The retail sector in Bengaluru is now beginning to see green shoots of revival with a U-shaped recovery. While essential goods like food and grocery, followed by apparel, FMCD and electronics, furniture and home furnishings and QSR are seeing a V-shaped recovery, other segments like beauty, wellness and personal care and home essentials may take 2-3 more quarters for full recovery, said Anuj Kejriwal, CEO & MD Anarock Retail.

As per Economic Times, Bengaluru has been one of the most active retail markets in the country and is a major hub for retail fashion with most international and national brands making their way here.

In terms of organized retail, Karnataka presently has close to 50 operational malls across the top cities and Tier 2 and 3 cities, as per ANAROCK Research. Bengaluru alone has nearly 36 operational malls – the same number as that in entire MMR. Interestingly, tier 2 and 3 cities including Mysore and Hubli have also seen decent retail growth. Both cities currently have five operational malls each.

Going forward, data indicates that as many as six new malls spanning 2.5 mn sq. ft. area are likely to come up in Karnataka by the end of 2021. Five of these will be located in Bengaluru while one in Mysore.

Bengaluru has also attracted large private equity investment across the country due to the introduction of retail policy on 2016 by the

Winner of this year’s ‘Times Business Award’ in the ‘Best in Organized Retail Value Chain Category,’ Citylife Next is a one-stop shop for trendy and affordable menswear, womenswear, kidswear and other accessories for middle and lower-middle class segments.

The retail chain was established in 2020 by Sanvie Retail, a leading organized value retail chain by the More Group. The company has been in the apparel business for over 70 years. It was set up Alok More, Chairman and Managing Director; Anand More, Director; Varun More, Director and Prakash More, Director.

Sanvie Retail has a 60,000sqftwarehouse that employs over 1,300 people from across the nation. Aiming to grow by 20 per cent every year, the company intends to provide latest lifetstyle products including apparels, household items, footwear, luggage and accessories to all age groups. It currently has over 73 stores in 10 Indian states.

As per a report by Unicommerce and Kearney, India’s e-commerce activities in Q4 FY2020 grew by 36 and 30 per cent year-over-year (YOY) in terms of order volume and gross merchandise value (GMV), respectively. However, the average value of orders declined by 5 per cent as compared to same period last year. Categories like personal care, beauty and wellness as well as FMCG and Healthcare were the biggest beneficiaries with volumes growing by 95 percent and 46 percent YoY, respectively.

Tier II and III cities accounted for 90 per cent YoY incremental volume and value growth. While brand websites reported 94 per cent volume growth in Q4 2020 as compared to same period last year. The FMCG and pharma category reported growth of 92 per cent on the brand website and 62 per cent growth on the marketplaces.

Kulin Lalbhai, Executive Director, Arvind Limited believes the industry will start seeing growth in the second half of 2021, compared to the second half of 2019, when sales were at normal levels. He believes, complete recovery for the industry depends on customers feeling safe in stepping out and social interactions returning to pre-pandemic levels.

Lalbhai said, the industry is witnessing around five to six per cent growth with each passing month with formal and occasion wear now seeing a comeback. He expects a further traction in occasion wear in Q1 of the next fiscal as the wedding season picks pace.

On manufacturing front, Lalbhai expects the higher cotton and yarn prices to be passed on to customers if the pressures don't ease in the next few months. He added that the supply chain bottlenecks which is industry is also dealing with s due to the sudden spike in demand, is likely to continue for a few more months.

Multiple changes made in India’s ecommerce FDI norms to promote domestic retailers in the past few years are causing roadblocks to global ecommerce companies like Jeff Bezos-owned Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart India’s ecommerce players are compelled to mention the ‘country of origin’ on every product sold across their marketplaces. The government also plans to tighten FDI rules besides banning a seller with a foreign stakeholder. If formalized, these changes will hurt Amazon India the most as it holds indirect stakes in two of its biggest online sellers in India, Appario and Cloudtail. The government also plans to levy a 2 per cent equalization levy or digital services tax on these products.

The rise of Joe Biden led Democratic government in the US has given American ecommerce companies much needed boost to survive the business challenges in India. Both Amazon and Flipkart are getting sufficient support from the current US government. As per government’s Congressional Research Service (CSR) report, the new FDI norms on raising foreign equity caps for insurance and defence and other strides will help India attract foreign investments.

