In response to increased public health concerns with on-going pandemic, lifestyle and fashion brand Roadster launched clothing and footwear made from anti-viral textiles. The brand has also expanded its product selection to launch a line of Augmented Reality Tees.

Roadster’s new line of AR T-shirts was developed by fashion e-commerce platform Myntra’s Innovation Labs design team. The new range of graphic tees feature a readable AR code which people can scan on the Myntra app on Android phones to bring the graphic to life with sounds and visuals designed to give the experience of being on the road.

The collection features six different scannable designs and the 100 per cent cotton T-shirts. The collection is designed to engage wearers, encourage them to use the Myntra app, and promote Roadster’s identity as a brand for riders. The anti-viral clothing line launched by the brand also includes footwear made from anti-viral textiles designed to kill 99.4 per cent of viral infections they come into contact with. The line features jackets, t-shirts, sneakers, and sweaters among other garments.

Roadster also embraced the shift to virtual events in the ‘new normal’ by holding an online music contest ‘Roadster Ok Please’ last year.

Almost a year after business was severely hit by pandemic-related disruptions; Future Group CEO Kishore Biyani expects normal sales to return by the end of January. The group, which operates popular retailing formats Big Bazaar, FBB, Central and Nilgiris - has seen sales touching almost 60 per cent of pre-COVID levels and that business has normalised to great extent.

Future Group, which entered into a Rs 24,713-crore deal with Reliance Industries to sell its retail business, has also received large orders from Jio Mart that is helping the retail major chart a strong comeback. Future Group companies and promoters together have a debt of over Rs 20,000 crore. On inventory position and stocks, Biyani has informed the stocks in stores are almost up to 80 per cent of what they were before the pandemic. However, it could be a while before the days of packed retail stores return.

Last month, CEO of Big Bazaar, Future Group hypermarket, Sadashiv Nayak had said the number of visitors in stores is increasing and during the festive season all sections, including apparels and garments, recorded good sales.

Future Group embraced the digital route to reach out to customers. Various retail brands under the Future Group have turned to shopping apps, WhatsApp and even phones to receive orders and deliver them to customers. The concept of 'pick up at stores' has also gained traction. Like previous years, Future Group is also gearing up for its annual sale event "Sabse Sasta Din" on January 26. Biyani expects a significant jump in footfalls during the event. Future Group firms have started getting large orders from Reliance Industries for its FMCG arm Future Consumer as well as supply chain and logistics company Future Enterprises.

While the pandemic resulted in business upheaval across the textiles and apparels value chain in 2020, the industry is still confident about achieving much needed growth in 2021. As Indian Texpreneurs Federation (ITF) convenor Prabhu Dhamodharan points out, the sector can make 2021 a year of progress by focusing on the US market as industry had benefited from the volumes in the market in the first 10 months of 2020, "Now, its time to step up the efforts to repeat the same success in the US market for our apparel products,” he says.

Optimistic about sector growth

The Coimbatore-based ITF, which represents the entire value chain of the textile sector, has suggested a six-pronged strategy to achieve double digit growth in the textile and apparel sector, under the theme ‘2021-A year of progress for Indian Textile & Apparel Sector’. “As a sector, we are doing $35-37 billion exports (average of last few years) of all products put together. If all goes right, we can reach double-digit growth. We can make 2021 a year of progress for the Indian textiles and apparels sector,” Dhamodharan opines.

ITF’s six point strategy for growth ahead starts with a stronger focus on the US market for apparels. The Indian home textile sector was the biggest gainer in volume terms in the US market in the first 10 months of this year. Going ahead efforts should be made to repeat the success for Indian apparel. Vietnam’s FTA with the EU will intensify competition for India in that region. At the same time, a level playing field with our top three competitors in the US market in terms of duty, combined with a quick economic recovery and consumption in the US, makes a compelling case for the Indian apparel sector to focus on the US market for immediate growth.“We need to intensify efforts and focus at all levels, including the government, cluster and firm level, to grab our share in the US market in apparels,” he says.

Focus on value addition

The second point is to focus on value addition with new capex. Using the low interest regime and easy liquidity, combined with robust demand visibilities due to post-Covid opportunities, it is time for the textile & apparel sector to step up efforts in terms of new capex investment at various stages of the value chain, with a single focus on value addition with the goal of a 20 per cent increase in per product revenue.

