The fourth quarter net profit of Dollar Industries increased by 58 per cent t to Rs 19 crore ($2.7 million) as against a net profit of Rs 12 crore it had reported in the year-ago period. The company’s revenues during the quarter grew 29 per cent to Rs 308 crore, as against Rs 237 crore it reported in the corresponding period of the previous year.

For the financial year 2020-21, the company reported a net profit of Rs 87 crore on a revenue of Rs 1,040 crore. Vinod Kumar Gupta, Managing Director says, the year has been overshadowed by the Coronavirus where the economy is hit but the company reported positive revenue growth. Raw-material prices stabilized a bit in the fourth quarter before showing uncertainty in prices again. However, the company is poised to continue its growth journey.

During the financial year, Dollar Industries also revamped its brand identity by launching a new logo and campaign, ‘Wear the change’ to cater to widen its customer base in the country.

Designer Sakshe Bhatt Somani has launched her apparel and home furnishing brand Humra online.

As per reports, the brand is inspired by Rajasthan’s traditional hand block prints on premium cotton fabric. Its name is derived from the arabic word, meaning ‘beautiful’ and ‘rose’ or ‘as beautiful as a blooming red rose.’ The e-commerce brand works directly with the local artisans in its endeavour to promote Atmanirbharta or ‘Vocal for Local’.

Húmra’s new Summer 2021 collection includes beautiful easy breezy kaftans in attractive prints and colors like zig-zag indigo, pink strawberry and yellow elephants, new vibrant pastel shades and floral prints, Indo-western top bottom suit sets with izhaar pants as well as short kurtis.

Started with the exquisite collection of bed linen, back in the year 2018, the brand gained popularity locally first, selling through word of mouth in Gurugram and Delhi and by taking part in small pop-ups and trunk shows. The journey started with a wide range of bedcover sets, bedsheet sets and Jaipuri quilts famous for their fine quality and before spring’19 it was time to add a range of apparels. This is when the brand introduced kurtis, unstitched suits with cotton, chiffon as well as kotadoriadupattas and along with gota-patti work to scale up the look.

The fourth quarter net profit of innerwear and apparel maker Lux Industries jumped 118 per cent to Rs 91 crore as against a net profit of Rs 41 crore reported in corresponding quarter last year. The company’s revenue during the quarter rose 48 per cent to Rs 595 crore, as against Rs 402 crore reported in the corresponding period of the last financial year.

For the financial year 2020-21, Lux Industries’ net profit rose to Rs 269 crore while revenues grew to Rs 1,943 crore. The company witnessed healthy growth in its premium and export segments during the lockdown, says Ashok Kumar Todi, Chairman. Todi expects Q1 FY22 to be relatively weak due to the pandemic and business is expected to improve gradually from the second quarter of the year.

The second COVID-19 wave and a rapid surge in COVID cases has led to a decline in retail rentals in high-street markets of Kala Ghoda, Bandra Linking Road and Fort Road in Mumbai, says a new report by Anarock Property Consultants. As per this report, several prominent high streets in India have witnessed reduced monthly rentals over the last year. The current average monthly rents in Kala Ghoda, Fort Road range between Rs 450-500 per sq ft each whereas in Bandra Linking Road they range between Rs 750-800 per sq ft.

Last year was also transformative for many industries. One of the country's largest GDP contributors and also the largest employment generators, the real estate sector underwent a turbulent change, it adds. .

The report expects demand for commercial units to remain subdued during FY2022 owning to rising work from home and shared workspace culture. The outlook for malls too continues to remain negative due to limited footfalls and growing popularity of e-commerce.

The Karnataka government has enabled the fashion and beauty to restart online operations by permitting e-commerce companies to deliver all goods during the state’s ongoing lockdown.

As per Fashion Network, the order was issued after Karnataka state capital Bengaluru continued to report declining COVID-19 cases. The new regulations came into effect on May 26, 2021 after e-commerce deliveries had reached a standstill in some areas due to local authorities restricting the movement of people and goods.