New amendments in FDI rules

However, despite these changes, ease of doing business seems to be far from reality in India. Since 2016, the Indian government has been tightening FDI policies for these e-commerce marketplaces. The latest amendment, known as Press Note 2 (2018), allows 100 per cent FDI in in India’s marketplace model under certain conditions. This entails Press Note 2, ecommerce companies operating marketplaces in India cannot own any of the inventory sold on their marketplace. Also they cannot influence the sale of goods directly or indirectly. Another rule these companies have to abide by is not to hold an equity share in a vendor’s firm that intends to sell on the said e-commerce entity.

No impact of trade relations with other nations

Abhishek Rastogi, Partner, Khaitan & Co is confident India’s investment-related decisions regarding marketplace model will not impact its trade relations with other countries as India has the right to take such calls. He reveals the Indian government plans to simplify FDI norms and direct the management of indirect stakes of these global companies in Indian subsidiaries. The government has initiated a draft ecommerce policy that mandates the approval of nodal ministry whenever changes in ecommerce regulations are made. The policy also aims to invite and encourage foreign investment in ‘marketplace’ model alone. It debars an e-commerce platform with a foreign stakeholder from owning or controlling the inventory on its platform.

Importance of the India-US partnership

The Indian e-commerce space is currently engaged in a swadeshi versus videshi battle. Comparing Amazon to the East India Company, lobby groups are promoting Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries and its subsidiaries under the swadeshi label. On its part, the government plans to promote MSMEs by making certain changes in FDI regulations.

However, despite this, India cannot ignore the Biden government as it needs to acquire a greater access to American products across farming, medical devices and agricultural implements. It also requires a reduction in import duties on some information and communication technology products. In turn, it seeks to resume export benefits to certain domestic products under the GSP, exemption from high duties imposed by the US on steel and aluminium products. It also plans to provide greater access to its products across the agriculture, automobile and automobile components and engineering sectors.

According to Jayant Dasgupta, Former Indian ambassador, WTO, India’s goods and services trade with the US totaled $146 billion in 2019. Exports to the US was $58.6 billion and imports was $87.4 billion. Its FDI in India (stock) increased 8.2 per cent to $45.9 billion in CY2019.

US focus to help India counter China threat

For quite some time now, India has been planning to reduce its trade dependency on China. Last year, it monitored all popular Chinese digital platforms operating in China as well as FDI inflows from Chinese investors. In such circumstances, it needs to support the US by offering trade concessions under the MFN (Most Favored Nation) clause, which also extends to China and many other nations under the WTO guidelines, adds Dasgupta.

India’s future stand on FDI for ecommerce marketplaces depends on its relations with the Biden government. Though the country is free to protect its domestic sellers, the current market size of Amazon and Flipkart requires it to introduce a comprehensive ecommerce policy that has little scope for sporadic changes.

‘RUNway to Skilled India’ the book authored by Dr Darlie O Koshy, DG & CEO, ATDC India will be launched at the International Craft Week’ on from February 18-21, 2021. The formal launch of the book on February 19, 2021, will be attended by Mahendra Nath Pandey, Minister of Skill Development & Entrepreneurship as the chief guest.

The book focuses on India's skilling efforts and how RUN: Re-skilling, Up-Skilling. New-Skilling (RUN SUCCESS) can value add to India's economy while empowering youth and women. This endeavour aims to bring into focus India’s largest traditional skill legacy through crafts which are even today practiced by numerous local communities and have continued to possess the tacit and explicit knowhow and insights learned through ages exemplifying why is so important for India. The book will be available in both hardbound and paperback.

Endorsements came from many of the industry experts, during a prelaunch webinar organized by DFU Publications, such as T.V. Mohandas Pai , Chairman, Aarin Capital and Manipal Global Education says, "The book is a persuasive call to rediscover the innate skills germane to our people and to reorient the skill development in the Country on a sustainable track" and "Dr. Koshy’s new book is a convincing advocacy of the concept of Re-skilling, Up- Skiiling, New skilling, ‘RUN’ as Dr. Darlie Koshy calls it, and the way it has been presented and argued has not been done before", says Ajit Seth, a Former Cabinet Secretary, GoI, likewise among other says Dr. Subroto Bagchi, Chairman of Odisha Skill Development Authority, "I wanted to tell you that I love every sentence of the book. A must read for everyone in the Skill World!”

