David Shriver, strategic adviser to the chief executive, Carrefour, speaking to Indiaretailing exclusively on the sidelines of World Retail Congress 08, confirmed Carrefour moves into Russia in a few months' time. On India he said, "We will be opening our first cash-and-carry outlet in India by 2009." Shriver, however, would not disclose the location of the store, or a definite date. "We are in a very advanced stage of planning the store, but cannot divulge specifics yet," was all he would say.

On a retail entry, he said, "India is a huge and a very promising market, but also a very complex one – with several languages, cultures, cuisines, and lifestyles, much like several small countries at the same time," he added.

"This makes planning our retail entry a very strategic exercise. India is a long-term business territory – we are not likely to rush in and make some bad mistakes. We want to be there, but we want to take our time in doing some intense research. Our office in New Delhi is already in place to do the ground work and put in place some vital data for us to work on," he added.

– Nupur Chakraborty