Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail expects to report a net profit of Rs 5,570 crore in FY21. It has become the fourth Indian company to top $100 billion valuation.

As per Times Now, the company is current valued at Rs 7.50 lakh crore. Last year RIL tweaked mandatory share swap ratios of Reliance Retail and began stake sales to global private equity funds.

Last year, Reliance Retail Venture, the holding company for Reliance Retail, raised nearly Rs 47,265 crore from global private equity funds by selling 10.09 per cent stake.

Now, investors are drawing comfort from the fact that the Reliance Group is rationalising business verticals across the board with no additional debt raising, the business daily mentioned citing brokers.

For the quarter ended December 31, 2020, Reliance Retail posted an 88 per cent year-on-year jump in net profit at Rs 1,830 crore on a turnover of Rs 37,845 crore.

The management early this year said that its grocery business and electronics stores maintained double-digit growth while the fashion and lifestyle business delivered a strong rebound, surpassing pre-COVID levels.

The advertising world is changing with brands replacing product promotions with COVID-19 related content and messages on their social media handles reports Economic Times. Clothing brand United Colors of Benetton for example, has reserved a slot on its social media handle for urgent posts. Similarly, Cosmetic brand L'oreal India has replaced product promotion on online channels with socially relevant messages.

PepsiCo posted a message emphasizing the importance of masking on its Instagram page. The brand is also spreading social distancing measures and encouraging its consumers to stay at home during these difficult times. However, most of these initiatives are limited to the digital world. Brands continue to promote their products on TV though their investments in these campaigns have reduced, says Mamtah Sabhrwal, Director-Strategy, Isobar.

Small business hit the pause button

First COVID-19 wave shut over 82 per cent of retail businesses in India. Of these, 70 per cent are not expected to recover for at least a year, says a survey of 250 businesses in the manufacturing and services sector by Dun & Bradstreet. This has left small advertising agencies in a fix on whether to continue or halt brand promotion activities. One such digital marketing agency Django Digital has urged brands to restrict promotions for a few weeks, informs Aashay Shah, Co-Founder.

Rise of sensitive marketing

Online influencers and celebrities have also paused brand promotions activities for the time being. A leading lifestyle influencer Massom Minawala Mehta, who has worked with brands like L’oreal and Dior, has decided to postpone most of her brand campaigns. While digital content creator Rasna Bhasin has converted her Instagram handle into a COVID emergency handle.

Brands that continue to promote their products on social media are infusing their marketing campaigns with socially relevant messages. Content creators are making entertaining videos to spread positivity amongst people. Focusing on the community’s well-being, brands’ marketing content has become real over the last few years.

Shirt brand Bombay Shirt Company has teamed up with textile brand Safomasi for a collaborative collection of bright shirts. The brand launched the line on its e-commerce store.

As per Fashion Network, the collection comprises three specially designed prints featuring whimsical imagery of crossed fingers, horseshoes, and lucky cats. The gender-neutral shirts have launched on Bombay Shirt Company’s dedicated e-commerce store priced at Rs 2,500 ($33.59).

Safomasi, a textile brand based between India and the UK, is known for its bright, cheerful prints and also creates a range of homeware including cushions. The collaborative collection mixes Bombay Shirt Company’s classic shirt tailoring with Safomasi’s bespoke textile design.

As Bombay Shirt Company is based in Mumbai, it has been forced to temporarily halt its operations due to the state-wide lockdown.

Omnichannel children’s retailer Firstcry plans to launch India’s largest Thrasio-style investment venture with $75 million in capital commitment from investors such as Japan’s Softbank, TPG and Premji Invest.

As per Economic Times, Global Bees will buy, consolidate and fast-track the growth of brands that sell products on ecommerce marketplaces in India.

The model popularized by US-based Thrasio – the world’s largest acquirer of third-party private label businesses on Amazon - is picking up pace in India. About half a dozen investors have already set out to start their own ventures to acquire and grow companies this way.

Thrasio has within three years of launch acquired, consolidated and scaled up about 100 brands on Amazon. The profitable company has raised $1.7 billion across debt and equity and is worth $3-$4 billion, according to news reports.