The relaxing of delivery regulations will be a boon to many companies As Bengaluru is a large market for many e-commerce businesses. Daily coronavirus cases in the hit a 43-day low from May 18 to 26. However, deaths in the city increased from 250 on May 18 to 350 on May 25, the Deccan Herald reported. Although some of these fatalities have been attributed to backlog reconciliation, the city’s case fatality rate appears to be increasing.

Schulen Fernandes has quit as the Creative Director of the Wendell Rodricks label. As per Midday reports, the young designer held the pilot role for the iconic resort wear label for four years. She was handpicked as successor by the late designer Wendell Rodricks.

A student at SNDT University, Fernandes took over as creative director of the label in 2016. Her decision marks a shift in the life of the label that was acquired by Mumbai-based luxury fashion house Purple Style Labs (PSL) in December 2020. In late April this year, the label decided not to make any new designs or launch any new season collection for the next 6-12 months. It saw no purpose in a new collection as it already had a huge archive of designs.

The Wendell Rodricks label was founded by an Indian fashion designer of the same name. He was also an activist for social causes, the environment, and gay rights. In 2014, the Government of India conferred upon him its fourth-highest civilian award, the Padma Shri.

The net loss of Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) widened to Rs 196 crore in Q4 FY21 against Rs 147 crore loss posted in the year ago period. The company reported earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation (EBITDA) at Rs 253 crore in Q4 FY21 against Rs 167 crore in Q4 FY20.

Revenues remained flat at Rs 1,822 crore in Q4 FY21 as compared to Rs 1,832 crore in Q4 FY20 due to COVID-19 induced lockdowns and restrictions in movements.

The company set up over 400 new stores in FY21 besides rationalizing its store network. It scaled up across town classes through asset light model and focused on new product categories in line with changing consumer preferences for more casual and active wear.

To mitigate the COVID-19 impact on profitability, the company rationalized over Rs 1,200 crore of costs during the year. It also reduced debts from Rs 2,511 crore to Rs 654 crore through a mix of operating cash flows and equity infusion.

E-commerce giant Flipkart has expanded its seller financing program ‘Flipkart Growth Capital’ and partnered with lenders to give sellers access to credit through its ‘Working Capital’ programme.

As per Fashion Network, Flipkart’s Growth Capital initiative is designed to encourage growth, and promote micro, small, and medium enterprises. The application process for Flipkart’s Growth Capital finance initiative is now swifter and sellers have access to credit options of up to Rs 5 crore, the business announced on May 27.

The move is designed to support Flipkart sellers, especially as many are struggling with the second wave of Covid-19. Partnering with more lenders has enabled the business to provide an increased array of finance opportunities.

Flipkart continues to democratize its marketplace platform to not only make it more inclusive but also build on technology and innovation to help our seller partners with their digital journeys and ambitions, said Ranjith Boyanpalli, Senior Vice President-Marketplace, Fintech and Payments.

Swedish home furnishing retailer IKEA expanded its omni-channel offerings in India with the launch of a new shopping app. The app will help IKEA connect with customers. It will be available on both iOS and Android platforms and will offer consumers 7,000 home furnishing products. The app will include features like include product recommendations, ratings, and reviews, along with easier searching and browsing experience. It will personalize users’ feed with images and products based on their interests and purchases.

IKEA plans to expand the app to more cities to meet demands of 100 million people in the coming years, says Kavita Rao, Country Commercial Manager. The app allows customers to add the products to their shopping list even while physically browsing through the products in the store. Moreover, a customer can also find a built-in barcode scanner which will help them learn more details about the products including materials and dimensions.

With the COVID-19 led lockdowns spiraling unemployment levels to 17.4 per cent, retail sales in India declined by almost 72 per cent in April, estimates a survey by the Retail Association of India (RAI).

