FUTURE TRENDS OF RETAIL IN INDIA

ABSTRACT

Retail is India’s largest industry, accounting for over 10 per cent of the country’s GDP and around eight per cent of the employment. Retail industry in India is at the crossroads. It has emerged as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. But because of the heavy initial investments required, break even is difficult to achieve and many of these players have not tasted success so far. However, the future is promising; the market is growing, government policies are becoming more favorable and emerging technologies are facilitating operations.

    

 FUTURE TRENDS OF RETAIL IN INDIA

R.Yuvarani*

INTRODUCTION

Indian retail sector is highly fragmented as compared to the developed as well as the other developing countries. This shows a great potential for the organized retail industry to prosper in India, as the market for the final consumption in India is very large. Retail trade is largely in the hands of private independent owners and distributor’s structure for fast moving consumer goods consisting of multiple layers such as carrying and forwarding agents, distributors, stockiest, wholesalers and retailers. Thus, the growth potential for the organized retailer is enormous. In the next 2-3 years, India will finally see operations of a number of very serious international players- net withstanding the current restrictions on FDI in retail.

The Indian retail sector is ready to take on challenges from global retail players such as Wal-mart and Carrefour because unlike them, they have a better understanding of the Indian consumer’s psyche. Ultimately, a successful retailer is one who understands his customer. The Indian customer is looking for an emotional connection, a sense of belonging. Hence, to be successful any retail outlet has to be localized. The customer should feel that it is a part of his culture, his perceived values, and does not try to impose alien values or concepts on him. Indian customer is not keen to buy something just because it is sold by an international company.

 

 

PRESENT SCENARIO

Retailing in India is witness to the boom in terms of modern retailing formats, shopping malls etc. the future of retailing for any product across the country will definitely be in malls where the consumer can get variety, quality and ambience.

However, in spite of this continuous debate to be or not to be, recently Government has allowed up to 51 percent FDI in single brand retailing by foreign companies like Reebok and Louis Vuiton. As of now, single brand retailers operate through the franchisee route and there is a strong view that FDI in this segment would not displace jobs or impact the local industry but help create employment.

Even today the government is undecided about the level FDI in retail, but a number of foreign players, including the Wal-mart stores, Inc., have announced their intention to enter India in a big way. At present Wal-mart is operating through its subsidiary in Bangalore, which was functioning as a liaison office till last year. Now it is in the process of setting up offices in New Delhi and Mumbai.

RETAILING IN THE 21ST CENTURY

Retailing in the new millennium stands as an exciting, complex and critical sector of business in most developed as well as emerging economies. Today, the retailing industry is being buffeted by a number of forces simultaneously, e.g., increasing competition within and across retailing formats, the growth of online retailing, the advent of “Radio Frequency Identification (RFID) technology, the explosion in customer-level data availability, the global expansion of major retail chains like WAL-MART and METRO Group and so on. Making sense of it all is not easy but

of vital importance to retailing practitioners, analysis and policymakers.

RETAIL IN INDIA – THE FUTURE

According to a study the size of the Indian Retail market is currently estimated at    Rs.704 crores, which accounts for a meager 3% of the total retail market. As the market becomes more and more organized the Indian retail industry will gain greater worth. The Retail sector in the small towns and cities will increase by 50% to 60% pertaining to easy and inexpensive availability of land and demand among consumers.

Growth in India Real estate sector is also complementing the Retail sector and thus it becomes a strong feature for the future trend. Over a period of next 4 years there will be a retail space demand of 40 million sq. ft. However with growing real estate sector space constraint will not be there to meet this demand. The growth in the retail sector is also caused by the development of retail specific properties like malls and multiplexes.

According to a report, from the year 2003 to 2008 the retail sales are growing at a rate of 8.3% per annum. With this the organized retail which currently has only 3% of the total market share will acquire 15%-20% of the market share by the year 2010.

Factors that are playing a role in fuelling the bright future of the Indian Retail are as follows:

The income of an average Indian is increasing and thus there is a proportional increase in the purchasing power. The infrastructure is improving greatly in all regions is benefiting the market. Indian economy and its policies are also becoming more and more liberal making way for a wide range of companies to enter Indian market. Indian population has learnt to become a good consumer and all national and international brands are benefiting with this new awareness. Another great factor is the internet revolution, which is allowing foreign brands to understand Indian consumers and influence them before entering the market. Due to the reach of media in the remotest of the markets, consumers are now aware of the global products and it helps brands to build themselves faster in a new region

However despite these factors contributing to the growth of Indian retail Industry, there are a few challenges that the industry faces which need to be dealt with in order to realize the complete scope of growth in Indian market.

Foreign direct investment is not allowed in retail sector, which can be a concern for many brands. But Franchise agreements circumvent this problem. Along with this regulation, local laws, and real estate purchase restrictions bring up challenges. Other than this lack of integrated supply chain, management, and lack of trained workforce and flux of the market in terms of price and product choice also need to be eliminated.

The Indian Retail Street is set to glow brighter with India recapturing its position as the most attractive destination for global retailers, despite the global slump. According to the Global Retail Development Index (GRDI) released by US-based global management consulting firm, A T Kearney, India has emerged as best country amongst 30 emerging markets. This reinforces the fact that trade with India is a golden opportunity to be capitalized upon. Interestingly, Russia clinched the second position, while China settled for the third spot. The report also stated that India has become the most attractive destination for retail investment for the fourth time in five years.

Currently India has one of the largest numbers of retail outlets in the world. According to a report by images Retail estimates the number of operational malls will grow more than two-fold, i.e., it will cross 412, with 205 million square feet getting covered by 2010. Nearly 715 malls will be added by 2015, with major retail developments in tier-II and tier-III cities fuelling further growth.

Many global retailers have given thumps up to trade with India.

The future ahead Industry experts see the rise of the rural sector in the coming years. Currently, rural market comprises nearly half of the domestic retail market of India, i.e., US$ 300 billion. The per capital income of the rural India has reportedly grown by 50 percent over the last 10 years, mainly because of the rising commodity prices and better productivity. According to E&Y India, basic infrastructure, generation of employment guarantee schemes, better information services and access to funding are ushering in good times for the rural households.

• As per the new market research report by RNCOS, organized retail market is expected to reach US$ 50 billion by 2011

• The boom in the retail market will fuel the growth of the logistic market. It is estimated the market will reach around US$20 billion by 2011.

• Retailing of mobile handset and accessories is estimated to reach close to US$990 million by 2010.

• Rural market is estimated to lead the Indian retail industry landscape in the future.

• Shopping malls are expected to increase at a CAGR of more than 18.9 per cent from 2007 to 2015.

INDIAN RETAIL LANDSCAPE

Raising income and increase consumerism are fueling retail growth.

Year

$ billion retail growth

1998

201

2000

204

2002

238

2004

278

2006*

321

2008*

368

2010*

421

*Estimates

Sources: Retail in India-A CII-AT Kearney report

According to NCEAR forecasts, the number of ‘rich’ households (the target market for modern retail stores) is expected to more than double from 57 million in 2002 to 107 million by 2010. The proportion of India’s population, that is less than 25 years of age stands at more than 50 percent currently while more than 80 percent of the population is below the age of 45 years. This ‘young population’ segment is driving the changes in consumption habits and spending patterns. An increasing proportion of the young population is joining the work force, and adding to overall spending, which should bode well for the growth of modern retail formats in India. Growing urbanization (malls are likely to be concentrated in urban areas) is also fuelling modern retail format growth. It is expected that India’s urban population will grow from 21 percent of the overall population in 2000 to 32 percent by 2010.

CHANGE ACCELERATORS

The following factors will be significant in driving growth in the retail sector:

Consumer factors

 

Supply side factors

 

Consumer factors

¨      Increase in income

¨      Working women

¨      Changes in lifestyle demand for ‘global’ trend

Supply side factors

¨      Growing importance of retailing in political and economic agenda.

