The ongoing pandemic has given brands and retailers an opportunity to attract consumers with new and emerging technologies. Brands now need to move away from the previous policy of consumers coming to stores and bring their products closer to consumers. As per a CyberMedia report, this can be done by choosing the virtual world of retailing to sustain and succeed.

India is among one of the fastest growing e-commerce markets that makes it the largest global destination for fashion retail. The country’s logistical services ensure quick deliveries, encouraging consumers to boost their fashion purchases. Easy returns policy also encourages them to increase purchase while brands penetrate new towns and villages.

Lockdown raises demand for cotton knitted fabrics

India’s investments in fast fashion have been increasing for the last few years. New and innovative features have helped the industry increase production capacity and supply chain efficiency. However, COVID-19 has impacted the industry with lockdowns and restrictions on industrial operations have led to a drop in fashion production. Industry players have been struggling to tide over this crisis through cost rationalization.

Demand for cotton woven fabrics has declined in the last few months. However, demand for cotton knitted fabrics has increased due to a rise in ‘Work from Home’ culture. This trend is likely to continue over the next half decade as more consumers will shop for casual and comfortable clothes. Demand for reusable hygienic cotton masks will also increase as they will become a part of daily attire.

AR technologies to boost fashion purchases

To ensure consumers of the safety of fashion purchases, brands and industry players would have to incorporate AR technologies into their online fashion retail space. This will help them create trust in customers’ minds. Retailers would also have to adopt right pricing strategies to encourage consumers to buy.

By adopting these policies, the Indian fashion retail segment can not only bounce back from the pandemic effects but also cement its position in the global market.

The consolidated net profit of Grasim Industries rose by 13 percent in the fourth quarter ended March 31, as against Rs 2,309crore in the year-ago period. As per Fashion Network, the company’s revenue for the quarter rose by 26 percent to Rs 24,399 crore, as compared with Rs 19,349 crore it posted in the corresponding period in the previous fiscal year.

For the full financial year 2020-21, Grasim’s net profit grew 5 percent to Rs 6,986 crore from last fiscal’s Rs 6,638 crore while its revenue grew by 2 percent to Rs 76,397 crore from Rs 75,140 crore in 2019-20.

The company recorded a strong performance in all its businesses in Q4FY21. However, the impact of the second COVID-19 on its business is yet to be assessed.

Grasim Industries is the largest producer and seller of viscose staple fibre with a market share of almost 100 percent in India.

Raymond’s Q4 consolidated net profit has declined 15.5 per cent. However, the company’s total income increased 9.03 per cent to Rs 1,407.45 crore as against Rs 1,290.87 crore in the corresponding period of the previous fiscal. Hari Singhania, Chairman and Managing Director says, topline growth witnessed in Q4 was mainly driven by the branded textile business along with strong momentum maintained in engineering and real estate businesses and overall higher profit margins, led by focused efforts on reducing operational costs.

Raymond's revenue from textiles increased 24.09 per cent to Rs 722.10 crore as against Rs 581.90 crore earlier. Revenue from shirting segment increased 12.2 per cent to Rs 133.17 crore from Rs 118.69 crore. However, revenues from the apparel segment dropped 39.5 per cent to Rs 174.96 crore as against Rs 289.27 crore.

For the fiscal year 2020-21, Raymond reported a net loss of Rs 303.65 crore. It had posted a net profit of Rs 201.76 crore in the previous year. Total income for the entire fiscal dropped 44.5 per cent to Rs 3,647.83 crore. It was Rs 6,578.30 crore in 2019-20.

Flipkart has defended its stance of charging lower operating fees for sellers who reduce their products’ prices on the platform. The e-commerce company alongwith Amazon is locked in a court battle with the Competition Commission of India against the latter’s attempt to restart investigations into their business practices. Flipkart and Amazon have often been accused by brick-and-mortar Indian retailers of bypassing FDI rules to favor a few sellers and influencing products’ prices on the platform. However, both players have refuted these allegations.

Flipkart's counsel Harish Salve told a two-judge bench that the e-tailer sees nothing wrong in telling sellers they will be charged a lower fee, if they reduce their prices. However, Khandelwal criticized Flipkart’s stance saying, the FDI policy specifically provides marketplace should not influence prices.

