11 March 2022, Mumbai:

Steve Rowe will step down as chief executive of Marks & Spencer (MKS.L) in May after six years in the job, with the British retailer opting for continuity by choosing two of his senior lieutenants as his successor.

Rowe, who joined M&S at the age of 15 before rising through the ranks, will step down after the food and clothing retailer reports annual results on May 25.

ALSO READ: Marks and Spencer (M&S) x Wonderbra online combo to give duo a big lift

His tenure in one of the most high-profile jobs in British business has been turbulent as he, along with chairman Archie Norman, has sought to transform M&S by improving the quality and value of its clothing and food products, overhauling its store estate, and investing heavily in technology and e-commerce, including a venture with Ocado Group Plc (OCDO.L) that took M&S food online for the first time.

RELATED ARTICLE Marks & Spencer’s festive collection is a fusion of Indian styles

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CREDITS: Reuters.

10 March 2022, Mumbai:

After declining 40% last fiscal because of Covid-19, revenue of brick and mortar (B&M) apparel retailers will grow 20- 25% on-year this fiscal, driven by a strong recovery in demand despite the third wave of the pandemic, said Crisil.

ALSO READ: CRISIL report: INDIA’S CORPORATE PROFITABILITY DROPS 120 BPS IN Q3

Apparel retailers, which could barely break even last fiscal, should log operating margins of 5-7% this fiscal — compared with about 9% pre-pandemic — backed by improving operating leverage, continued cost rationalisation, and prudent inventory management.

RELATED ARTICLE Home textiles segment to see double-digit growth: Crisil

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CREDITS: ET.

11 March 2022, Mumbai:

Reliance Group has issued sub-leased termination notices to 342 large format and 493 small-format stores of Future Retail.

The Group has issued notices to stores including Big Bazaar, Fashion@Big Bazaar (fbb), easyday and Heritage stores of the company.

These stores contributed 55 to 65 percent of retail revenue operations.

ALSO READ: RIL to buy Future Group’s retail assets at original price

Currently, these stores are not operational for stock and inventory reconciliation. Future Retail is in continuous discussion with Reliance Group to maintain the status quo and for safeguarding the interest of various stakeholders.

The ongoing legal feud between Amazon and Future Retail originates from Amazon’s objection to the deal between the Future Retail and the Reliance industries under which Future Retail was supposed to sell its supermarket chain Big Bazaar which is very popular across the whole nation, to Reliance.

Along with Big Bazaar, the company was supposed to sell its sister chain of retail outlets like Brand Factory, Home Town, Central, and all other Reliance Retail.

RELATED ARTICLE Reliance Retail takes over Future Group stores

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10 March 2022, Mumbai:

Dispute over Future Group's Asset Sale Plans

Heading to a settlement
Amazon and Future Group
told the Supreme Court last week that they would like to initiate talks for an out-of-court settlement.

ALSO READ: Future Group refuses to implement Amazon’s investment in Future Coupons

Lawfirm AZB approaches Reliance.
Agenda for the meeting to be decided later.
Reliance is unlikely to partner with Amazon to end the impasse, a person in the know said.

"The agenda of the meeting will be sent to Reliance soon,"

Reliance Industries is unlikely to sell any stake or form any sort of partnership with Amazon if Amazon makes such a demand as part of its bargain to resolve the impasse, the person said.

RELATED ARTICLE RIL to buy Future Group’s retail assets at original price

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CREDITS: ET Dated 10-03-2022. 

08 March 2022, Mumbai:

V2 Retail as opened three new retail stores at Begusarai (Bihar), Malda (West Bengal) and Chapra (Bihar).

The company has closed one retail store in Delhi in line with its strategy to evaluate performance over various parameters including store wise profitability. Currently, the company has 99 operational stores.

V2 Retail offers an unparalleled retail mix combined with value and variety to its shoppers.

ALSO READ: V2 Retail Q3 FY22 results posted

The company believes in offering complete value for money to the shoppers through its large variety of smart, trendy, fashionable apparels across categories under one roof.

Its presence in 17 states of India with 96 high fashionable operational stores, make it stand amongst the pioneers in setting up unique precincts with modern ambience retail chain.

V2 Retail has been successfully serving the Indian retail market for more than 25 years.

The group has created many firsts in the industry, It is the first company cross 100 stores, first to implement SAP, create private labels in grocery etc.

Currently, V2 Retail manages 11 lakh sq.ft. of retail space.

RELATED ARTICLE Retailers across India on an expansion drive as sales surpass pre-COVID levels

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CREDITS: EQUITY BULLS . 

11 March 2022, Mumbai:

E-commerce company Amazon India on Thursday announced that the Indian exporter base on its platform has now increased by about 66 percent since January 2020 to over 1 lakh.

The company has around 60,000 exporters on Amazon who are shipping products overseas.

ALSO READ: Amazon India reaches ten lakh sellers

"Over 1 lakh Indian exporters are now selling globally through its e-commerce exports program - Global Selling," the company said in a statement.

The e-commerce firm said a large number of sellers on the programme today come from non-metros, and many of these businesses are first-generation entrepreneurs and emerging brands.

