According to the traders’ body, Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), more than 30,000 regional-level small and medium enterprise brands are catering to the country’s retail trade, especially on consumer durables, fast-moving consumer goods, cosmetics, and various other segments.
A survey by CAIT’s research body, CAIT Research and Trade Development Society (CRTDS), only 20 percent of India’s population is catered by corporate brands; the remaining 80 percent is catered by small and medium-sized brands. The survey was conducted among the retailers engaged in edible oil, food grain, innerwear, cosmetics, readymade garments, beauty and skincare products, footwear, education games, footwear, and healthcare segments.
CAIT National President BC Bhartia and Secretary General Praveen Khandelwal said in a joint statement, “The research reveals that small brands are ruling the consumer market despite the predatory pricing and deep discounting by foreign e-commerce companies and efforts of certain FMCG companies to sideline the distributor network.”
According to CAIT, small manufacturers’ products are basically sold through one-to-one contact between customers and shopkeepers, word of mouth among the middle, lower-middle, and economically weaker sections.