The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT) has urged Commerce Minister Piyush Goyal to revise India's Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) policy to ensure control over the funds flowing into foreign funded e-commerce entities like Amazon and Flipkart. B C Bhartia, National President and Praveen Khandelwal, Secretary General, CAIT said, despite solemn declarations made by the minister on various public platforms, companies continue to flout FDI policy.

The most rampant and subsisting violation by Amazon and Flipkart has been the creation of a complex web of affiliated entities, by way of equity control or economic participation.

Preferential treatment to a 'few preferred sellers', predatory pricing, deep discounting, controlling inventory and making e-commerce an area of uneven level playing field are some of ways in which e-commerce companies have been violating rules, they added.

The Maharashtra Government has launched Smart Cotton, a World Bank-sponsored project, to help farmers in the state grow quality cotton by inculcating best practices right at their farms.

Jayesh Mahajan, Senior Official, Maharashtra Cooperative Cotton Growers Federation, points out, per hectare yield of cotton in Maharashtra is between 8-9 quintals as compared to the 14-15 quintals/hectare yields nationally. Worldwide, cotton growers see much higher yields of 24-25 quintal/hectare, with US farmers reporting 55 quintal/hectares.

As per Indian Express, the Smart Cotton projectaims to transform the complete value chain to help Indian cotton command a premium price in the world market, he adds.

In the next five years, the project aims to see Maharashtra produce 10 lakh bales (each bale with 170 kg pressed ginned cotton) of branded cotton from these village clusters. The bales would be branded by the government of Maharashtra, which will act as a third party auditor.

The project will have an extensive technology arm with block-chain traceability being the backbone of the same. Mahajan hopes that the technological aspect will provide complete backward traceability of cotton.00

TT Ltd has cancelled its MoU with Resilient Cotspin. The MoU involved selling of the company’s Rajula, Gujarat-based spinning mill assets to Resilient Cotspin, The company is searching new buyers.

TT Ltd is the flagship company of the 71 years old TT Group. Founded by Dr Rikhab Chand Jain, the company covers the entire textile sector from cotton, yarn and fabrics to garments and accessories. It is a vertically integrated and ISO 9001 Certified garment manufacturer and registered under Three Star Export House. The company has 25 franchise production units at eight different locations while its dealer network extends to 500 Wholesalers throughout India.

TT is also the first Indian knitwear company to go public. It has offices in New Delhi, Kolkata, Avinashi and Rajula while manufacturing facilities are located at Gajroula (UP), Avinashi (Tamil Nadu), Kolkata (West Bengal), Rajula (Gujarat).

Higher revenues from operations helped Arvind Fashions narrow its consolidated net loss in the fourth quarter ended March 2021 quarter to Rs 99.45 crore. The company reported a net loss of Rs 208.12 crore during the quarter against the corresponding quarter last year.

The company’s revenue from operations increased 14 per cent to Rs 768.59 crore during the quarter as against Rs 673.31 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago. COVID-19 has severely impacted business resulting in inventory build-up and slower collection of receivables. With easing of lockdown restrictions, the group's performance for the subsequent quarters has been progressively better, until the same was once again impacted somewhat in the current quarter due to the second wave of COVID-19. However, the company remains confident of scaling powerful brands in its portfolio in the medium term, says Shailesh Chaturvedi, Managing Director and CEO.

Fashion retailers are seeking rental rebates from high-street landlords and shopping malls as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to play havoc with their businesses. As per Money Control report, Benetton India is negotiating with landlords for complete waivers on rentals for stores, where business has come to a standstill, due to the lockdown

Another player Cantabil Retail India has invoked force majeure in cities, where its stores are not operational due to the Covid-induced curbs. Out of the company’s over 300 stores only 12 stores are operational at moment

Value retailers, which have a good presence in the smaller towns and hence fared better last year as compared to the metro and tier-I focussed retail chains, are also impacted this time around.

Retailers report that though landlords at high-streets and other locations, have been more open to negotiate rentals, shopping malls are reluctant to extend relief this time around — understandably so.

According to a report released by the Shopping Centres Association of India (SCAI) in April, the industry’s revenue dropped by almost half due to local restrictions in mid-March, whereas prior to this it was clocking Rs 1500 crore revenue per mon