Panel Data Analysis on Retail Inventory Productivity

Inventory is one of the most dynamic current assets in the retail industry due to its variability with time and across firms. The organized retail sector is in its nascent stage in India. This study tries to find out the important variable(s) that affect(s) inventory productivity in three selected Indian retail companies namely Pantaloon Retail India Limited, Trent limited and Shopper’s Stop respectively. The gross margin return on investment (GMROI) has been regressed on inventory turnover, gross margin, size of the firm (last year sales), and capital intensity. Balanced panel data is used for conducting the analysis. The results indicate that all variables have a positive and significant impact on GMROI.