The third point is to use the forthcoming PLI scheme as the stepping stone for much-needed product diversification and innovation in the MMF (man-made fibre) space, and build scale to attract global buyers. Stating that all manufacturing units need to invest in technology adoption and digital initiatives, he said to equip the industry and eco system, culture-building of having an agile mindset is the forward to institutionalise the success.

The industry is currently managing trade well with sufficient liquidity due to infusion of funds in the system with Central governments Emergency Credit Line Guaranteed Scheme. The sector needs to utilise the opportunity to maintain the financial discipline to work on shorter credit terms across the value chain to improve the business performance and sustain the recovery momentum, he said.

India is considering revising its foreign investment rules for e-commerce, a move that could compel players, including Amazon, to restructure their ties with some major sellers. The discussions coincide with a growing number of complaints from India's bricks-and-mortar retailers, which have for years accused Amazon and Walmart-controlled Flipkart of creating complex structures to bypass federal rules.

India only allows foreign e-commerce players to operate as a marketplace to connect buyers and sellers. It prohibits them from holding inventories of goods and directly selling them on their platforms.

Amazon and Flipkart were last hit in December 2018 by investment rule changes that barred foreign e-commerce players from offering products from sellers in which they have an equity stake.

Now, the government is considering adjusting some provisions to prevent those arrangements, even if the e-commerce firm holds an indirect stake in a seller through its parent. The changes could hurt Amazon as it holds indirect equity stakes in two of its biggest online sellers in India.

According to a statement given by Amazon, e-commerce created huge job opportunities and is a significant contributor to economic growth. Any major alterations to the policy will adversely impact small- and medium-sized businesses. India's e-commerce retail market is seen growing to $200 billion a year by 2026, from $30 billion in 2019, the country's investment promotion agency Invest India estimates.

Among other changes, the government is considering changes that would effectively prohibit online sales by a seller who purchases goods from the e-commerce entity or its group firm, and then sells them on the entity's websites. Under existing rules, a seller is free to buy up to 25 per cent of its inventory from the e-commerce entity's wholesale or another unit and then sell them on the e-commerce website.

Sports retail chain, Decathlon, plans to shut its Sardar Patel Ring Road store in Ahmedabad, launched seven years ago. This was “country’s biggest sports store” on January 15. “The operations of this store will be merged with those on CG Road and Motera in Ahmedabad,” said an official from the Decathlon sports store that was operating from a pre-engineered building provided by city-based builder Goyal & Co.

The buzz is footfalls at the store had dropped, especially after the pandemic, and the store was unable to sustain. As the first Decathlon store in Gujarat launched in 2013 it was also the largest outlet in the country, spread over 90,000 sq. ft with a generous playground and a huge parking space. Apart from Ahmedabad, Decalthon also operates stores in Vadodara and Surat in Gujarat. The closure of Decathlon store reflects the struggle being faced by the retail sector, especially those operating out of malls and shopping complexes in Ahmedabad where vacancy levels are as high as 75 per cent and rentals have dropped 10-15 per cent, post-Covid outbreak.

The uncertainty around rental negotiations in FY22 continues, brands and retailers feel the support on rentals should continue as long as it is required, as they fear extension of Covid-induced SOPs, social distancing norms, and overall reduction in physical interactions. Meanwhile, consumption across India has barely touched about 50 per cent on an average, buying has slowed down after pent up demand and festival season was over.

As per a December report by BCG on how India shops, spends and saves in the new reality, “In apparel, purchase decision was primarily triggered by social/celebratory occasions (accounting for 42 per cent triggers). However, the single largest trigger now is functional — clothes for home workouts, an additional pair of jeans due to daily washing, worn-out innerwear replacement, etc.”

Discussions on for rentals in FY 22

“We are already having discussions now to plan for the next financial year. Going ahead, we don’t rule out a rental correction — about 15-20 per cent lower than what it was pre-Covid, as the situation in metros is definitely quite bad as compared to small towns when it comes to mood and sentiment,” said Siddharth Bindra, MD, Biba to Financial Express.

