Given these developments, India may simply skip the hypermarket stage and go online, just as it skipped fixed line telephony and went mobile. Of course, hypermarkets will do well in a few locations, but they are unlikely ever to dominate India s retail sector.

But this debate misses a crucial point the hypermarket model is itself under serious threat everywhere from online shopping. Consumers worldwide are finding that they can access virtually unlimited choice on the Internet including customized goods and services that big retailers simply cannot deliver.

Indeed, the Indian government s decision to welcome foreign retailers coincided with French retailer Carrefour s announcement that it will shut down its substantial operations in Singapore by the end of this year. Meanwhile, its British counterpart, Tesco, is shifting away from the large hypermarket format and investing heavily in online systems.

SINGAPORE After years of debate, India s government recently announced that will open the country s retail sector to foreign investment. The move was met with howls of protest from those who argue that the entry of large hypermarket chains like Carrefour and Walmart will devastate the small shops that currently dominate India s retail sector.