Dr. (Prof.) Darlie O. Koshy is a visionary Educationist, persuasive administrator, International Speaker and noted author of books like “India Design Edge”. Dr Koshy has an experience spanning 43 years out of which 33 years have been with NIFT, NID, IAM and ATDC (of AEPC).

COVID-19 has reemphasized the importance of quality, especially while buying FMCG products. Earlier, Indian consumers let discounts determine most of their purchase decisions. However, now they are looking for value-added products, says a report by Bengaluru-based research firm RedSeer Consulting. As per Business Insider report, India’s overall e-commerce transaction value fell from April to June 2020, peak months of lockdown. However, it soon picked up as people avoided venturing out of homes and preferred buying their essentials online. RedSeer Consulting expects this trend to continue in 2021, advancing the growth of the online shopping in India, and compelling brands to focus on their online operations, says Mrigank Gutgutia, Director.

Gutgutia categorizes Indian online shoppers into two types. One, who buy their usual products irrespective of large discountsOnline shoppers move away from discounts focus on safety and quality being offered online, and other who focus more on the quality of products. Gutgutia says, this phenomenon is common across all tiers of cities.

Small cities focus on safety, quality

Consumers in Tier II and III are opting for online shopping because of the safe shopping experience it offers and guarantees on product quality. Discounts are one of the last reasons for shopping online in these cities, adds Gutgutia. Essentials were one of the most sought after categories during the pandemic. The category saw the highest average order value growth last year as more people in Tier II and III chose value over price, says RedSeer Consulting. This is pushing more Flipkart’s consumers to move away from being trial only to long-term consumers. The e-tailer aims to focus more on subscription only program in 2021.

DTC brands gain popularity as consumers opt for organics

Consumers are also moving away from aggregator e-commerce portals to Direct to Consumer brands as witnessed by the growth in revenue of brands like boAt, MamaEarth last year. As Mangesh Panditrao, Co-Founder, Shoptimize, a startup which helps businesses come online, says, COVID-19 has brought the focus back on quality and human wellness. It has reduced the importance of product price by increasing the popularity of organic food and wellness products, locally sourced produce, sustainably farmed goods, and vegan/cruelty-free products. The company’s clients have seen a 40 per cent increase in AOV (Average Order Value) this fiscal compared to last year.

Gutgutia believes this trend of online spending won’t change soon as more people plan to increase their spending on online shopping in 2021 too.

Inspired by international fashion culture, Duke’s Spring/Summer 2021 collection endorses the Indian government’s vision of a Atamnirbhar Bharat.

Featuring light floral and leafy print patterns, the collection is made from value-added materials such as cotton linen, pique, single jersey club as well as un-dyed, natural and textured materials. It offers a wide variety of T-shirts, shirts, denims, trousers, tops, jeggings, activewear, sportswear, accessories and footwear collection.

The color palette is cool and airy with soft blush, lime green and pale blue balanced with sartorial burgundy, navy and many more colors.

It includes cotton or poly cotton fabrics in breezy tones.

The tank tops and grapic printed T-shirts cater to the fashion demands of the teens, young and fashionistas.

The collection also boasts of an exciting color combination, design in stripes, prints, embroidery, patch work, short lengths, round necks. Kuntal Raj Jain, Director, Duke Fashions, explains, the range represents the brand’s continued commitment to offer a complete range of products under a single roof. It offers the season’s latest trends. “Each piece from this collection has the special ‘sparkle of quality’ on which its creators insisted,” Jain explains. The collection is based on the brand’s philosophy of making international fashion available at reasonable prices.

Duke has also updated its Militaire collection’21 for men by adding a wide selection of T-Shirts, polos, shorts, lowers, Bermuda’s and accessories. The brand is a winner of the President Award and three national awards including Excellent Quality Readymade Garments, Outstanding Entrepreneurship and Quality Garments.

It was also crowned Indian Power Brand at the US. Incepted in Ludhiana in 1966, the brand connects with customers through its online operations, big chain stores and over 4,000 MBOs and 400 EBOs nationwide.

In its third quarter ending December 31, 2020, V2 Retail reported total income of Rs.228.46 crore during the period ended December 31, 2020 as compared to Rs.90.30 crore during the period ended September 30, 2020. The company posted a net profit of Rs 13.81 crore as against a loss Rs 7.31 crore during the quarter ending September 30, 2020. EPS increased to Rs.4.04 for the period ended December 31, 2020 as compared to Rs.2.14 for the period ended September 30, 2020.