Olive group of restaurants founder AD Singh, too, expressed similar concerns. He feels the way forward on rentals would depend on prevalence of virus and people’s comfort about stepping out “which is quite unpredictable”. Support on rentals should be given as long as it is required.

Mall operators awaiting government action plan

Mall operators too are waiting for more clarity as footfalls would now be determined only after government rolls out the immunization program. On rental front, mall owners who had extended slab-wise discounts till March, say rents are already down by as much as 25 per cent in some places. Omaxe president (retail), Benu Sehgal points out Covid-19 has had a painful impact on all rental properties and in some cases, rental income dropped almost 25 per cent.

While some retailers have shut stores, others operated with renegotiated rentals. Increased consumer spending witnessed in last few months coupled with news of vaccine, may spur up demand in coming quarters of next year. With new collections, expectations of shoppers returning to malls has gone up, all this has reignited hopes of a bounce back in rentals, which may be a concern with brands and retailers and engage in negotiations with mall owners already stressed with existing discounts in rentals.

Jeans brands Lee and Wrangler are planning to transform their India businesses into omni-channel entities. This is being done to drive growth and double sales over the next two years by extensively focusing on online channels. The US-based Kontoor Brands is moving Lee and Wrangler business from a fully owned Indian subsidiary to a franchise model. The company has signed a licensing deal with Bengaluru-based Ace Turtle, which provides ecommerce solutions to traditional retailers.

Kontoor is also looking to shut a few stores in India and focusing on rapid growth of fashion products online. The decision to partner Ace Turtle in India is part of a strategy to adapt to a market that is increasingly online and ensure the brands are accessible to customers across the country through a combination of ecommerce and physical stores.

The partnership comes at a time when fashion and lifestyle brands including Puma, Levi’s and Jack & Joes have reported doubling online businesses, as consumers avoided malls and high streets amid fears of Covid-19. Retailers said the pandemic has leapfrogged their online sales by five years and much of the growth is there to stick.

In coming months, Ace Turtle will upgrade store technology to expose the brick-and-mortar inventories on upcoming Lee and Wrangler webstores, as well as on ecommerce sites like Flipkart, Amazon and Myntra.

Lee and Wrangler currently source almost 90 per cent apparels from within India and Ace Turtle plans to increase local sourcing to about 95 per cent within a year. The supply chain will be ramped up towards omni-channel retailing with a quick turnaround time as per online demand.

While 2020 was full of hardships for brands and retailers with store closures, major dip in both sales and revenues, many struggled while others looked for ways to stay afloat. In all this madness brands came up with new strategies to survive. From antiviral collections, home apparel line to shop-on-wheels at resident welfare associations and appointment viewing, besides doorstep delivery fashion and lifestyle brands rolled out new ways to reach and connect with customers.

Innovative customer approach

As Ajay Kapoor, President-retail, Fabindia explained to BrandWagon Online, “It is all about unlearning what has been learnt inBrands realign strategies to remain afloat during the pandemic all these years and learning new tricks of the trade.” Fabindia’s business has recovered 60 to 70 per cent while online sales have doubled over the last six months. The brand launched its ‘White glove service’ through which it reaches loyal customers with online customised catalogues and look books to order products delivered at their homes. The aim is to be present wherever the customers are.

Other brands too have come up with innovative ways to connect with customers. Peter England introduced a collection of workwear, loungewear and face masks with virus-resistant technology ‘HeiQ Viroblock’ in collaboration with Switzerland-based HeiQ. Manish Singhai, COO, Peter England, believes most of these products will remain relevant in future. She feels the deep cultural change that took place during the lockdown in consumer habits is likely to stay for a long time. “Moreover, wellness series of products as well as health products are going to gain prominence in the future,” she told the Financial Express, with work from home becoming the new normal, casual, comfortable clothes will be in demand for a long time.

Online retail in focus

Peter England’s online sales have doubled since Covid-19. In fact, most brands have seen a spurt in online sales and hence have increased marketing spends on online platforms.

