Defending Mom-and-Pop Stores, an Old and Enduring Fight: Echoes

India's ambivalence about modern retailing has brought derision from the West. The government's decision to put off legislation that would have opened India's retail market to foreign investors, announced Dec. 7, led to howls of outrage. On Jan. 10, the government partially reversed course, decreeing that foreigners could own single-brand stores under certain conditions.

Those conditions include obtaining at least 30 percent of the products sold from small Indian manufacturers -- which was unattractive to retailers who gain competitive advantage from their ability to source globally on a large scale. On Jan. 22, the Swedish furniture retailer IKEA said it was putting its entry into the Indian market on hold.