Yesterday, the government notified 100% foreign direct investment (FDI) in single-brand retail, paving way for global chains like Adidas, Louis Vuitton and Gucci to have full ownership of their India operations.

In an interview to CNBC-TV18, Pramod Arora, joint managing director of Archies says, 100% FDI in single brand is not going to impact the company much. “Multi-brand FDI will definitely be beneficial to the retail industry as a whole because that has a larger impact on the retail industry,” he adds.

Below is the edited transcript of his interview with CNBC-TV18's Reema Tendulkar and Ekta Batra. Also watch the accompanying video.

Q: Would 100% in single brand retail benefit you or would multi-brand retail benefit you?

A: Hundred percent FDI in single brand is not going to impact us much. But definitely multi-brand FDI will definitely be beneficial to the retail industry as a whole because that has a larger impact on the retail industry.

The single brand FDI will definitely help the retail industry grow. But if you look at the inflows of funds into the retail industry, the big ticket funds will happen in FDI in multi-brand retail.

Q: Assuming if multi brand retail does come through some time in the future, how does it benefit Archies? What is Archies’ game plan then?

A: It is not just Archies per se, but definitely it opens up lot more opportunities which right now do not exist for foreign players to come and have a pie of the Indian market. So, definitely that does open up. The game plan per se, there is no game plan as such as of now. But as things pan out we will be open to looking at strategic tie-ups or somebody wanting to join hands and grow this market.

Q: Have you already had any negotiations with your international peers? Have they shown any interest in Archies?

A: They have chosen Archies to represent them in India. That itself is a big thing. We have already had a tie-up with American Greetings for the last 18 years and now with Hallmark. So, the interest has been there ever since and it still exists.

Q: As an industry question there are a couple of riders that the DIPP has put in by way of sourcing and even how the branding is done like you would need about 30% to come in from SMEs etc. Would that be a big constraint for single brand retail?

A: It depends from industry to industry. But as we look at our industry we produce all the paper products here in India. Just gifts are imported to a certain extent. So, I don’t think that should be a dampener.

Q: Considering that Archies has been within this space for so long, can you give us a sense on whether you think something like Hallmark or any of the international companies such as American Greetings would capitalise on an opportunity within India, once FDI opens up for them?

A: I think they are all global businesses. They are always looking at opportunities to grow in the international market. They are international brands. They have presence across the globe. As time goes by game plans keep on changing, the market scenario keeps on changing. It’s too early to comment anything about their intentions or what the game plans are.

Q: Any indication from Hallmark, you do have a tie-up with them, whether they would consider entering India independently?

A: Per se they did not have any intentions earlier. As of now, I have no idea to it. But I personally look at it as this business is something where the local expertise is of great importance. Wherever the companies have come independently, they had some kind of problems in the local markets. So, I look at it that they would definitely want Indian partners to be part of the plan.