インドにおける大手消費財メーカーの販売網の空間形態

Location Pattern of Sales Branches of Large Companies in India and its Relationship to the Hierarchical Differentiation of Cities

Hino Masateru

地誌研年報

Annual Report of Research Center for Regional Geography

In 1991, India launched a series of progressive economic liberalization policies called ""The New Economic Policy."" Since 1993, the annual rate of economic growth in India has maintained a consistent growth rate of around 6%. The number of companies that have formed nation-wide networks of sales branches in India has increased. Based on Japan's experience, the establishment of nationwide networks of branches and related sales offices by large companies involved in mass production operations will promote the hierarchical differentiation of cities. This paper will discuss future trends in the hierarchical differentiation of cities in India, based on the analysis of the location patterns of branches in the sales networks of large companies. The location patterns of branches in sales networks of the following eleven companies were investigated: three automobile manufacturers (two Japanese and one South Korean), one motorcycle manufacturer (Japanese), four home appliance manufacturers (one Japanese and two South Korean companies and one Indian), one copy machine manufacturer (Japanese), one soap and detergent manufacturer (Indian) and one tea manufacturer (British). Research revealed the following: 1 ) Seven of the eleven companies provided information on the locations of branches in India. Although the specific numbers differed, all seven companies have established branches in the four widely recognized regions of India: northern, southern, western and eastern. In northern India branches are located in Delhi, Mumbai in the western part, and Kolkata in the eastern part. These branches are generally called regional offices. In southern India, most companies have branches located in Chennai, but there are also some in Bangalore, suggesting that in the future these two cities may compete for new branches. There are also state branches administered by regional offices; further expansion of sales networks will probably increase the centrality of the cities in which state branches are located. 2 ) The location pattern of

General geography. Description and travel [ 290 ]

jpn

広島大学総合地誌研究資料センター

[ISSN] 0915-5449

[NCID] AN10199141