¨      Real estate reforms to be undertaken in the next 24 months.

¨      Major restructuring of the manufacturing sector easing product supply constraints for efficient retailing.

¨      Reduction in import duties- offering more global sourcing options.

COMPETITION FOR FUTURE MARKET LEADER

India’s organized retail, although less than Rs 45,000 crore in size, already boasts of several players different formats and categories. The big players are Future Group (Big Bazzar and Pantaloon) of Kishore Biyani, Tata Group (it runs departmental stores under Westsite, a books and music chain called Landmark, hypermarket star India bazaar, and a customer durables Chain christened Crima, in a tie up with UK’s Woolworths),Sanjiv Goneka,s RPG Group (Food World and Spencer’s), and Dubai-based Micky Jagtiani’s Land mark group (life style). That apart, there are several smaller players, including Subhiksha, Trinetra, and Nilgiri’s. Most recently, the Kumar Mangalam Birla-led AV Birla Group has announced plans of entering retail.

 CONCLUSION

The retail sector has played a phenomenal role throughout the world in increasing productivity of consumer goods and services. It is also the second largest industry in US in terms of numbers of employees and establishments. There is no denying the fact that most of the developed economies are very much relying on their retail sector as a locomotive of growth. The Retail Industry in India has come forth as one of the most dynamic and fast paced industries with several players entering the market. But all of them have not yet tasted success because of the heavy initial investments that are required to break even with other companies and compete with them. The India Retail Industry is gradually inching its way towards becoming the next boom industry. Favorable government policies and continued growth will mean that the future belongs to the most aggressive players. The future is now.

 

 



By: R.Yuvarani

About the Author:

Liberalisation Of Trade an assessment of  Implications for Develoment in Pakistan.

*Nadeem Malik, lecturer and Supervisor *Dr Shafiqur Rehman

INTRODUCTION

Uruguay Round (UR) of trade Pakistan became member of the World Trade Organisation (WTO) as a result of the negotiations (1986-94) to elicit gains from implementation of the new regime of multilateral trade liberalisation like other countries, under the ambit of the WTO. However, as is the case for many other developing countries, the WTO implementation process also involves significant challenges for the socio-economic development of Pakistan, due to the overall lack of technical capacity and the prevalent lower level of economic development in such countries.

Recent economic research1 provides compelling evidence that trade liberalisation is associated with increased growth and development, evidenced by the unprecedented global growth since the 1970s. However, the evidence of positive relationship between trade liberalisation and economic growth is not as convincing in the case of a majority of developing countries as it is in the case of developed countries. Pakistan’s economic and trade liberalisation during the 1990s, though initiated largely under the IMF pressure, has not been fruitful in improving its social and economic development; almost all socio-economic indicators were reversed by the end of the 1990s. This particular aspect further exacerbates the WTO’s implementation-related challenges for Pakistan, as its obligations include not only a further reduction of trade barriers, but also to implement significant reforms both in trade procedures and in many regulatory areas.

The implementation of these agreements involves significant financial costs, raising the question of the future productivity of these expenses and opportunity costs. In addition to the financial cost, the social cost of the implementation in the form of rising unemployment is there (although the impact cannot be calculated precisely in various sectors at this initial stage). This is especially so as the implementation of WTO agreements would not only affect trade-related sectors of the economy but would have indirect effects on non-trade sectors of the economy.

Using the results of country’s liberalisation reforms of 1990s as the background, this paper intends to focus upon the possible future impact on socio-economic development in Pakistan, with the implementation of the WTO provisions. For the purpose of analysis, the economy has been divided into three major categories i.e. agriculture, industry and services on the basis of their share in the GDP of Pakistan. However, due to space constraints the study will be restricted to the agriculture and manufacturing sectors. In doing so an attempt will be made to address the following questions:

1. Based on the projections from the existing literature, what current linkages emerge between trade liberalisation and economic development in relation to the WTO’s implementation and what are the consequent gains/losses for developing countries?

2. Do the WTO agreements correctly diagnose the development problems and prescribe appropriate remedies?

3. What are the costs/gains associated in terms of socio-economic development of the country, with the implementation of the WTO agreements?

4. Does the implementation of the WTO agreements imply that Pakistan would be able to increase its share in foreign markets and thereby transfer the stated welfare and developmental benefits/gains to the various sectors within its economy?

Trade Liberalisation and Development Gains

Existing literature review on trade liberalisation, particularly on the aspect of reduction of tariffs and the elimination of non-tariff measures (NTMs) suggests enormous global welfare gains, though the estimates under various models are controversial.2 According to the EU estimates, the annual welfare gains for the world as a whole from multilateral liberalisation in agriculture, industrial products and services alone could range from around $150 billion to $370 billion, with an estimated accrual of $220 billion to developing countries.3 Similarly, World Bank studies have also estimated medium-term welfare gains from liberalising all trade, as between $250 billion to $550 billion; one-third to two-third of these gains would accrue to the developing countries.4 However, these estimates are seen with a great deal of scepticism by many analysts from the developing countries. In the words of Luis Fernando Jaramillo, former Chairman of the Group of 77, ‘70% of the additional income to be generated by the implementation of the Uruguay Round will be appropriated by the industrialised countries, which make up only 20% of the membership of GATT.’5 In other words, the developing countries with more than a two-third majority in the WTO would have only 30% of the additional income to share among themselves, and they were the countries conceding the most during the Uruguay Round negotiations. The former Chairman’s statement also alludes to the way developed countries are implementing WTO agreements in sectors like agriculture, textiles and intellectual property. For instance, in the case of agriculture, production subsidies in developed countries depress international prices thus reducing the export revenues for developing countries. In the post UR period, as a result of trade liberalisation in the agriculture sector, out of the total welfare gains of $122 billion only $11.6 billion will go to the developing countries, which comprise two-third of the WTO members, while $110 billion would go to the developed countries themselves.6 In the case of textiles, according to the same statements, if quotas are fully eliminated the estimated welfare effects on developing countries would range between $13-$22 billions.7 These estimated gains would be accrued only if the Agreement on Textiles and Clothing (ATC) is implemented in its true spirit by 2004. However, most of these models do not take into account the level of economic development of the developing countries and therefore do not represent true estimates for these countries. Hence, market access has emerged as a major concern for developing countries including Pakistan.

An Overview of Pakistan’s Socio-economic Development Indicators During the 1990s

During the 1990s, Pakistan opted for economic liberalisation, not as a policy generated indigenously but largely as an obligation under the conditionalities imposed by the IMF and the World Bank through their Structural Adjustment Programme.8 Presently, Pakistan’s trade and investment regimes are fairly liberal due to the continuous liberalisation process the country undertook during the 1990s. However, socio-economic development indicators for the decade of 1990s do not show corresponding gains to the liberalisation process.(see Table-I). Until the 1980s, Pakistan’s economic growth rate was fairly good (6% average annual GDP growth rate) although the benefits of that growth were not transferred to the social sectors of the economy.9 However, during the 1990s, following economic liberalisation, not only have the social indicators declined further but economic growth has also been sluggish owing to various macroeconomic factors. Since 1994-95, there have been no major changes in the composition of Pakistan’s GDP and employment; the economy continues to be dominated by services and agriculture. The share of the manufacturing,10 construction, and wholesale and retail trade services in Pakistan’s GDP have declined steadily. The share of agriculture, livestock, fisheries, and forestry (single largest employer) in total employment has followed an upward trend, while that of other sectors has remained stable or declined. Since 1995, the unemployment rate has risen from 5.4% to 7.8% (2002).

