bangalore private equity pe players known as deeppocket investors are now looking at cashing in on the wallet power of indian consumers by investing across a whole new area of small and medium retail business small retail stores boutique hospitality ventures food and beverage shops healthcarediagnostics outfits fashion grooming chains hair and skin saloons logistics etc will now receive pe money interestingly pes who are normally associated with bigticket investments starting from 2050 million are very keen in fastgrowing end userdriver retail business segments the argument is that india is a booming retail market and even in a severe recession scenario sectors like food healthcare grooming etc will not see much of a shrinkage therefore it makes sense for pe players to be in spaces that give direct access to customers wallets indicates a report on pe fueling indias growth jointly released by deloitte and assocham despite global conditions domestic political instability or unfavourable policy decisions the indian domestic consumption market coupled with a growing entrepreneurial cadre still holds an allure for pe investors a direct impact of the booming domestic market and emergence of these firstgeneration entrepreneurs was the increase in focus on the domestic ecommerce industry in 2011 the clickandmortar model received a number of investments from pe players flipkarts 150million 4thround funding in 2012 kicked off an overall positive sentiment in funds investing in this space now pes interest in offline retailing could only be seen as a logical extension of their existing interest in the online retailconsumer space kalpana jain senior director deloitte touche tohmatsu india told toi our discussions with investors indicate an appetite for directing monies into companies that would benefit from the strength of domestic consumption in india with potential beneficiary segments being small retail format stores hospitality and food and beverage cooked food or branded food healthcare diagnostics chains education etc pes are looking at high volume and reasonable value businesses that are looking at a mass play private equity can not only help companies grow hire more workers and raise productivity but at the same time it can also be a powerful driver of change socialeconomic raising standards fostering growth promoting new opportunities for businesses and individuals helping to overcome poverty and bringing hope says the report in fact its is a clear indication of the pe industrys eagerness to be an integral part of the great growth story unfolding in mega metros to tiny hamlets across the country the year 2011 saw a shift in the investments within real estate and infrastructure sectors from commercial and residential to large infrastructure projects such as airports ports and roads according to the report