On yearly basis, V2 Retail reported total income of Rs.228.46 crore during the period ended December 31, 2020 as compared to Rs.220.36 crore during the period ended December 31, 2019. It posted a net profit of Rs 13.81 crore during the period ending December 31, 2020 as against net loss of Rs 20.75 crore duing the period ending December 31, 2019.

Its EPS declined to Rs.4.04 for the period ended December 31, 2020 as compared to Rs.6.09 for the period ended December 31, 2019.

Luxe brand hunters in India have never had it so good with brands like Jimmy Choos available at price of a Zara handbag, and Rs 25,000 worth sunglasses from Tiffany & Co can be had for Rs 8,000 from Instagram thrift stores. The luxury resale market is proving to be a boon for shoppers with limited budgets. The market has witnessed exponential growth globally and is expected to be worth $64 billion by 2024. In India, search for thrift stores on Instagram records 6.25 lakh posts and over 60 handles deal with thrifting.

Thrift stores selling authentic luxury brands

Amongst the thrift stores that have come up in India over the past two years are, stores specializing in authentic products from high-end brands. They usually source products directly from sellers or physical thrift stores. The products are authenticated, cleaned and photographed before being sold again.

Prominent amongst these stores is the pop-up by Chennai-based graphic designer Sruti Ashok called ‘The Relove closet, so far, the store has gained over 5,000 followers. Ashok sells high-end luxury brands such as Versace, Swarovski, Chanel, Roberto Cavalli, Tiffany, Chloe, YSL, etc priced between Rs 3,000 and Rs 5,000 on her instagram page and caters to women in mid-20s and 30s.

Higher prices for exclusive products

Ashok says, the price of thrift products often depends on their use, wear and tear and visible defects. Style is also important as a limited edition product often commands higher price.

Kohima-based Jungshi Imti has been involved in thrift business for over two years. His instagram handle @Chichi n Co sells luxury bags, shoes, T-shirts, and dresses from brands like Louis Vuitton, Marc Jacobs, MCM Worldwide, Kenzo, Givenchy, Guess and Balenciaga. He authenticates the products with a certificate. In case, it is not available, he advises buyers to look the product code in the insides of the bags or shoes. This code can help trace the products’ manufacturing date and country of origin from the brands’ website. Brands like Louis Vuttion also provide buyers a date code which helps in authenticating the product.

A fast changing trend

Knowledge also helps thrift sellers determine the authenticity of their products. For example, Riva Rokade, a student of styling and mass communication, scouts through heaps of clothes before making her final selection. The Mumbai-based stylist launched The Vintage Laundry in Feb 2020 but had to shut it for two months due to the lockdown. She visits her suppliers to curate the clothes. However, this was not possible during the lockdown. Even after easing of restrictions, she could sell only five clothes every week. Now, she sells around 30 pieces every week. Most of Rokade’s clothes are sold within two or three days. She mostly sells jumpsuits, flowing pants, sweatpants and baggy shirts. Hoping for fashion trends to change soon, Rokade is geared up to face the challenge.

The Italian fashion brand, Benetton India plans to open 30 to 40 new stores in the Indian market this year and will also launch its online store in the second half of the year.

Sundeep Chugh, CEO and General Manager, Benetton India, said, the brand aims to get back to its 2019 business performance. In the festival season, business recovered by almost 80 to 85 percent compared to the same period in the previous year. The e-commerce channel is growing with a high double-digit CAGR due to the low penetration. Benetton India will continue to use this opportunity in the right way.

The brand entered India back in 1991 and has a network of around 350 physical stores throughout the country. It further aspires to grow online and offline, and capture more of the offline Indian market in 2021.

Gautam Singhania, Chairman & Managing Director, Raymond believes the Budget would boost India’s economic growth besides easing the process of doing business in the country. Singhania particularly appreciated the government’s decision to set up seven new textile parks under the Mega Investment Textile Parks scheme.

The increased outlays on infrastructure would help India create world-class infrastructure, he said. He also welcomed the government’s move to double the allocation for MSMEs to Rs 15,700 crore.

Singhania also hailed the government’s decision to introduce an alternate debt resolution mechanism and a special framework. The government also proposes to reduce the margin money requirement from 25 percent to 15 percent for startups.

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