The slowdown in economic growth and consequent rise in unemployment together with a relatively high population growth have contributed to a marked increase in the incidence of poverty in Pakistan, particularly in the second half of the 1990s.11 The incidence of poverty, which had decreased to 18% during the 1980s in Pakistan, has reversed and rose upto 28% (1999), per capita income has decreased from $510 in 1995 to $426 in 2001.12 The proportion of the population below the poverty line has risen from 20% a decade ago to 30%, with the majority of the poor (about 70%-80% of poor households) living in rural areas. About two fifths of the population is without access to safe drinking water and more than half has no access to sanitation. Literacy has remained low (compared with elsewhere in the region and low-income countries world-wide) and gender disparities in education are significant. Health indicators, however, have been improving slowly. Development expenditures have decreased. A Social Action Programme (SAP) initiated in 1992, with the financial support of the World Bank and other donors, with a view to expanding and improving the country’s very weak social services (in elementary education, primary health, welfare, and rural water supply and sanitation) and creating employment has also been closed in 2002, due to its lack lustre performance. A comparison of the socio-economic indicators during 1990s with those in 1980s is given in the Table-I.

Table-I: Selected Socio-economic Indicators for Pakistan

Sectors 1980s 1991 1996 2000

GDP Growth rate % 6.5 7.6 6.6 2.1

Exports of Goods and Services % n.a 21.19 14.9 17.5

Imports of Goods and Services % n.a 34.3 25.4 19.1

Unemployment rate % 1.35 5.85 6.12 6.0

Life Expectancy rate % n.a n.a n.a 63

Poverty head count % n.a 22.11 21.8 28.2*

Infant mortality rate/1000 121 85 85 83.3

Development Expenditure

% of GDP 7.3 7.6 3.5 2.2

*. Data available for 1998-99. Source: Economic Survey, 2002

Pakistan’s economic liberalisation of the 1990s was not done under the WTO obligations, but largely as a part of the Structural Adjustment Programme of the IMF. However, the way liberalisation was carried out could not lead to a successful outcome. One of the criticisms of the reforms is that the process of liberalisation was done only partially due to the lack of required institutional infrastructure.13 So far Pakistan’s trade has not been much affected by the WTO agreements as the country has just initiated the process of implementation of these agreements. However, given its current weak development indicators, there are concerns that Pakistan will continue to face serious challenges for its socio-economic development in the future, as it moves towards integrating WTO laws into its economy. It is worth mentioning that the WTO is an ongoing process and many new issues have been included after the Uruguay Round. In the future, developing countries would be facing increased obligations under the new rounds of trade negotiations. This was one of the reasons behind the developing countries’ lack of interest in launching the new round of trade negotiations at Doha and their insistence to see the results from the UR implementation.

In order to evaluate the future impact of the WTO on Pakistan’s socio-economic development the study now focuses upon the following two categories as the broader framework:

a. Implementation of WTO agreements in other countries –Market Access Issues

b. Domestic Implementation of the WTO

1. Market Access Issues

While the WTO has been successful in reducing the overall level of tariffs with increased transparency and greater market access, the majority of the developing countries, with the capacity to increase exports of labour-intensive manufactures, continue to face significant barriers in accessing foreign markets. According to the UNCTAD 2002 Report on Trade and Development, a comparison of the simple MFN tariff rates on manufactured imports, as a group applied in selected sectors, confirms that developed countries apply higher import tariffs to traditional labour-intensive manufactures than to other products. Table-II shows that the tariff rates applied in the developed countries for textiles and clothing and leather are much higher than those of computers and telecom audios, thus indicating a clear discrimination against developing countries exports. This discrimination is further envisaged within the labour intensive products where tariffs are higher for textiles and footwear – two of the main exports of Pakistan. This particular factor does increase future market access challenges for Pakistan’s textile exports, comprising 70% of Pakistan’s total exports.

Table-II Simple MFN Average Tariffs of Selected Economies

Countries Manufactures Textiles Clothing Leather and travel goods Footwear Computers Telecom Audio and Video

Australia 5.4 9.9 20.7 4.7 11.1 0.3 2.6

US 4.0 9.1 11.4 5.0 13.4 0.4 1.6

Japan 2.9 6.5 11.1 10.2 19.2 0.0 0.0

Canada 4.9 10.7 18.4 4.2 16.3 0.2 1.5

EU 4.4 7.9 11.4 3.3 12.4 0.8 4.1

Source: UNCTAD Trade and Development Report, 2002.

Tariff Peaks, tariff escalation, tariff rate quotas and other non-tariff measures (NTMs) allowed under the WTO have become major impediments to market access for developing countries exports.

• Tariff Peaks

Tariff peaks are often imposed on products of developing countries covering mainly labour intensive products: textiles, clothing, leather products, rubber, footwear (Japan) and agriculture products (EU). Clothing and footwear represent more than 60% of the industrial countries’ tariff peaks affecting the exports from developing countries. Due to greater share of labour intensive products in Pakistan’s exports, especially textiles, it is likely that tariff peaks would affect Pakistan’s textile exports in the future.

• Tariff Escalation

Tariff escalation – the increase in import tariff corresponding to their value addition – is one of the major impediments to the exports of developing countries. For Pakistan, it implies that, in case the country shifts the composition of its textile exports from cotton yarn to clothing, or ready made garments, it is going to face higher tariffs on these products in its major markets. So what is the guarantee that Pakistan’s value-added textile exports would be able to capture markets? If these products fail to access the targeted markets it means that Pakistan would continue to be the exporter of primary commodities such as raw cotton, which are often subject to volatile prices. Overall data from the last decade reveals that Pakistan has been able to significantly shift the composition of its exports from primary commodities to finished goods.14 However, as suggested by the data in Table-III, in the case of the textile sector Pakistan has been unable to move to the upper rung of the ladder of value addition. On the other hand, in the case of Bangladesh, India and China there is a great deal of value addition to their textile exports, thereby posing the threat of Pakistan’s loss of market share to these countries, once quotas are removed and Agreement on Textile and Clothing is fully implemented by 2004. Between 1998-2001, Bangladesh and China have achieved 34 % and 36% value addition in their clothing sector respectively, while Pakistan has been able to increase value addition by only 18%.

Table-III Export Quantity of Textile Sector in Pakistan 1990-2001

YEAR Cotton cloth m.sq.m Cotton Thread mkg. Yarn m.kg Raw Cotton

000 mt.

1990 1056.5 0.9 501 282

1996 1257.4 0.4 508 221

1998 1355.2 0.3 421 2

2000-01 1735.8 0.2 513 135

Source: Economic Survey, Government of Pakistan, 2001-02.

Although Pakistan has made a modest progress during the 1998-02 period in its textile sector, a major source of concern is that this increase has only been in volume and not in terms of value due to falling international prices.

• Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs)

Tariff Rate Quotas (TRQs) allow a certain quantity of imports to enter under low tariffs and above that high tariffs are applied. Under the Uruguay Round Agreement on Agriculture, the tariffication process i.e. converting non-tariff measures into tariffs was carried out by the developed countries in such a way that it increased the level of actual tariffs on their agriculture imports. Hence it became difficult to trade in certain agriculture products, therefore tariff rate quotas were allowed as a way out for market access for certain countries. So far, 37 countries use TRQs and most of the tariffs are concentrated in few products including vegetables, meat cereals, oilseeds, and dairy products. (Table-IV). Products like fruits and vegetables, tobacco and oil seeds are not only some of the few major exports of Pakistan, but also of potential future interest to Pakistan. Especially the vegetables and fruits where Pakistan can expand its exports, have been subject to tariff rate quotas. The difference between tariffs within quotas and tariffs above quotas is significantly large. For example in OECD countries with TRQs, the TRQ in-quota rates on agriculture products average 36% while out-of-quota rates average 120%.15 Although, the tariffication process has improved transparency in market access conditions, many studies have concluded that the URAA will not result in a significant reduction in agricultural protection due to the conversion of quotas into high tariffs and TRQs.16

Table-IV Tariff Quotas Distribution by Product Category

Product Group Cereals Oil seeds Sugar Dairy Meat Eggs Beverage

Number of TQs 217 124 51 181 247 21 35

Product Group Beverage Fruits and vegetable Tobacco Fibres Coffee

Number of TQs 35 358 13 18 56

Source: www.wto.org.