RELATED ARTICLE Amazon Fashion decides to hold "9th Edition of Wardrobe Refresh Sale Dec18-22"

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CREDITS: ET.

10 March 2022, Mumbai:

Jio Mart

JioMart, the online shopping platform by Reliance Retail Limited, was launched in 2020 in 200+ cities and towns across India.

JioMart is a multicategory online shopping platform, that currently offers a wide range of Groceries and Daily wear Fashion, to start with.

Reliance's retail arm ranked third in the list and received recognition for its new commerce initiative.

The platform offers consumers the convenience of shopping from home, with a promise of great savings, free home delivery, and no minimum order value.

The JioMart app and the website are designed to keep customers in mind, providing a simple and intuitive ordering experience.

ALSO READ: Ajio ropes in Shraddha Kapoor as brand ambassador

*Reliance Retail, India’s largest retailer, has been named in the Fast Company’s prestigious annual list of the World’s Most Innovative Companies – the Asia Pacific for 2022.

JioMart, and its innovative integration with WhatsApp. Reliance Retail’s growth over the years has triggered a large socio-economic transformation on an extraordinary scale in India.

Reliance Retail’s operating model unleashes the aspirational energy of the new, resurgent India. Its guiding philosophy rests on the tenets of enabling inclusion, growth, and building sustainable societal value for millions of Indians.

Through JioMart, Reliance Retail aims to transform and grow the small merchant ecosystem, so that the merchant partners prosper and are able to service their customers better.

JioMart Kirana has witnessed strong growth since its rollout in 2020 and has already empowered tens of thousands of merchant partners in over 60 cities enabling them to transform their businesses digitally.

RELATED ARTICLE Under Armour opens fourth store in 'Jio World Drive Mall, Mumbai'

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CREDITS: Indian Retailer.

09 March 2022, Mumbai:

Ahead of International Women's Day as a mark of tribute to women's power and e-tailer's conscious & consistent commitment around the theme of women empowerment in India.

*Amazon India on Friday said it is launching a special storefront highlighting products made available by more than 450 women-led small businesses on its online marketplace.

The e-commerce major - which has partnered with UN Women to support women-led businesses - will also make a contribution basis every transaction on the storefront to NGO partner 'Nanhi Kali' for sponsoring the education of underprivileged girls.

ALSO READ: Amazon announces changes in its current leadership roles

"It is no secret that the economic disruption caused by the pandemic has hit women-dominated sectors and small businesses the hardest, leaving women vulnerable to the loss of livelihoods...entrepreneurship amongst women can play a pivotal role in creating stronger economic outcomes for society," Amazon India Senior VP and Country Head Amit Agarwal said during a virtual event.

He added that over the last decade, women-owned businesses have increased penetration amongst enterprises in India, and this has been made possible by consistent investments from national and state governments, the private sector, financial organisations, and educational institutions.

RELATED ARTICLE Amazon India: New roles for Amit Agarwal & Manish Tiwari

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CREDITS:retail.economictimes. 

08 March 2022, Mumbai:

Gap, the American apparel behemoth, has released its fourth-quarter and fiscal-year 2021 results!

The US retail behemoth's fourth-quarter net revenues increased by 2% to $ 4.5 billion, while sales declined by 3% when compared to the same period last year. On a year-over-year (Y-o-Y) and two-year-ago basis, comparable sales increased by 3% in the fourth quarter. The retailer's fiscal year 2021 net sales increased by a stunning 21% year over year to a record US $ 16.7 billion, up from 2% in fiscal year 2019.

ALSO READ: Target's Q4 incremental traffic, marked a quarter of growth

Comparable sales for fiscal year 2021 increased by 6% year over year and 8% when compared to fiscal year 2019. The gross margin in Q4 was 33.7 percent (260 basis points lower than the adjusted gross margin in 2019), but it was 39.8 percent in 2021.

(improved 220 basis points versus 2019 adjusted gross margin).

Operating expenditures for the fourth quarter were US $ 1.5 billion, or 33.5 percent of net sales, while adjusted operating expenses were 33.3 percent of net sales.

On a reported basis, operational expenditures for the fiscal year 2021 were the US $ 5.8 billion, or 35.0 percent of net sales. Operating expenditures as a percentage of net sales were 34.3 percent.

"Today, we fully closed the books on FY 2021 by announcing fourth-quarter profits and reporting US $16.7 billion in net revenues, up 21% year over year."

This is the product of our whole Gap Inc. team's hard work and devotion to our consumers, which I witness in action every day. Our 100K+ strong team is working hard to develop our business, distinguish our brands, accelerate our transformation, and be a force for good in the face of continuous turbulence.

I'm optimistic about our growth plan as we begin 2022.

"I hope you're as energized as I am as you watch this wonderful montage of our Spring creative from Old Navy, Gap, Banana Republic, and Athleta – full of positivity, joy, and unity," says the designer. Sonia Syngal was cited in LinkedIn.

RELATED ARTICLE Zalando, forecasts slower sales growth in 2022

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CREDITS: Gap Inc. & Apparel Resources.