For example, High Street Essentials clothing brands FabAlley and Indya are looking to only spend online till the first quarter of FY22. As Tanvi Malik, Co-founder, FabAlley and Indya explains, within digital, performance marketing will contribute about 90-95 per cent of the company’s spend and 10 per cent will be spent on brand building on digital. The company’s online sales are almost 120 to 150 per cent higher than last year. Having understood the importance of online sales the company looks to sharpen its focus on the medium. Practices like same-day refund and exchange process; communicating real-time delays in orders through association with logistics intelligence platform Clickpost are some ways they are looking to gain customer’s trust.

The bottomline therefore, is reinvention keeping new realities in focus. Fashion as of now is all about being casual and comfortable and brands need to realign their offerings as per demand.

With the pandemic reducing sales to just 20 per cent month-on-month on their mono-brand sites, fashion and lifestyle companies are launching customer acquisition strategies like upgrading and digitally promoting their websites, negotiating better deals with logistics partners, creating warehouses and using their store network as hyperlocal delivery points, says an Economic Times report.

Brands are also investing in customer acquisitions. Vibhor Sahare, CEO. ANS Commerce says, businesses at mono-sites had grown by two-five times in the pandemic. Prior to the pandemic, volumes on mono-brand webstores were low, which made the companies unable to negotiate better rates from logistical partners, thus impacting their unit economics for online deliveries. Now, the unexpected increase in sales during the pandemic has helped them negotiate better rates from logistics partners.

Several brands have introduced their own apps or are planning to do so soon. Levi’s and Benetton are planning to launch their India brand apps early 2021. Their assortment offer will be exclusive and the largest on their own site and they will launch energy collaborations like Levi’s xBape or Levi’s x Snoopy first on their own site, says Sanjeev Mohanty, CEO-South Asia, Middle East and North Africa, Levi Strauss

Year 2020 was a tough one globally for people and businesses alike. With long stretches of lockdowns, and people confined at home, life almost came to a standstill. However, with the successful launch of a few vaccines there is some hope and positivity in our fight against the global pandemic. The Economic Times took stock of the damage that COVID-19 inflicted on the country’s shopping malls and concluded “With some confidence, we believe, is that a significant amount of the ground lost by shopping malls in India during the lockdown has already been recovered.” However, the report did highlight its little early to come to clear date of return to “normalcy” for shopping malls or what the new normal will look like.

Malls on way to recovery The report relied on personal mobility data or device data from smartphone usage. ThisShopping malls slowly recover as footfalls inch towards pre Covid levels real-time data gives an insight on changes in visitation patterns. While GapMaps device data gives clear understanding of the impact on footfalls – both before the lockdown and in the various phases of unlock.

The aggregate findings from 24 leading malls across India, most of them in Tier-I cities shows quick drop in footfalls in all malls across cities to zero or almost zero in the weeks starting March 23, due to the lockdown. This continued till mid-June when traffic started moving north after partial unlock. And the festive season, saw footfalls reach 60 to 70 per cent of pre-COVID levels in some malls. And in mid-November, levels were trending at 30 to 60 per cent of pre-COVID levels.

The data also reflects as customers returned, their visitation habits and the duration of visit, slowly picked up to pre-COVID levels on an average 80-90 minutes in most cases, compared to 50-60 minutes in March and June.

Local malls were the preferred destination

One global trend that has emerged from the lockdown is that shoppers are now more inclined to focus on shopping centres closer home. The Economic Time report suggests, “for regional malls, which typically thrive when able to attract customers from a broad region, this change in behaviour, if permanent, spells potential problems.”

The study also highlights the pandemic changed the mindset of shoppers on the distances they are willing to travel. In most cases only 15 to 30 per cent regional mall customers travelled two kilometres or less in April, which went up to 50 to 60 per cent. However, in October, the proportion went back to almost pre-COVID levels where customers were more confident to travel greater distances to visit their favourite malls.

Indeed the vaccine will give a boost to malls and retail stores and they can expect business to pick up once people are less apprehensive about crowded places. However, one big take away from the lockdown was the popularity of online shopping and not just in metros but also in smaller cities and towns, even rural India. While buyers may like to visit stores for big-ticket purchases and special items like for a wedding or special occasion regular buys like groceries even apparels could see more traction online. Thanks to apps and home delivery.