• Anti-dumping, Countervailing Duties and Safeguard Measures

Trade remedies permitted under the WTO agreements include antidumping measures- against dumping of cheaper imports; countervailing duties – against actionable subsidies; and safeguard measures – to protect against serious injury from import surges. These protective measures can be challenging obstacles to market access in particular products. During 1995-99, over out of a total 1200 antidumping cases, 75% cases were initiated by developed countries and 49% of the latter were targeted against developing countries.17 Thus developing countries are the major object of anti-dumping duties. Pakistan’s textile exports have recently been subject to various anti-dumping investigations, or facing duties, thus restricting market access (see Table-V). Pakistan’s cotton yarn exports also faced the US ‘Transitional Safeguard Action’ for three years (1997-2001), irrespective of the fact that the action was not consistent with the WTO agreement on Textile and Clothing. However, by the time the decision was made by the WTO Appellate Body, the time for safeguard action had lapsed, but it caused a serious financial damage to Pakistan’s cotton exports.18

Table-V Anti-Dumping Cases/ Duties Facing Pakistan

Product Country Initiating Year

Bed Linen South Africa 1999

Cotton Yarn Japan 2000

Cotton Shop Towel US 2000

Cotton Bed Linen, Cotton Fabrics, Unbleached Cotton Fabrics EU 2000

Cotton Shop Towels US 1999

Source: Trade Policy Review of Pakistan 2001, WT/TPR/95 at www.wto.org

• Product and Environmental Standards

Product standards under Technical Barriers to Trade (TBT) and Sanitary and Phytosanitary measures (SPS) are also a source of concern for developing countries, which lack the capacity to meet the increasingly complex health and technical standards.19 TBT relates to all products and measures, while the SPS covers sanitary standards for food and phytosanitary standards for animals and plants. In maintaining these standards, both fixed (product redesign and administrative system) and variable costs (of maintaining quality control, testing certification and conformity assessments) are involved. In addition, revision to standards can have important implications for exporters. For example, World Bank estimates that due to the EU’s new standards for level of aflatoxin can reduce African exports of cereal dried fruits and nuts to Europe by 64%.20 Pakistan, along with Malaysia, India and Thailand lost the famous ‘Shrimp Turtle case’ when the WTO Panel upheld the US prohibition of shrimp turtle imports from these countries on the basis of environmental standards, as conforming to the WTO laws.21 On the other hand, the US itself is not ready to conform to the global environmental standards and has pulled out of Kyoto Protocol. In future there is the likelihood of increased number of cases involving standards. By the end of 2000, out of 27 disputes considered by the WTO with reference to TBT and SPS, only 6 were brought by the developing countries and no low-income countries other than India brought such cases to the WTO. Hence, for Pakistan, it will remain a distant idea to benefit from these standards, unless the required technical and scientific expertise is developed within the country.

Overall, the above-mentioned tariff and non-tariff measures being used as tools of market access denial to the developing countries’ exports indicate that realising the stated benefits and opportunities under the WTO is a challenging task. A careful analysis of the foreign markets and trade policies, especially of export destination countries, as well as the WTO rules and regulation is urgently required. Market access for developing countries was on the agenda of the Doha Round negotiations. It is the right time for the developing countries to pursue it collectively. Environmental and product standards, while restricting market access for the exports of the developing countries, if adhered to, however, are also a source of penetrating developed countries’ markets. While legal protections and safeguards are allowed under the ambit of the WTO, Pakistan has promulgated the contingent regulations such as anti-dumping rules, countervailing rules and safeguard regulations. However, Pakistan requires technical and scientific expertise to use and benefit from those measures and protect its own domestic market.

2. Domestic Implementation Issues

Domestically, the implementation of the WTO agreements goes far beyond trade-related policy, especially when it comes to the supporting legal and regulatory environment. This is where the cost of implementation matters. Pakistan’s trade and investment regime is fairly liberal. The average import tariffs declined to just over 20% in 2001-02 which is less than half its levels during the mid-1990s.22 Under its 1997 foreign investment policy, Pakistan has fully opened most sectors of its economy to foreign direct investment (FDI), thus allowing 100% foreign ownership except for certain activities that are subject to specific conditions. From November 1997, Pakistan has provided national treatment to foreign companies under its WTO obligations with respect to incentives such as duty and tax exemptions and other import concessions.23 Developing countries incur substantial problems from reducing their trade barriers. According to the World Developing Indicators 2001, a comparison of developed and developing countries for 1990s, show that in many developing countries, tariff revenue accounts for 10-20% of government revenue, and in some cases considerably more. In the case of India and Pakistan, tariffs make 21% and 17% of total revenues, respectively, whereas in developed countries this share ranges between 0-1%.24 If tariffs are reduced or eliminated in developing countries, they are bound to lose a reasonable share of their revenues.

A liberal trade regime is considered as one that removes domestic market distortions through increased competition and reallocation of resources. However, this whole process involves structural adjustments in the economy, in themselves having socio-economic implications, which has become a major concern of the developing country members of the WTO. Once tariffs are reduced under the WTO regime, it will lead to the inflow of cheaper products. Products in countries like Pakistan, with higher costs of unit production in agriculture and industrial sectors will not be able to compete with the cheaper imports. This effect would be further aggravated with the expected increase in water, electricity and gas prices committed to with the IMF under the present Poverty Reduction Growth Facility (PRGF) reforms.25 The price incompetitiveness would, in the near term, inevitably lead to the closure of the industries in manufacturing sector, while agriculture producers will not be able to meet the cost of production for the same reason.

In fact, for countries like Pakistan, there is a major concern of becoming dumping grounds for over-produced, subsidized agriculture produce of the developed countries. These market distorting tactics can be a big blow to the agriculture sector in Pakistan, which accounts for 25% of the GDP and 47% of total employment, in addition to being the major source of raw material for its manufacturing sector as well. Table-VI shows the agriculture sector’s contributions to the GDP and its share in total employment. The ultimate outcome will be an overall lowering in the levels of production, and displacement of labour force through unemployment in the affected sectors of the economy. Given the large share of the household expenditures dedicated to food, even small rises in agricultural unemployment or prices can have major destabilizing effects in the overall socio-economic regime.

Table-VI Pakistan: Sect oral Share (%age)

in GDP, Exports and Employment

Sectors 1991 1996 2000

-Agriculture share in GDP 25.8 25.7 24.1

Employment 47.4 46.8 47.3

-Manufacturing share in GDP 17.4 16.6 15.7

Employment 12.3 10.1 11.2

-Services share in GDP 48.7 49.5 50.9

Employment 42.7 42.6

Source: Economic Survey, 2001-02; WTT/TPR/95.

In Pakistan, unemployment has been a rising phenomenon during the 1990s (7.8% in 2002), but there is no major evidence to show that this has been a direct consequence of the economic liberalisation programme of 1990s. However, according to the Human Development Report in South Asia 2001, the liberalisation programme was not even aimed at employment generation.26 Economic liberalisation without catering for employment opportunities for displaced labour, is a factor that itself explains rising levels of unemployment during 1990s. It was generally expected that higher growth would generate employment expansion and poverty reduction, which could not yield the desired outcome, thereby increasing the incidence of poverty, during the 1990s.

