Festive sales reach 65 per cent pre-COVID growth levels

This festive season, sales of major fashion brands touched 65-70 per cent of their pre-COVID levels. While overall trend through the COVID period was towards casual wear, consumers shopped bit for occasion wear too, says Siddharth Bindra, Managing Director, BIBA.

Bulk of the festival sales came from Tier II-III-IV markets. However, Tier I and metros also did well, adds J Suresh, Managing Director and CEO, Arvind Brands which saw upto 85 per cent sales recovery. Raymond too recorded majority of sales from smaller towns, says Ganesh Kumar, COO, Raymond Lifestyle. A bulk of its sales in fabric business came from the Rs 750-Rs 3,000 price points. The brand expects traction for its premium range during the upcoming wedding season, says Ganesh Kumar, COO.

As per Lalit Agrawal, Chairman and Managing Director, V-Mart saw higher traction in its Northern markets. He hopes the wedding season will drive up consumption. As most retailers considerably stepped up their omni-channel presence, online contributed between 30-40 per cent of sales. However, an overall growth in FY21 is unlikely since the first quarter was a wash-out