Global Bees will look to acquire 30-40 direct to consumer firms over the next three to four years, investing around $2-$6 million in each. It will use the deep consumer insights that founders and investors have gained over the years to help them grow, one person said.

Global Bees will look to partner or acquire brands across categories and will not limit it to Firstcry’s mainstay children’s category, the person, who has direct knowledge of the company’s plans.

Lenskart’s acquisition of essential delivery start-up DailyJoy will help it strengthen its operations and expand its footprint in the domestic and overseas market. Lenskart has also opened a technology centre in Hyderabad to provide employment in various teams across product, design and development, quality engineering, front end developers, java developers, android and IOS developers and data science engineers.

The company plans to strengthen its team by employing over 100 people across engineering, product and design verticals in the next six months. Satish Sharma, ex-CEO, DailyJoy says, the collaboration will help synchronize the company’s synergies with Lenskart and add value to their remarkable journey going forward in the ever-evolving eye-wear industry.

Founded in 2010, Lenskart is funded by Softbank, Kedaara Capital, TPG, IFC, Premji Invest, and other marquee investors. The start-up is described as a unicorn as its valuation has crossed $1 billion.

Footwear major Relaxo Footwear, which ramped up production early this year, expects sales to improve in this fiscal despite the second COVID-19 wave. The company expects surplus production coupled with learning from last lockdown to help improve sales. It relies on Tier II, III and IV cities to drive growth led by footwear, sneakers and athleisure categories.

Ramesh Kumar Dua, Managing Director says, Relaxo will continue to perform better in rural and upcountry markets. Though a majority of the company’s business is done through its distributors and retail stores, it is also strengthening e-commerce presence. Relaxo is a leading footwear maker in India and sells under brands Sparx, Flite, and Bahamas. It currently has over 300 exclusive-brand outlets across the country.

For its fourth quarter ending March 31, 2021, Bombay Dyeing and Manufacturing company posted a net loss of Rs 166.74 crore as against Rs 82.46 crore profit reported financial results for the period ended December 31, 2020.

The company reported total income of Rs 507.75 crore during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs 396.13 crore during the period ended December 31, 2020.

The company reported EPS of Rs 8.07 for the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs (3.99) for the period ended December 31, 2020. On a yearly basis, the company reported total income of Rs 507.75 crore during the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs 317.30 crore during the period ended March 31, 2020.

Net loss was Rs 166.74 crore for the period ended March 31, 2021 as against net profit of Rs 48.57 crore for the period ended March 31, 2020. The company reported EPS of Rs 8.07 for the period ended March 31, 2021 as compared to Rs 2.35 for the period ended March 31, 2020.

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Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged Piyush Goyal, Minister of Industry and Commerce to act against foreign e-commerce companies allegedly flouting lockdown norms to deliver non-essential items and unfairly gaining market share at the cost of small merchants.

Praveen Khandelwal, General Secretary, CAIT, alleged that Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart have been making illegitimate financial gains by supplying non-essential items such as mobile phones, kitchen appliances, electronics and accessories during the lockdown.

He accused foreign e-commerce companies of delivering mobile phones as restrictions imposed by the state government do not allow physical stores to operate

He urge the Minister to prohibit these foreign e-commerce entities from gaining market share at the cost and life of small and medium kirana stores in India because Kirana stores have formed the backbone of the industry over the years.

Designer Raghavendra Rathore has launched a women’s wear range for summer. The new collection is inspired by the classic look of the bandhgala that has been reinterpreted for women. It offers more casual options to suit the ‘new normal’. Its light fabrics and monochrome prints make the collection extremely comfortable besides offering customers varied options.

Rathore’s eponymous brand Raghavendra Rathore Jodhpur has a small women’s wear segment that specializes in gender neutral tuxedos and occasion wear. The new summer collection marks its entry into the casual ready-to-wear market with clothes designed for a wide array of occasions.