Super apps the way forward

Growing popularity of online business has also pushed manufacturers to focus on this channel as they can no longer afford to ignore this aspect of business. However, what they need to focus on is whether it is enough to have own websites or whether they need to be a part of a large marketplace like an Amazon or a Flipkart. Experts believe buyers will soon get used to a handful of apps, and these will take care of almost 70-80 per cent of their requirements. And customers will most likely depend more on them.

As per a Financial Express report, there is already a lot of buzz around Super Apps—which offer a wide range of products. But the moot point is how many Super Apps can Indian market accommodate? As of now the populuar ones are competing against each other like Amazon, Flipkart, Paytm and Jio. And all of them are looking at teaming up with brands to boost their range of merchandise. The report also suggests the B2B space over the next couple of years could well eclipse B2C space as marketplaces scout for good brands to team up with and help them generate demand.

Business integration key

And as the big few compete with each other a lot is changing in terms of business. For example, in October, Walmart, which owns Flipkart and the fashion portal Myntra, picked up a 7.8 per cent stake in the Aditya Birla Fashion Retail (ABFR). The partnership is expected to boost ABFR e-commerce sales. Besides the existing B2B arrangements with Flipkart, ABFR has an agreement for the sale and distribution of its brands through Flipkart’s marketplaces. ABFR could also potentially use Flipkart’s supply chain to reduce time-to-customer and obtain consumer data from Flipkart and Myntra to analyse trends and efficiency. In July 2020, Flipkart had acquired a minority stake in Arvind Youth Brands and is most likely on the lookout.

However, as per the report, manufacturers across the board from apparels to cosmetics need to rope in more than one of these big players to sell their products online and unless the product or service is unique and exclusive with a strong brand pull, it could get lost and be easily ignored by consumers.

Meanwhile new partnerships are shaping up Tatas for example, are creating a digital platform. Indeed, manufacturers have understood the importance of online channels and how critical it is to make sure their products are available on the online platform with a customer base. It is no longer about discounts, but about the availability of the merchandise.

However, the fact is there is a big margin between the number of online shoppers and Internet users in India. Little wonder then Kotak Institutional Equities has pegged India’s total e-tail GMV at $270 billion for FY30 and $800 billion for FY40, up from the current $120 billion. Business can only get better from here on.

Though reopening of the economy may bring shoppers back to stores, they will not completely abandon online shopping, says a Financial Express report. India’s e-retailing business is expected to grow more robustly in 2021 even though competition from brick and mortar stores may increase customer acquisition costs. Indian e-commerce space is becoming more competitive with players like the Tata Group entering the market, says Harsha Razdan, Partner and Head-Consumer Markets and Internet, KPMG India. Along with B2C, the B2B e-commerce segment will see a lot of action next year as retailers will transform mom-and–pop stores into larger marketplaces. Unorganized and larger players will explore kirana stores to expand their presence. For instance, five-year old retailer Jumbotail will help 30,000 kiranas digitize their stores. The company will convert these stores into modern convenience grocery outlets while JioMart will help fulfill orders placed by kiranas by sourcing products from their distribution centres and network of stores. As per Ankur Pahwa, E-commerce sector leader, EY, many of these marketplaces will also try to help generate demand for their B2B customers.

Next year to be a year of partnerships

Anurag Mathur, Partner & Leader- Consumer Goods and Retail, PwC, believes, 2021 will be a year of partnerships. Mathur says brands and marketplaces will soon be joined by other smaller FMCG companies to determine the price of some categories like electronics. Razdan says, though consumers might download a number of shopping apps in the coming year, they will use just a few of these. They will mainly be attracted mainly by a brand’s strength and its consumer friendliness. Most brands therefore, would have to partner with other apps or platforms.

Partnerships between offline and online retailers will continue to expand in 2021, says Pahwa. According to him, having realized their interdependence, both physical stores and online marketplaces will explore each other’s strengths to create a strong brand presence.

Online retailers to expand product offerings

On their part, online retailers will try to attract consumers by on-boarding more SMEs. They will strive to diversity their product offerings to suit local tastes, says Mathur. This would help them to retain consumers, he adds. However, as they expand their supplier base, they would also have to maintain quality standards and keep their customers informed about their new offerings. Smaller suppliers, not used to making deliveries within specified time periods, would have to abide by their commitments. These suppliers would have to be monitored by bigger marketplaces to ensure timely deliveries to customers, adds Mathur.