Indian shopping giant eyes e-commerce

Ever since Amazon.com Inc and others started shipping items ranging from lingerie to iPads, Shoppers Stop Ltd, India's oldest department chain store, has been under pressure to scale up its online sales.

That necessity is felt even more acutely now as it seeks to revive profit growth. Managing Director Govind Shrikhande, 54, is looking at a combination of e-commerce plus physical stores to boost margins as rising land prices drive up rents. Online sales will account for 20 percent of Shoppers Stop's total by 2020, compared with less than 1 percent now, he said in an interview.

"Physical retail space growth is going to be slightly challenged for sure, which really means we will have to drive our online business harder," he said. "Not many are going to get into the mall business because of higher realty costs."