Restricted hours, nonessentials dampen retail sales

As per a CNBC TV18 report, retailers have been impacted more by the second COVID-19 wave than the first. Restrictions on operating hours have dampened demand for most retailers who are urging state governments to extend operating hours beyond 11 am, says Kumar Rajgopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India.

The RAI survey shows, sales of non-essential items dipped almost 66 per cent in April. Most of this decline was noted in the sports goods category followed by footwear, beauty-wellness-personal care, jewelry, consumer durables and electronics as well as clothing. Recovery in these categories is expected to be slow as consumers are unwilling to step out of homes even after lifting of lockdowns in certain areas, says CK Venkatramaran, Managing Director, Titan. The distinction between essential and non-essential items may also hurt retailers, adds Arvind Mediratta, MD & CEO, Metro Cash & Carry India. In May, small businesses selling non-essentials products reported almost zero sales, he adds.

Aviation eyes profitability by 2023

The aviation sector too has been badly hit by the second COVID wave. The sector is unlikely to return to profitability before 2023 and would need $5 billion to recover from the COVID-induced losses, opines Kapil Kaul, CEO, Indian sub-continent, CAPA. In its annual India Aviation Outlook, the aviation consultancy firm urged the central government to bring air turbine fuel (ATF) under the ambit of GST, reduce excise on ATF and IGST on aviation spares. However, the government aims to first reduce the rate of daily reported cases and boost vaccinations before it promises fiscal stimulus to any sector.

Siyaram’s Silk Mills posted net profitof Rs.57.83 crorein its fourth quarter that March 31, 2021 as against net loss of Rs.27.51 crores for the quarter ended December 31, 2020.

As per Equity Bulls, the company reported total income of Rs.522.96 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.391.84 crore during the quarter ended December 31, 2020. Its EPS grew to Rs.12.34 during the fourth quarter as compared to Rs.5.87 in the third quarter

Siyaram’s Silk Mills posted net profit of Rs.57.83 crore for the period ended March 31, 2021 as against net loss of Rs.22.75 crore for the period ended March 31, 2020.

The company reported total income of Rs.522.96 crore during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.482.66 crore during the period ended March 31, 2020. Its EPS grew to Rs.12.34 for the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs.4.85 for the period ended March 31, 2020.

Year 2020 taught Indian consumers to value their rich clothing heritage. Clothes that had been passed from generations gained in importance for their sustainability. Corsets, pouf shoulders and lacey blouses began appearing on streets, social media feeds and runways as consumers went vintage shopping.

Collection reflecting 19th century idealism

The spring/summer 2021 collections of Christian Dior and Valentino focused on disco and balloon sleeves while the fall/winter collections continued to be dominated by retro styles in pastel colors. Inspired by Victorian silhouettes, Los Angeles-based designer Vidur Adlakha launched a new collection under his new label La Fuori, As per a Live Mint report, the collection featured ruffled dresses and exaggerated sleeves.

The latest collection by designers Gauri and Nainika also reflects a similar idealist philosophy. Featuring their signature floral work and ruffles, the collection is an ode to 19th century European fashion. It provides consumers with much-in demand evening wear without making them look overdressed, says designer Nainika Karan.

Demand fuelled by media channels

Much of the current demand for 19th century fashion has been fuelled by the Netflix series Bridgerton an American streaming TV period drama series that first released in the year 2000. Its release in India in December last year fuelled demand for vintage-style garments with big sleeves, low necks and empire lines to such an extent that Designer Pallavi Singhee’s label Verb registered 30 per cent increase in sales

Demand for corsets also spiked last year more than at any other time in the past five years. Preeti Yadav, Owner, Panda Pocket, a second-hand store on Instagram sold out almost all her corsets last year. She currently has 37,400 followers who are crazy for second-hand clothes.

Divya Saini, Owner, Bodemonts, an online vintage store believes, much of this demand for vintage clothing is fuelled by the freedom these garments offer consumers to express their individuality. Vintage clothes also make people aware of their huge clothing heritage and help curb over consumption, adds Saini.