India’s textile and apparel exports have declined by 13 per cent in 2020-2021, according to the provisional data available with the Cotton Textiles Export Promotion Council shows.

The exports were worth $29 billion last year as against $34 billion in 2019-2020. Exports of ready-made garments declined 20.78 per cent last financial year compared with the previous year, while exports of man-made textile items fell by 21.20 per cent.

Siddhartha Rajagopal, Executive Director, says, cotton textiles exports declined by 2.12 per cent due to COVID spread and its impact on exports last April and May. However, all textile and clothing segments, including carpet, jute, apparel, and MMF products, showed significant growth in March this year and this trend is said to have continued in April too,.

Textile and clothing exports are expected to do well at least till June since countries such as the US and U.K. are looking up and China has also started buying, he added.

The apparel industry is also anticipating a revival in global demand during the current financial year. A. Sakthivel, Chairman, AEPC points out, in pril last year, apparel exports were just $127 million, while last month it was $1,294 million With the current trend, the industry can look at a 20 per cent growth in apparel exports this financial year. However, it also depends on the pandemic and its impact world over.

Restructuring a bulk of its onshore debt has led to Future Retail’s long-term issuer default rating being downgraded from distressed to restricted default by Fitch Ratings. Fitch affirmed the rating on Future Retail‘s $500 million 5.6 per cent senior secured notes due 2025 at ''distressed' with a recovery rating of 'RR5.

The Distressed Debt Exchange provides relief on debt servicing requirements until September 30 but the resultant debt structure and maturity profile remain unsustainable. Fitch believes, FRL restructuring does not meaningfully address its financial stress, which is essential for its upgrade after the completion of the DDE.

Fitch said the resurgence of coronavirus in India and FRL's poor access to credit will make it difficult for the company to meet the interest payments on debt that was not part of the restructuring, particularly the US-dollar notes.

The company will also need to rely on alternative sources such as new equity partners and disposals to meet its large debt repayments after September as agreed in the restructuring plan.

The fourth quarter consolidated net profit of Tata group firm Trent Company rose by 66 per cent to Rs 568 crore ($76.7 million) as against Rs 343 crore it posted in the corresponding quarter last year.

The company’s total income during the quarter rose by 59 percent to Rs 7,551 crore, as against Rs 4,753 crore in the year-ago period.

However, for the financial year 2020-21, Titan's net profit declined by 35 percent to Rs 974 crore from last year’s Rs 1,493 crore while its total income for the year grew by 3 percent to Rs 21,830 crore from Rs 21,205 crore in 2019-20.

While the profits before tax and exceptional items for the year are lower than the previous year, mainly due to the impact of the pandemic on the business mix, the company did exceptionally well on the cost optimization program and cash generation front, says CK Venkataraman, Managing Director, Titan. It has also become stronger in each of its business segments, he adds.

By the end of the fourth quarter, Titan Ltd had f 1,909 stores with a retail area crossing 2.5 million sqft for all its brands covering 303 towns.

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CREDITS: Fashion Network.

E-tailers are introducing new solutions for sellers suffering from pandemic-led effects.

Startup Dealshare is doubling its pace of transforming business in small towns to online platforms.

This helps the company enable local businesses to a part of the e-tailing landscape, says Sankar Bora, Founder and CEO. The company plans to onboard 1,000 franchises across 50 cities by December 2021.

Social commerce platform Meesho plans to bring 100 million small businesses and entrepreneurs online. It is also designing strategies to drive higher conversions from offline sellers.

Reliance-owned JioMart’s online grocery delivery has witnessed three times growth in kirana partnerships and added 10 new cities to its existing 23 cities.

The platform has onbaorded 650 new brands and added 2,265 cities. Besides fee waivers and refunds for its sellers,

Amazon India is taking several steps to mitigate the negative impact on sellers’ performance metrics due to defaults caused by the pandemic and the resulting restrictions on seller accounts, says Manish Tiwary, Vice President.

To help India through its second COVID-19 wave, many fashion brands are offering their proceeds to NGOs supporting the cause. As per a Desi Blitz report, global sculptural design jewelry brand Misho Designs has committed 100 per cent of the proceeds from its Mina Sung Cuffs to COVID-19 relief charities. The brand also plans to donate 10 per cent of its overall sales.

Similarly, Bengaluru-based brand Aranyani plans to donate a percentage of its profits to COVID-19 relief. It is also ensuring all its workers are retained and given food and medical insurance.

Established Indian label AM:PM is donating 30 per cent of all sales throughout May 2021. The funds will go to an NGO helping to make Covid-19 vaccinations free and accessible. Until May 5, 2021, 100 per cent of sales from Drawn’s True-Blue Belted Dress will go to Hemkunt Foundation, which is working to get oxygen cylinders distributed across India. The dress is priced at £30. Also working with Hemkunt Foundation is brand Jodi Life which is donating 50 per cent of its sales to the NGO until Sunday, May 2, 2021. The brand is also offering a 20 per cent discount on all sales online using the code Jodicares.

