What are Single Brand and Multi Brand Retail Businesses?

What are single brand and multi brand retail businesses?
Single-brand retail refers to a business that sells goods to individual customers and not other businesses and such goods are all sold under the same brand. Nike, for example, sets up stores in India in which the foreign parent of Nike (Nike Inc.) invests. Such stores can only sell Nike products under the 'single brand' route.

Multi-brand retail are businesses that sell goods to individual customers and such goods can carry several different brands. Walmart is an example of multi-brand retail, which stocks and sells goods from various brands.

The NDA Govt Cabinet on Wednesday Jan 10,2018 has brought about a change in the FDI policy.

 The existing policy on single brand retail trading (SBRT) allows foreign players to have 49 percent stake under automatic route, and FDI beyond 49 per cent and up to 100 per cent through government approval route.

What are automatic and government approval routes?
The automatic route is a relatively less restricted regulation. Under the automatic route, the foreign investor or the Indian company does not require any approval from the Reserve Bank or Government of India for the investment. This route is permissible in all sectors and activities specified under the consolidated FDI policy.

The government route, on the other hand, requires the foreign investor to obtain prior approval of the Government of India agencies or bodies specified.

Proposals for foreign investment under approval route as laid down in the FDI policy are considered by Cabinet Committee on Economic Affairs or Cabinet Committee on Securities. Alternatively, the Department of Economic Affairs (DEA) or Department of Industrial Policy & Promotion also assist the above approving agencies.