Revenues of store owners at malls have taken a major hit with retail sector being impacted by partial partial lockdown and other restrictions imposed by the state administration. As per Economic Times, mall-owners have begun receiving contract termination requests from various stores.

In Ahmedabad, malls were asked to remain shut over weekends since end of March this year. From April 29, they had completely shut down operations in the wake of fresh guidelines issued by the state.

After a decent revival in footfalls around January-end, people once again stopped visiting malls from the second half of March. Since then, mall footfalls fell by over 50 per cent. Most stores which are shutting down are either luxury brand stores or clothing and apparel stores. This has led to many stores giving notices to cancel their contracts despite lower rentals and other relief measures, says Jayesh Kotak, Managing Director, Iscon Balaji Group, which manages a city-based mall.

The situation has left mall-owners in a lurch as managing malls and meeting its operating expenses be it security, staff salaries, maintaining the premises, along with bills and tax payments is not possible without revenue inflows.

Replacing Walmart, Amazon has emerged as the largest clothing retailer in the United States. A Wells Fargo analyst predicts, Amazan sold about $41 billion worth of apparel and footwear in 2020, accounting for 11-12 per cent of all clothes sold in the United States. The e-tailer’s clothing revenues increased by 20 per cent over Walmart’s last year, and it hopes to sell over $45 billion worth of apparel and footwear this year.

Amazon recorded its best sales during the COVID-19 pandemic, as many Americans stopped shopping indoors. The company’s web services benefited immensely from the work-from-home models last year. On the other hand, Walmart has launched new clothing labels and collaborated with fashion designers in recent years to increase sales. The e-commerce company recently expanded its sportswear offerings and collaborated with a fashion designer to design clothes for Michelle Obama.

Fashion and lifestyle brand Good Earth has launched a handloom ready-to-wear line ‘Flow’ primarily made from malkha and kala cotton.

The new collection features more western wear and fusion style pieces as well as designs suitable for work from home, perhaps one of the main clothing trends to be brought about by lockdown living.

The capsule line, made from sustainable cotton, features tailored pieces including blazers, blouses, trousers, suits, and dresses. With a neutral, white, and indigo colour palette, the collection has a thoughtful, paired-down aesthetic.

Good Earth has also recently partnered with designer UrvashiKaur to launch its womenswear line ‘Vasara’ at its flagship store in Khan Market in New Delhi. As well as its own brand, Good Earth retails a number of Indian clothing brands in its stores including Raw Mango and Pero.

Good Earth’s stores in Delhi and Mumbai are temporarily closed due to local lockdowns.

The brand’s e-commerce store is allowing orders but has halted deliveries until May 16 at the earliest due to the ongoing Covid-19 crisis.

RELATED ARTICLE Home textile exports surged during 2021

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CREDITS: Fashion Network.

Flipkart plans to raise at least $1 billion ahead of a potential initial public offering in the US in the fourth quarter of 2021,reports Sourcing Journal. The investment total could reach as much as $2 billion.

Walmart currently owns 82 percent of Flipkart, leading a $1.2 billion financing round in July 2020 that brought its estimated valuation to $24.9 billion, but an IPO could possibly double that total to as much as $50 million. The potential new investor pool includes sovereign wealth funds, technology-focused financial groups, pension funds, long-term passive funds and private equity funds. Though the Flipkart fundraising is predominantly being targeted at new investors, existing ones like GIC of Singapore, Qatar Investment Authority have been sounded out.

Flipkart also aims to increase its value in other ways ahead of any potential public filing. The company acquired online travel technology company Cleartrip in April to strengthen its digital commerce offerings. Additionally, Flipkart partnered with Mahindra Logistics (MLL) as one of its key logistics partners to help fast track deployment of electric vehicles (EVs) across its logistics fleet in the country.

Womenswear brand Label Varsha and designer Ayush Kejriwal have launched a collaborative traditional wear collection for the spring/ summer season.

As per Fashion Network, the new womenswear collection is inspired by cultures from across India. It features rich rues, floral motifs and flourishes of opulent embellishments. The collection includes Label Varsha’s signature use of traditional Kalamkari block prints from South India as well as antique zari woven odhni in tussar georgette.

The collections include various traditional elements and weave them all together to create a look that is reflective of the rich and diverse traditions of India. It features looks that are subtle and yet eye-catching, owing to the elaborate motifs and detailing”

The two labels collaborated for the first time last autumn for a women’s ready to wear collection. The new offering has launched on Label Varsha’s e-commerce store with four ensembles priced from Rs 6,499

Reliance Retail has slipped from the top to the second position in the 2021 ranking of world’s fastest growing retailers by Deloitte. However, its ranking in the Global Powers of Retailing has improved from 56th in the previous year to current 53rd.

The list is topped by US giant Walmart, which retains its position as world's top retailer. Costco Wholesale Corporation of US slipped a rank to the third place followed by Schwarz Group of Germany.

Reliance Retail is the only Indian entry in the global list of 250 retailers. It features consecutively for the fourth time in the list of Global Powers of Retailing and World's Fastest Retailers.

The company is partnering with WhatsApp to further accelerate its digital commerce business on the JioMart platform.

It acquired the 29 stores of Shri Kannan Departmental Store at the end of FY2019, and in August 2020 announced it would acquire Future Group’s 's retail, wholesale and logistics units for $3.4 billion. The deal will almost double Reliance Retail's store space.

Future Group’s brick-and-mortar superstore chain Big Bazaar plans to launch a marketing blitzkrieg that will allegedly take potshots at US etailer Amazon. Big Bazaar’s tagline will now read ‘India kiAsliDukan’ (India’s original shop), said people familiar with the development.

As per Economic Times, Big Bazar is doubling its delivery executives. It is also tied up with hyperlocal delivery companies. Its average ticket size for essentials is around Rs 1,500 for this service, which is far higher than that of online-only players in the space. hours.”

Big Bazaar’s move comes at a time when the debt-laden Future Group is looking at ways to put its assets to better use, while its Rs 24,700-crore proposed deal with Reliance (RIL) hangs in the balance.

RIL had announced in August last year that it was buying out the retail and wholesale business of Future Group, but Amazon — with a minority stake in an unlisted Future Group company — subsequently dragged the Mumbai-headquartered retailer to court, alleging that the proposed deal violated contractual agreements.

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In its fourth quarter that ended March 31, 2021, Century Textiles and lndustries reported total income of Rs.844.68 croreas compared to Rs.803.23 crorereported during the third quarter ended December 31, 2020.

The company posted net profit of Rs8.41 crore for the period ended March 31, 2021 as against loss of Rs32.11 crore for the period ended December 31, 2020.

The company reported EPS of Rs 0.75 for the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.2.87 for the period ended December 31, 2020.

The company reported total income of Rs844.68 crore during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.801.21 crore during the period ended March 31, 2020.

The company has posted net profit of Rs8.41crore for the period ended March 31, 2021 as against net lossof Rs.82.11 crore for the period ended March 31, 2020.

The company has reported EPS of Rs0.75 for the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.7.35 for the period ended March 31, 2020.

The company has reported total income of Rs 2,678.19 crore during the 12 months period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.3,458.63crore during the 12 months period ended March 31, 2020.

The company posted net loss of Rs 30.44 crore for the 12 months period ended March 31, 2021 as against net profit of Rs 365.25 crore for the 12 months period ended March 31, 2020.

The company reported EPS of Rs2.73 for the 12 months period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.32.70 for the 12 months period ended March 31, 2020.