also ranked India at the top of the most promising consumer markets in the world and accorded `peak attractiveness' status to it. The outside conditions influencing the retail industry include fast growth, end users becoming more knowledgeable and `direct competitors with improved technologies'. In India, a strong trend is emerging as the retailers are providing front-end to this business in terms of infrastructure and management, whereas the back-end, the complete supply-chain is left to the players having core-competencies in the related businesses, a win-win situation for the retailers and brand manufacturers.

Branding in Retail, Retail industry, Brand strategies, Indian retail sector, Credit Rating and Information Services of India Ltd., CRISIL, A T Kearney, Global retail development index, Supply-chain management, Functional Magnetic Resonance Imaging, FMRI, Global private label market, National Council for Applied Economic Research, NCAER, Lifebuoy, Nirma, Colgate, Red-label, Lux.