US retail design firm to set up ops in India

India's booming retail market is attracting global players hoping for a slice not just of the retail market, but associated industries. WD Partners, a US-based architectural firm specializing in design and development of multi-unit retail and restaurant outlets, has opened for business in Mumbai with a team of 25 architecture and engineering professionals, and plans to ramp up to a team of 105 in two years. "We build offices where we believe our retail and restaurant clients are going," said WD Partners CEO Chris Doerschlag. "It made sense to expand into a city where retail is expected to grow very quickly over the next decade." WD Partners has 39 years of experience in designing and rolling out stores for multi-unit retail and restaurant operators. Its clients include BP, The Home Depot, ExxonMobil, Gap Inc., D'Angelo, Abercrombie & Fitch, Cosi, Benihana, Safeway, Wendy's, and Starbucks. The Mumbai office will assist global retailers seeking to expand in India, as well as target mulit-unit Indian retailers to grab a slice of what the company calls "a highly fragmented but rapidly growing $300 billion retail economy in India". In Mumbai, its operations will be headed by architect Rajesh Chhablani, who has worked on international projects and with retailers like Gap and Victoria's secrets. WD Partners has 39 years of success based The Mumbai office will share its signature processes and systems for multi-unit development, assuring the quality of work is standardized and consistent. Interoffice exchange programs for the Mumbai professionals will serve as "hands on" training in WD Partners' protocols, as well as team-building exercises between US and Mumbai colleagues. The firm has an international office in Malaysia in Asia, and India will be its second.