Demi-fine handcrafted jewelry brand Tanzire is pledging 100 per cent of its sales to COVID-19 relief. The brand is donating its sales to both Hemkunt and Mission Oxygen India until Monday, May 3, 2021. Other Indian labels rallying together for India’s COVID-19 relief are Isharya, Eurumme and Twinkle Hanspal.

Currently retailing from its e-commerce store, handbag brand Mistry plans to open its first brick-and-mortar store the brand has also partnered with the Hemkunt Foundation for a COVID-19 relief initiative, reports Fashion Network.

Known for its crescent moon-shaped ‘Selena’ mini bags, Mistry also plans to continue to expand its product line made from reclaimed leather hides and work towards a zero waste model. It wants its leather bags to be a tactile experience for its audience, and to be able to meet some of its customers and patrons in real life. The brand has launched the ‘Mistry for COVID Relief’ which will see the brand donate 30 per cent of its revenue to the Hemkunt Foundation. The organization is working to provide people with oxygen and essential supplies during the current crisis.

Literally translating to a master artisan in English, Mistry celebrates its craftsmen who work meticulously to bring every design to life. Born during a pandemic, the label is one of the many businesses that has been successful during this time and has come a long way in such a short span.

A study by Anarock Retail of average rentals of iconic retail hubs reveals a 17 per cent drop in rents for India’s most expensive retail real estate, the Khan Market in New Delhi, and upto a 10 per cent decline for Bandra-Linking Road and Fort areas in Mumbai. Prolonged lockdowns and local restrictions, combined with reluctance of the public to go to physical stores and malls, led to brands cutting down their physical retail presence, says the report.

The only major metro that showed an upward trend was Hyderabad, where areas like Gachibowli, Banjara Hills and Jubilee Hills saw an uptick. According to Anarock, the average monthly rentals across major high street retail markets corrected between 2 and 30 per cent. The average monthly rentals at Khan Market declined from Rs 1,200 per sq. ft. last year to as low as Rs 1,000 per sq. ft. Rates in other posh Delhi hubs like GK-1 M Block market dropped from Rs 350-400 per sq. ft. to Rs 300-350 per sq. ft.

Rates in Bandra, Mumbai fell from Rs 1,000 to Rs 750-900 sq. ft. while in Park Street and Camac Street, Kolkata, they fell marginally. The decline was more acute at Garihat Rash Bihari Avenue, where rates fell from as high as Rs 260 to as low as Rs 160.

Reliance Retail’s net profit increased 45 per cent to Rs 2,247 crore in the fourth quarter of this financial year. The company’s revenues rose to Rs 46,099 crore from Rs 38,242 in the same period last year.

It recorded Rs 157,629 crore revenues throughout FY21, lower by 3.3 per cent compared to last year.

Its net profit for the fiscal was marginally higher by 0.6 per cent and reached Rs 5,481 crore. However, its cash profit for the year declined by 3.1 per cent to Rs 7,457 crore lower by 3.1 per cent. Despite the pandemic, the company added 1,456 stores during the year, and 12,711 of its physical stores were operational.

The company’s apparel and footwear business delivered a strong quarter with double-digit growth, led by higher conversions and bill values.

Trends registered a 2x growth in revenues from smaller towns, which contributed to 55 per cent of revenues. Whereas AJIO, too, sustained its strong momentum with 4x growth in revenues and a marked improvement across customer metrics and operating parameters over last year.

However, the emergence of the second wave of COVID-19 in March has adversely impacted footfalls, sentiment and operations. The business is well positioned and committed to relentlessly serve its customers in this volatile and uncertain environment. It has raised Rs 47,265 crore for 10.09 per cent stake from marquee global investors.

Retailers Association of India (RAI) has urged Finance Minister Nirmala Sitharaman to extend the emergency credit line guarantee scheme for retailers and grant a six-month loan moratorium.

As brick-and-mortar stores remain closed in many localities under lockdown and many online retailers face restricted operations, the RAI has asked the government to step in and aid the sector to mitigate the financial damage. As per Fashion Network, on April 28, the RAI asked Sitharaman for a moratorium on principal and interest of all loans for up to six months and a reduction of interest rates on all loans. The traders’ body also asked for an extension of the benefits of the emergency credit line guarantee scheme 3.0 to retail companies.

The RAI stated that around 80 per cent of retail outlets are closed due to various local lockdown restrictions which could lead to Rs 75,000 crore ($11.3 billion) becoming non-profitable assets should the Reserve Bank of India do nothing.

This will put at risk almost three million jobs directly in the retail sector, said the RAI. Associated sectors that depend upon retail would also be similarly impacted. In the textile sector alone, across the entire value chain almost 10 million jobs are at risk. Further, it will extinguish the engine that can kick-start a consumption led recovery for our economy.