Generally, economic models assume this process as a short-term phenomenon and it is expected that eventually these resources will be re-employed in some other sector of the economy thus bringing overall gains for the economy. However, actually, displaced workers may not necessarily be re-employed for a significant period of time. This situation is further aggravated in the case of Pakistan where the development expenditure is very low and social safety nets are almost negligible (see Table-1). Although under the PRGF Programme, the Musharraf government initiated the Khushhal Pakistan Programme and National Food Support Programme however, these efforts are at a very preliminary stage, and even if implemented properly will take some time to deliver the desired results.27

Economic liberalisation attaches great importance to the role of foreign direct investment, especially in generating new employment opportunities thereby acting as a factor canceling the unemployment effect. In the case of Pakistan, foreign direct investment has also been on the decline since 1995-96, despite liberal economic policies pursued by various governments.28 The level of FDI is specifically very low in the agriculture sector as compared to other sectors of the economy and is concentrated mostly in oil and gas and power sectors.29 It is also a reflection of the continued biased policies of various governments in favor of the manufacturing sector, although, the manufacturing sector especially large-scale manufacturing, has also been the victim of the FDI drainage due to overall reduction in FDI into Pakistan, during the mid-90s.30

There are many factors contributing towards the creation of an environment that is not conducive for attracting higher FDI in Pakistan. These factors include: weak property rights, lack of continuity in policies and lack of credibility of various governments in honoring international agreements and, above all, weak politico-security situation within the country and in its relations with India. If all other irritants are removed the security factor remains the most hindering factor in attracting FDI into Pakistan. In that case, amongst the regional countries, China would benefit the most and with its recent reform programme it will continue to be the most attractive place for FDI.

The implementation of the WTO agreement on Trade-Related Aspects of Intellectual Property Rights (TRIPs) brings many challenges for various sectors of the economy and consequently socio-economic development of the country. In the case of Pakistan, so far no study has been conducted to estimate the cost of implementation of an IPR regime in Pakistan i.e. the establishment of new institutions, administrative and enforcement costs. Nonetheless, World Bank estimates for selected developing countries and overall estimates for developing countries suggest exuberant costs attached to the establishment of an IPR regime.31 However, views from the official sources in Pakistan indicate that the country already had an IPR regime and three ministries were handling the issue, namely Commerce, Education and Industries, which is in the process of being merged into one authority, called the Pakistan Intellectual Property Rights Authority (PIPRA).32 So, if these views are taken into account, initial fixed costs on institutional arrangements would not be much of expenditure in Pakistan. However, estimating the variable costs related to additional workforce, enforcement of IPR laws, training of police and custom officers would be little premature, as the country has just started the process of implementation of IPR laws. Also, the costs are wide-ranging and scattered in various sectors of the economy. Hence, it is not possible to see the exact impact of IPR regime related cost in connection with the concerns that it would squeeze development funds of the country.

In addition to institutional costs, there are socio-economic costs attached to an IPR regime. The creation of a Patent regime in Pakistan implies that foreign pharmaceutical multinationals can sell their patented products in the country at a desired price, which is going to increase the cost of those medicines in the country, or else the local firms have to get patents for those products and pay royalty to big multinationals. According to the World Bank, this will lead to the transfer of billions of dollars from developing countries to high income-countries in the form of royalties and licensing fees.33 It further indicates that the cost of TRIPs to developing countries is likely to be comparable to any gains they might receive from trade liberalisation.34 In addition, to avoid uncompetitive practices on the part of multinationals, the enforcement of a strict competition regime is a necessary step. In fact, without a sound and strong competition policy, the establishment of an IPR regime is meaningless. Pakistan has been widely blamed by the US and the EU for piracy and weak copyright implementation in the field of entertainment and computers, thereby incurring losses to copyright industries in these countries.35 With the enforcement of IPR rules, the prices for computers will certainly shoot up many times thus extremely restricting the fast-spreading use of computers and internet in Pakistan. With the inclusion of electronic data within the scope of TRIPs, the spill-over effects of the internet in the field of education – a crucial aspect in its human development- will also wane. The purchasing power in Pakistan is too little to pay for highly expensive books, or cover the internet charges.

The patent regime has severe implications for farmers in the developing countries. Under the patent laws, new plant varieties are protected and farmers in the developing countries like Pakistan, which traditionally used to reuse the produce for sowing purposes will be unable to do that. In fact, under the new technologies, the seed if reused, will not give the same quantity of crop, hence putting financial strain on the poor farmers who lack access to financial credit. This very factor implies the development of an indigenous R&D in Pakistan, and further allocation of funds in the national budget for this purpose.

During the Uruguay Round, Pakistan and other developing countries reluctantly adhered to the TRIPs agreement, with the lures of transfer of technology and technical assistance from the developed countries. While both these commitments were non-binding, there is no such international framework ensuring the transfer of technology or technical assistance to the developing countries. In fact TRIPs has strengthened the protection to the suppliers of technology. So, do the gains from TRIPs outweigh the costs in developing countries? Although, Pakistan is benefiting from the technical assistance and capacity-building programmes of the WTO and World Intellectual Property Organisation (WIPO), but a very little and insufficient technical assistance is actually available.

Strong IPRs are considered as one of the incentives for foreign direct investment and technology transfer. But stronger IPRs in developing countries may not necessarily decrease the technology gap between North and South. Once a product is patented and multinationals are getting royalties they might not be interested in investing overseas under uncertain political and security environment for example, as in Pakistan.36

Conclusion

The importance and benefits of economic liberalisation cannot be contested for the developing economies like Pakistan. However, focusing exclusively on one area while neglecting other aspects of human and social development can be very dangerous. As research has proven that it is social and human development that makes a strong basis for sustainable economic development. This is where Pakistan needs to pay attention. Trade liberalisation under the WTO regime is Pakistan’s obligation, but at the same time it should be complied to in a manner with least implications for the social sectors of the economy. For the Doha Round of trade negotiations, it is suggested that any future binding commitments by the Government of Pakistan must be made in consultation with the relevant industry and business sectors. Pakistan should not liberalise more than what is required. Any move towards liberalisation should be carefully measured in terms of its prospective costs and benefits.

References

*.

*. Mr Nadeem Malik, lecturer, Commerce department, University of Balochistan Quetta, Pakistan.

Supervisor Dr Shafiqur Rehman, Registrar, University of Balochistan Quetta

Pakistan.

1. ‘World Development Report’, Washington D.C.: World Bank, various issues, ‘Trade and Development Report 2002’, New York: UN Publications, 1996-2001.

2. Bernard Hoekman, ed. ‘A Hand Book on Development Trade and WTO’, Washington DC: World Bank, at www.worldbank.org. pp.1-10.

3. www.eudelbangladesh.ord/trade.htm

4. ‘Market Access for Developing Countries’ Exports’, IMF and World Bank Staff Paper, April 27, 2001, at www.worldbank.org p.45.

5. ‘Trading into Future: An Introduction to the WTO’ at www.wto.org

6. ‘Market Access for Developing Countries’ Exports’, p.46. op.cit.

7. Ibid., p. 47.

8. Shahid Kardar, Political Economy of Pakistan, Lahore: Progressive Publishers, 1997.

9. Dr. Ishrat Hussain, ‘Pakistan: Economy of An Elitist State’, Karachi: Oxford University Press, 1999; William Easterly, ‘The Political Economy of Growth Without Development: A Case Study of Pakistan’, Development Research Group, World Bank, March 2001, at www.worldbank.org

10. Although the decline of the manufacturing sector was, inter alia, due to the adverse impact of economic sanctions and resultant foreign currency crisis that led to drastic reduction in domestic and foreign investment and a contraction of imports. Mark Weisbort and Dean Baker,‘Relative Impact of Trade on Developing Countries’, Centre for Economic Policy Research Briefing Paper, Washington D.C, at www.cepr.net

11. ‘Economic Survey’, 2000-01, Government of Pakistan.

12. ‘Pakistan Development Policy Review: A New Dawn’, World Bank Report no.23916-PAK, April 3, 2002.

13. Ibid.

14. ‘Economic Survey’p.119, Op.cit.

