India, Nov. 14 -- When Trent opened its first Westside store in 1999, a shareholder asked the company, "Kya aap log cutpiece bechne wale hain?" (Are you going to sell cut pieces?). That is how unfamiliar modern retail was in India, Noel Tata said on Saturday.

"Trent was really a pioneer in retail. When we first started our first store, there were only two other shops of significance in India," Tata said at the 24th Hindustan Times Leadership Summit. He said he had "spent 69 years of my life avoiding the front stage."

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The biggest early decision, he said, was to sell private labels instead of other companies' brands. "We took the more difficult decision. We said we will do private label, which entai...