Long since I have known business, it was of the form when a vendor used to give free candies and a smile along with the grocery - provided I am staring at the candies, now who says that consumer calling back then was not incentive driven :-)

Well, that is not the topic of my comments, my take is on "Retail Sector back then and now". I take you to the era after 1991, when McDonald was unknown to most of the Indians but it existed for half a century in the outside world, when telephone, TV were the commodities of rich, when 1 rupee on the palms of children was meant for 16 orange candies, when Mahabharata and Ramayana had the highest TRP and when Shahrukh was spreading the magic of romance. This was the time when organized retail was in the design phase of its existence in India and unorganized retail was the way of living.Then something hit India which is considered as the best reflection of Indian political fraternity till now, and it was Liberalization, Privatization and Globalization (LPG). Though the idea struck in 1991, the slow process of opening up the retail sector to FDI started in 1995 when a free trade policy passed by WTO directed India to allow FDI in cash and carry(wholesale) which ultimately got materialized in 1997 and Indian government allowed 100% rights subjected to government’s approval . If we talk about the situation of retail at ground level that time, there was not much change except the expansion of Indian middle class and their purchasing power and a demand for more organized market. Kirana or mom-and-pop stores with limited goods on the shelves and its owners with their family business values were leading the Retail market. Occasional fairs, open Kiosks and stalls – also known as Mandis – were the sources for food and grocery during that time. The flavour of western culture was also tasted by some traditional retail chains