15. UNCTAD Report on, ’Trade and Development, 2002,Now York: UN Publications, p.60.

16. OECD Report on ‘Market Access for Developing Countries, 2001, at www.oecd.org

17. ‘ Market Access for Developing Countries’ Exports’, World Bank IMF Joint Staff Paper, April 27, 2001, at www.worldbank.org

18. Appellate Body Decision on’ US Transitional Safeguard Measures on Combed Cotton Yarn from Pakistan’, WTO Document no. WT/DS192/7, 7 November 2001, at www.wto.org

19. Under SPS measures, imports can be prohibited to protect animal and plant health, on the basis of scientific evidence.

20. ‘Market Access for Developing Countries’ Exports’, World Bank IMF Joint Staff Paper, April 27, 2001, at www.worldbank.org

21. ‘WTO Appellate Body Decision’, Document No. WT/DS58/AB/RW, 22 October 2001.

22. ‘Pakistan Development Policy Review’, op.cit.

23. ‘Trade Policy Review Pakistan 2001’, WTO Document no. WT/TPR/S/95, p. 22, at www.wto.org

24. ‘World Development Indicators’, World Bank, 2001.

25. Under the PRGF reform programme the Government of Pakistan is bound to increase the electricity prices twice a year, Interim Poverty Reduction Strategy Paper (PRSP) 2001, at www.finance.gov.pk

26. ‘Globalization and Human Development’, Human Development Report on South Asia Mahbub ul Haq Human Development Centre, , 2001, pp.74-78.

27. ‘Economic Survey 2001-02’, Finance Division, Government of Pakistan, pp.55-57.

28. Ibid.

29. Ibid., p.41.

30. ‘Pakistan Development Policy Review’, op.cit.

31. ‘A Hand Book on Development Trade and WTO’, op.cit., pp.1-10.

32. Personal discussion on various WTO agreements with officials in the WTO Wing, Ministry of Commerce, Islamabad.

33. ‘World Economic Prospects 2000’, Washington DC: World Bank, p.94.

34. Jayashree Watal, ‘Implementing the TRIPS Agreement’ in A Hand Book on Development Trade and WTO, World Bank publication, 2002, p. 366-370.

35. The EU and US review the copyright enforcement of their trading partners and Pakistan is on the special watch list of the US under special 301 Act.

36. Ibid. p.366.



By: NADEEM MALIK

About the Author:

It is only now that the greater part of the population are migrating to audio books. Only a few years ago, conventional book lovers had to buy paperbacks or the hardcover to read the works of their favorite authors. People have realized by now that not only are audio books easy to use and more convenient than traditional print, they are equally if not more entertaining. Besides, these audio books cover almost all genre so one gets to enjoy what ever he likes — mystery and suspense, romance, science-fiction or adventure. Those who have taken to listening to audio books normally obtain their copies from the bigger establishments like Audible, the current market leader. Although industry competition is stiff, demand for audio books is still on the rise. This is indeed one great business opportunity that you must not pass up. Open your own audio book online store and do not be afraid to play with the big boys.

Audible tops all others in the distribution of audio books with annual revenues exceeding $80 million. Yes, they are that big but that should not discourage you from starting your own audio book online store. You too can aim for that spot but first you have to establish your own audio book online store and sign up a good number of regular subscribers so you can recoup your investments, realize profits, and plan for your expansion.

It is not really a secret, but the key to your success in the business is to develop your own loyal membership base that would be more than willing to pay the monthly subscription of $10 to $15 so they can get to listen to at least two audio books. You need to calculate your costs and operating expenses to determine your break-even which should be the least number of subscribers you need to keep you in the black. Then factor in your investments and your desired profit so you can estimate your target number of members.

When you open your own audio book online store, explore possible drop ship sources for your audio books. Your suppliers can ship the ordered items directly to your customers. Effectively, you are cutting down on the amount of time and money necessary to maintain and manage the inventory of books, packing and shipping them out. While there are fees involved — first the setup fee and then the drop fee per order, you are given more free time to focus on marketing and generating new subscriptions. If you wish, you may do a cost-benefit analysis to help you decide if the drop shop system is the best option for your own audio book online store.

Drop shipping seems to be the most practical arrangement for anyone with limited resources who want to open his own audio book store. Funds need not be tied up and inventory and there is no need for space to keep all those stocks of books. The process is simple. As the outlet, you will take orders for the different audio books and collect the payment at your retail price rate. Then, you will need to forward the order to your drop shipper/supplier and remit your own payment at wholesale price plus the drop fee. This may cost you about half of the sales amount you received from your customer. The drop shipper/supplier now takes responsibility for packaging and shipping the order to your customer.

This system almost limits your costs to promoting your own audio book online store. Other than luck, you would need perseverance, good marketing strategies and effective advertising. And with the right attitude, you are on your way to be the proud owner of a successful audio book online store.



By: Rob Forchet

About the Author:

The Automotix online store offers a wide range of auto body parts for all your Mitsubishi and Audi body parts needs. You will be amazed how much money you will save by searching through their vast inventory. Rather than purchasing the auto body parts from a mechanic, you can now turn to this great online store for better value for money.

 

Not only new models, but auto body parts for older models of Mitsubishi and Audi can also be purchased, giving you the best of both worlds, Any car of any age, any size. The online store is designed to give you the best ordering experience. The vehicle model, make and year are simply located at the top of the page for your convenience. The site is 100% secure to give customers confidence in placing their orders. If you need further assistance, don’t be afraid to ask the auto experts who are on more than happy to help.

 

Buying Mitsubishi and Audi body parts has just become easier and safer. At Automotix simply use the drop down menus to choose your part, make, model and year of your vehicle. There is no simpler way to find the parts that you want other than with this great store. Not only is the searching quick and effortless, so is the rest, with fast shipping and low price guarantee your search is over and you can truly enjoy your online shopping experience. You will not only find the best deal but also have it at your doorstep in speedy time. After finding the Mitsubishi or Audi body parts you need, checking out will make your day. While not only receiving up to 75% off your parts, the safe and secure checkout cart is fast.

 

Access online used parts and accessories for Audi vehicles. The Audi inventory gets updated by the hour and includes front/rear bumpers, doors, hoods, headlights, taillights, mirrors, wheels, engines and more. Check out the ONLINE catalog by selecting your Audi vehicle. If you don’t find the part you are looking for, fill out the part locating form and they will assist you in finding what you need. Buy Audi LKQ parts here and save money and time.

 

Audi is a very popular vehicle made in Germany. When they break down, you need an OEM part that fits. But don’t worry, Automotix carries a huge selection of OEM Audi parts if you’re looking for a better quality used engine, transmission, air bag, head/taillight, etc, this is the right website for you. This premium German car is hard to shop for, especially in America.

But at Automotix, they carry a wide range of OEM parts for your Audi.

 

You can even find used parts for your Mitsubishi, and many other Audi and Mitsubishi models. They have used engines for the 2005 Audi TT and 2005 Audi A4 for unbeatable prices. If you can’t locate exactly what you’re looking for in stock, simply request it from customer services department and they will locate the part through you from any one of their 200-plus salvage yards across the United States. Now that’s what we call great service!

 

Not everyone is eager on the idea of used parts. Perhaps the huge ecological benefits of purchasing used auto body parts are not realized. The recycling factor is vital to our environment, and Automotix succeeds in keeping the planet green with their devotion to recycling. Since they don’t pollute the air or ground with smoke from manufacturing plants or scraps from junk parts, they are the greenest supplier in the industry.

 

Don’t struggle trying to locate the right Mitsubishi and Audi body parts. Just stop in at Automotix and browse through the extensive catalogs until you find exactly what you’re looking for.



By: Vikram Kumar

About the Author:

Online Store is a portal for finding latest online products and reviews regarding them. Online Store is dedicated to deliver the before buying knowledge about the products.

