Apparel brands & Retailers reluctant to take price hikes

21 April 2022, Mumbai:

Retailers and apparel brands including Lifestyle, Reliance Retail, Raymond, and Woodland said they will either hold product prices or take only marginal hikes despite unprecedented inflation across input costs as it could derail the recovery witnessed over the past few weeks.

"As a retailer, we have taken a stance of not increasing product prices for the next six months since it could affect the positive consumption trend we are seeing now," said Devarajan Iyer, chief executive of departmental store chain Lifestyle International.

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Retailers across apparel, lifestyle products, restaurants, and supermarkets are expected to post double-digit revenue growth year-on-year for the March quarter despite a slow start due to the Omicron wave, with the reopening of offices and schools, and weddings driving demand.

Amit Agarwal, group chief financial officer at Raymond, added that the company will look at cost efficiencies and reducing discounting instead of direct price hikes.

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India's largest retailer, Reliance Retail, has also decided not to increase the prices of the apparel owned by them fearing it could jeopardise demand generation.

In branded apparel, profitability has been under pressure for more than a year given sharp raw material inflation.

For instance, shoe and apparel maker Woodland managing director Harkirat Singh said raw material prices have gone up by 20-25% in the last 3-4 months, yet the company will not hike prices for the next few months.

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CREDITS: ET Pehal News News Nation India (The news article has not been edited by DFU Publications staff).