Raghavendra Rathore Jodhpur is currently also focusing on charitable initiatives through its Raghavendra Rathore Foundation. The organization is pursuing partnerships to aid its work in giving back to society. The brand is considered as a Mecca

As India races to contain a second wave of Corona virus, artisans employed by garment factories in Mumbai are facing a harsh new reality. With red-carpet dresses and cocktail outfit orders disappearing, orders from Western fashion houses were either reduced by 70 per cent or cancelled, says Max Modesti, Founder, Les Ateliers, 2M, a Mumbai-based embroidery firm. Luxury Houses Chanel, Hermes and Louis Vuttiion were the only brands that increased orders. This has led to jobs losses for around 140 million artisans since March 2020, estimates Mumbai-based Center for Monitoring Indian Economy. Left with no work and place to live, many artisans have returned to their native villages.

Suppliers go bankrupt as safety measures increase costs

According to Modesti, export houses and suppliers who tried to reopen their shops last year went bankrupt as the costs of virus-related safety measures increased their operational costs. Worst affected were the Utthan suppliers, that had made heavy investments on compliance requirements like sleep dormitories for workers in recent years. Rosey Hurst, Founder, Impact , the Mumbai-based consultancy firm that manages the Utthan notes, many brands stopped employing hand embroidery ateliers between March and July 2020 due to heavy order disruption.

During this period, Utthan signatories teamed up with Mumbai exporters to protect jobs and support payments of over 1,000 karigars informally employed by Utthan subcontractors.

Pandemic-led fears threaten survival

Though many of artisans are now being employed Indian bridal designers, pandemic-related fears are preventing them from stepping out of their homes for work. Most karigars are Muslim men, an increasingly socially marginalized section of the society. Their situation is likely to persist till 2022, threatening the survival of their art.

Like all other markets, the luxury fashion rental market too is bearing the brunt of recurrent COVID-induced lockdowns. As per Money Control, almost 80 per cent property owners in Indian high streets have witnessed 14 per cent decline in their rents. One of these prominent high streets is New Delhi’s Khan Market whose rents have fallen and thereby Khan Market’s position as one amongst the top 20 most expensive retail high street markets in APAC has dropped to rank 21, says a report by Cushman & Wakefield.

However, despite this, Khan Market continues to be the most expensive retail market in India with a rent of $195 per sq ft. The second position in this category is occupied by old retail hub Connaught Place which covets a rent of $153 per sq ft. The third most expensive market is the DLF Galleria in Gurgaon whose rent is $113 per sq ft.

Lockdowns lead to 9 per cent decline in rents

As per the Cushman & Wakefield report, recurrent lockdowns have led to an average 9 per cent decline in rents across India. This rents ranged between 18 per cent and 14 per cent in Kolkata and Bengaluru respectively while the decline was limited to less than 2 per cent in Chennai and Ahmedabad.

Rents for almost 60 per cent high streets in the Asia Pacific region declined in 2020. One of the worst impacted was Hong Kong’s premier shopping district Causeway Bay, whose rents declined 43 per cent to HK$870 per sq ft per month.

Anshul Jain, Managing Director India and South East Asia says, the APAC region already has the largest base of global e-commerce users. Hence, its shift to online shopping post pandemic is perfectly comprehensible. The pandemic has also led to rise of the localization trend as shoppers preferred to shop from local brands to help them survive through the pandemic.

Around 50 per cent of 8,000 consumers surveyed by Rakuten Advertising reported spending on local brands. They are also avoiding international online brands and spending their money on domestic markets.

Omnichannel retail to boost luxury purchases

The pandemic has also increased the share of online luxury purchases from 12 per cent in 2019 to 23 per cent in 2020, says analyst Bain & Company. Consumers can now enjoy an omni-channel retail experience while shopping for luxury goods. This is likely to boost their luxury purchases leading to a further evolution of the luxury fashion goods sector, says the report.

Though the recovery of high streets is likely to be slow, global roll out of vaccine programs and the gradual return of retailers to normalcy will accelerate the overall recovery of retail sector, says the report.

However, this would also split consumer spending between value added and luxury goods. The global luxury retail sector rebounded within a year after the 2008 global financial crisis. This time too, the quick recovery of Chinese luxury sector paints an optimistic picture for luxury retailers.