There is a great variety of all the products from electronics to grocery, from jewekery to clothes, from gifts to gadgets everythings. Get all the items at one store.

Some of the varieties are like:

Twilight Christmas gifts are set to be huge this holiday season.

With The Twilight Saga: New Moon pre-sales already outnumbering the pre-sales from the original Twilight movie 4:1, New Moon merchandise is expected to be hot. If you have a Twilight fan on your holiday shopping list, there is a lot to choose from, but you may be wondering what the best selling and most popular gifts are. If you are thinking, “I do not follow Twilight or the New Moon, but I want to buy a great gift”, you are in the right place. The best selling items have been researched and listed here for you.

Spice has ventured into the Indian Mobile Handset Market with Dual Sim Phones, which make it convenient for consumers to carry two phone numbers in one handset. They have Dual Sim Phones covering two GSM networks, or two CDMA networks or one GSM and the other CDMA network. Spice Mobile Phones has launched D-80, D-88, D-90, Spice D-88 are handsets with dual sim while D-80 and D-90 support only GSM network. The D-88 supports both GSM and CDMA networks; D-90 is a smart phone by Spice Mobiles loaded with multimedia features.

You don’t have to be the CEO of Goldman Sachs to know that a good businessman can back up his financial models only if his persona fits his appearances. If you want to get ahead of the game, remember three important things…Power Suit, Power Tie, Power stare. Today we’ll be focusing on the Neck Tie – essential to any formal or semi formal event. Whether you’re just starting out in the industry or wooing your father in law at fancy restaurant venue, the Neck Tie is essential for exuding a good impression onto others

Affordable Christmas gifts are going to be very high on the agenda this year for everyone. We are still in the grips of the credit crunch and for many people money is tight which means Christmas will need to be carefully planned. Parents and grandparents often have the dilemma of trying to satisfy the demands of their kids with in vogue presents that they will be proud to show off to their friends, yes I am afraid peer pressure is still alive and well despite the credit crunch.

There are less than 13% people in this world who can afford to buy brand new stuff for their use. The rest 87% always go for second hand stuff. From this ratio you can judge the importance of saving money. Obviously there are thousands of ways to save money other than buying second hand items from a second hand store. Fro example you can also save money on your food items, you can rent an apartment with a less rent and you can save electricity. But the mentioned reason will not save you a lot of money and the amount of money you want to save.



By: weddulaestore

About the Author:

The Internet has made accessible great openings to advance our business ventures online just as it has improved our consumer needs. E-bay is a leading example of online stores through which any person can put up for sale products online. If you have a business or want to sell products or unique designs on the Internet, you could easily open your own online store. This is a grand basis of income for physically disadvantaged people and people who want to work on their own. You can decide on to open your own website through a number of web hosts that will assist to begin an online stores and e-commerce sites at no cost or for a very nominal charge. One site that’s very suitable to make use of and offers all features you would want is ZubShop. This will enable you to be in charge of your online store, take care of your consumers, deliver your merchandise without knowing where you are. An all inclusive ecommerce program have the advantages of a high level properties that draw clients. These features include real-time shipping rates, stock management; integrating existing websites to your ecommerce sites etc. One of the most excellent things regarding ZubShop is that it’s an online shopping site that’s run by a squad of SEO specialists. This means this site provides free sales promotion of all stores registered with this site. In case you already have an online store, you may perhaps still start another store in this site to promote your main site and pull together traffic. To construct an online store you need two products namely Transact and Retailer, and a tool called Shopcreator has it all. Transact is the latest innovation that’s free of charge to use till the point where payment is to be made for commodities. It is better to set it up with only three steps because it makes it adaptable to any changes that are required by your business in future. All you need to do is, fill up a form with your business particulars and fit in your brand facts and specific characteristics in the customization section. The best way to handle your account details are to bring into play the Google sitemap especially if you have to accept payments. Check out Cafepress for a pleasant retail experience that’s popular because it houses not only major corporate stores such as Discovery Channel and Wikipedia, but also includes business owners from each and every field. They provide full assistance starting from the basics of making your online shop details to marketing your product and bringing in customers. These sites will help you by buying advertising space in google and most important search engines and offer more visibility to your product. There’s also an competent customer service system in place where you could get your queries answered. To have an online store that operates constantly in spite of server maintenance and web site issues, make sure the Webasyst project that offer the fundamental settings of an online store and has the benefit of being hosted by top web servers. What’s more, you get additional features like widgets to aid in marketing, facilities to compare products and many small extras that add weight to your product’s image. If your business features only one of its kind commodities such as antiques and collector’s stuff, log on to Bonanzle, a professional in such products. This site has a live chat corner where buyers and sellers can talk and offer opinions. So, use the newest in technology and innovation to market and sell your commodities and improve your business image to the peak level.

By: jamiehanson

About the Author:

Online stores that are dropshipping businesses are popping up all over the net. Just about anything you want can be bought online and in turn, everywhere you turn you’ll see the opportunity to build your own online store. A dropshipping business can be really profitable if you go about it the right way. Tools and resources are plentiful on the internet and the demand for online shopping can put you in a great position financially as you can make money online in your spare time.

Learn to have a successful online store

You’ll see e-books that promise to teach you how to go about making money through the physical products business, and you’ll find forums and membership sites dedicated to supporting the efforts of the online entrepreneur. Is it worth it? Is there room for a profit for more online entrepreneurs?

The answer is a resounding YES according to many internet marketing professionals. Colette Marshall, recently appointed president of Worldwide Brands, talks online and offline about ways people can make money with their own dropshipping businesses. She’s one of many successful online business professionals who are well known for providing helpful advice to people who believe that they can grab a piece of the online shopping pie. And what a big pie it is! The effort you put in today could net you passive income indefinitely.

Online buying = more popular than EVER

Did you know that despite tough economic times people are spending more money online shopping than ever? Not only does the online entrepreneur get the opportunity to make money from home but they can capture a bigger audience than they would with a local store selling anything from A to Z.

People want convenience and they like not having to travel to buy things and they really like that there are more incentives than ever to buy online. It’s just about as competitive online as it is offline and the added convenience presents a great opportunity to sell stuff.

Facilitate a Sale — Then Get Paid!

Dropshipping is a great way to sell products online because you don’t have to buy and then resell products. You don’t have to warehouse and ship products. You don’t even deal with product returns due to defects and warranty repairs.

As a dropshipper you simply facilitate a sale and get paid for your efforts. Some wholesalers offer a little bit of commission and some offer a lot. Some programs exist that help you with your marketing and customer service and some programs can help you manage multiple relationships in one place. There are also website templates that let you set up your own store and services that can put you in touch with the best deals possible.

As an online store owner you need to connect with wholesalers, you need to learn how to market your website and depending on how much time and effort you put into it, you could find that you can create a successful online store that feeds you passive income on a monthly basis for an indefinite amount of time.

How do you make the most of your online products business?

Learn all you can about finding the right products to sell, how to market with available tools, and getting access to great products with excellent profit potential.



By: Matthew Bredel

About the Author:

]]> http://www.bestbrandsonlinestore.com/bestonlinestores/earning-income-and-then-passive-income-with-your-online-store/feed/ 0 http://www.bestbrandsonlinestore.com/bestonlinestores/being-safe-when-shopping-online/ http://www.bestbrandsonlinestore.com/bestonlinestores/being-safe-when-shopping-online/#comments Wed, 18 Nov 2009 00:49:15 +0000 admin http://www.bestbrandsonlinestore.com/bestonlinestores/being-safe-when-shopping-online/

The online shopping industry continues to grow. A lot have been turning towards shopping online instead of the conventional way. Because of this, the number and variety of products that can be bought online have also grown. You can shop for items ranging from fruits to CD’s to clothes, and the items, which you want, could be bought and delivered in literally one click. Now that is convenient and hassle-free shopping.

However, you would need to consider a couple of pointers if you are planning to land the greatest deals and find the best online stores. You would also have to be extremely cautious when doing business online due to the issues concerning security. Here are some fairly simple tips in order to make your overall shopping experience online fun, practical and safe.

First, you would need to purchase from a reputable company whose online business has been experienced by a substantial number of people. A lot of the larger companies have also begun selling their products online, and so if you would be purchasing from these bigger companies, the risks for fraud or receiving items of poor quality are definitely lower.

You might also want to opt for a secure server as you shop online using your credit card. Make sure that you are using an updated version of your internet browser, as this would also increase security. Also, a lot of shopping websites already use encrypted information so hackers are prevented from stealing personal details.

Make use of an online directory in finding the best shopping websites and deals. Shopping directories are also great when you are searching for shopping websites since the stores are categorized, making it easy to locate the kinds of stores you are looking for. Sometimes these stores also have store reviews that would also be very helpful for online shoppers.

Also make sure that you shop around first so that you will be certain that you will be making the best purchases available. There are a lot of special offers and discounts online – you would just have to look for them.

Finally, remember to read the company’s return policy and privacy policy so that you would know exactly what to expect. If you could, try to print the page for future reference.



By: Online Shopping

About the Author:

Converting your e-commerce online store in to Yahoo Store will give complete and dynamic solutions for your online products selling across the globe.According to market analysis e-commerce stores developed in other storefronts are facing enough problems/issues at the same time while Yahoo Store owners are relaxed and tension free in all aspects.

Some Common issues arise for NON Yahoo Store owners:-

1.Downtime: Majority of e-commerce stores online or other storefronts owners experience excessive downtime of store. Ultimately, frequent downtime of store directly affects revenue.

• Features: Lack of major features in other storefronts. This makes it tedious to maintain store and get lesser information about the store.

• Design: On design features each and every storefront has its own technique. Many storefronts have limitation on creative design platform. This creates problem on customizing web pages according to needs.

• Maintaining: A main issue of store owners is of maintaining online store.

Maintaining the store is difficult and time consuming.

• Traffic & Presentation Store Owners (Non Yahoo Store) – My Online Store doesn’t get enough traffic and also faces presentation crisis.

• Security one of the major concerns of non Yahoo Store is “Security” of the online transactions.

Above mentioned issues are valid enough to switch over the existing storefront to “Yahoo Store”. Considering all the above issues Yahoo Store offers dynamic solutions for your Online Store. Yahoo Store has taken extensive care of all the above issues experienced by the Store Owners (Non Yahoo Store).

Yahoo Store Offers:-

• Uptime: Yahoo Store gives maximum uptime and rarely it has any downtime (if any). This make your Yahoo Store will live 24 hours.

• Yahoo Store Features: In yahoo store, all lacking features in other storefronts are merged with additional features which differentiate Yahoo Store from other online storefront platform. Yahoo Store also provides various reports (nearly 40) of store indicating sale, page view and many more.

• Custom Design: Yahoo Store facilitates customization of your web pages according your requirement with the support of easy design tool, third-party tools or by professional designer or developer. In Yahoo Store, Search Engine Friendly pages can be created along with CSS based custom design. PHP, Perl and MYSQL programming languages can be used in Yahoo Store as per requirement.

• Security: Concerning security, Yahoo is the best from all other storefronts. Transactions that take place on Yahoo Store are done on Secure Socket Layer (SSL) with 128 bit encryption to shield transactions, risks tools configurable to help flag fraudulent orders.

• Maintaining: Yahoo Store is easy to maintain and use of its administrative back-end is simple.

Today Yahoo! Store is the fastest and most practical way to open your online store and one of the most popular and affordable e-commerce platforms for small and medium sized businesses. Anyone can set up a fully-functional online store without requiring HTML/ RTML programming skills, with help of very powerful backend management tools. It ensures greater visibility, more visitors, secured transactions, easy management of your store and more flexibility in handling large number of products.



By: speterson

About the Author:

Choosing to purchase wholesale women’s apparel at Asianfashion4u.com will allow you to reap benefits which are not provided by other clothing suppliers.

One of the most important benefits that you can get from this Korea fashion online store is the opportunity to buy designer clothes wholesale for a low price. When you order in bulk, you will be able to avail of clothing supplies wholesale at a discounted price. Despite the economic costs of this manufacturer’s clothing, the quality of the clothes is still competitive. You are assured that what you are buying is relative to the price, and you are not going to suffer from paying huge in prices. With great budget prices, it will not be difficult for you to supply your boutique with wholesale fashion clothes in lower cost. When you shop for Asian fashion wholesale clothing at Asianfashion4u, you will be able to save more.

Asianfashion4u aims to provide its clients with reliable service. This is due to its belief in maintaining constant good relationship with its clients to keep them shopping for more women clothes wholesale. Whether you want to buy junior wholesale clothing or wholesale dresses, you will be able to find the best styles and designs at Asianfashion4u. You should not let this opportunity pass if you want to keep your customers from turning to other shops.

Setting up your own business is not as easy as it sounds. There are a lot of things which you have to take care of before you can actually open shop. If you want to venture into clothing retail or wholesale, you have to keep in mind certain considerations. For one, you need to decide whether you would want to sell men’s or women’s clothing. You also have to decide whether you would want to offer fashionable clothing or simple tees. If you go for the former, you have to be aware that your clothing supplies should be of the latest trend. This way, you will not lose your customers to other stores which sell chic apparel.

www.Asianfashion4u.com is a wholesale Korean Japanese hongkong fashion clothing online store located in Guangdong Province China who offer varieties of complete fashion items:wholesale fashion clothing,wholesale fashion handbags,wholesale shoes at cheap price with patient cutomer service. That is why asianfashion4u is one of top honor and trustworthy online store on the internet.

Asianfashion4u is one stop of complete Korea Japan hk Taiwan fashion online store specialized in ladies’ girls’ woman’s official cute lovely fashion blouse,tops,dress,jackets,t-shirt,sweaters,pants,jeans,t-shirts,handbags with thousands of style for clients choice at small minimum order quantity requests MOQ:5pcs with any style and color.Our site currency is in USD.

Asianfashion4u wholesale high quality junior clothing at best price of original brand collection:

Wholesale Aigo-ugo-ego collection;Binman collection;Doremi collection;Emiyu collection;tracy collection;Emyshow collection;HGE collection;T&G collection;Yihong collection;Loyer collection;Maloly collection;Xunia collection;Miskub collection;Xianwei collection;Marloca collection;YOUTOO collection;Vivicam collection;Eastsun collection;M2M collection;Big size(ioeoi qianlixiu SE QH) collection;sweet girl collection;Sveta collection;Sikedi collection;yoco collection;SZ collection;Kadishiman collection;Docle infanta collection;LY collection;QFM collection;Sharara collection;and Korean fashion bag,no brand magazine copy style album at economical price.

Asianfashion4u aims to provide its clients with reliable service. This is due to its belief in maintaining constant good relationship with its clients to keep them shopping for more women clothes wholesale. Whether you want to buy junior wholesale clothing or wholesale dresses, you will be able to find the best styles and designs at Asianfashion4u.

It is possible for you not to spend much if you want to stock your clothing boutique with trendy designer clothes. The main reason for this is the emergence of fashion wholesale suppliers. If you are looking for stylish yet affordable clothes, opt for Hong Kong fashion apparel or Japan & Korea fashion clothing. There are a lot of clothing suppliers which sell this style of garments. One of these is Asianfashion4u, which is a clothing wholesale manufacturer from Hong Kong. This company is a wholesale online shopping mall, allowing you to shop for its wholesale Korea style fashion clothes over the Internet. Compared to the traditional way of buying clothing supplies, shopping online is more convenient. This is due to the fact that you can do your ordering even in your own home.



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