02 September 2022, Mumbai

FabIndia has opened a store in Ahmedabad. With a glass storefront and a bright, spacious interior, the outlet houses FabIndia’s full product offering for men and women.The store has dedicated sections for men’swear, women’swear, accessories, and personal care goods.

The Fabindia store launched with a number of occasion wear options for the upcoming festive season as well as fusion style casual wear. The store also offers an organic food section featuring an array of traditional Indian snacks and produce. The store aims to offer a comprehensive lifestyle solution as FabIndia continues to expand its product selection beyond its core fashion apparel brand.

FabIndia also recently expanded its fusion wear offering for men and women by launching its Hipster meets Heritage collection for sub-brand NuIndian.

With traditional block print textiles and loose layers, FabIndia reimagines youthful casual wear by mixing its classic take on ethnic wear with a Gen Z inspired, eclectic approach to layering.

FabIndia is India’s largest private platform for products that are made from traditional techniques, skills and hand-based processes. It believes in giving employment to craftsmen where they can do their work in their own environment. FabIndia retails from its dedicated e-commerce store and chain of outlets across India.

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25 August 2022, Mumbai

Leading apparel and accessories specialty chain of Reliance Retail, Trends has launched its new store in Mulanthuruthy town of Ernakulam district in Kerala, which is a reflection of its aggressive expansion into tier2-3 markets across the country.

The Trends store at Mulanthuruthy boasts of modern looks and ambiance featuring an exciting range of good quality and fashion merchandise that is relevant to the consumers of the region and at prices that are affordable and seen as high value for money, adds the company statement.

This 7037 sq. ft store, which is the first store in Mulanthuruthy town has a special inaugural offer for its customers, besides great relevant fashion and amazing prices. According to a report by consulting firm Kearney, released last year, Tier-II and III cities are hotbeds for growth, opening up opportunities for retailers to expand.

These markets indeed promise a lot of opportunities to retailers with growing aspirational value and market base. As Kearney Research points out, shopping trends in metro cities have influenced consumer behavior in Tier- II and Tier-III cities resulting in newer retail formats.

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22 August 2022, Mumbai

US-based outdoor apparel retailer Patagonia has launched a collection of Khadi handwovens, made by 117 artisans from the villages of Gujarat. The collection was launched in collaboration with Nest– an advocate for the handcraft sector.

Made with organic cotton and natural indigo dyes using traditional Indian handloom weaving techniques, the collection was developed in partnership with the Nest Ethical Handcraft Program promotes equitable working conditions and expands financial opportunities for artisans who work from home

A founding brand of the Ethical Handcraft Program, Patagonia ensures, that artisans were working with partners who aligned with its goals of providing them with safe, equitable conditions and long-term support.

This initiative will help the artisans earn more as Nest says that in different cultural environments, home- or craft-based work is seen as ancillary labour. The program educates business owners on the fact that people have been working from home for centuries, and it is still within their basic economic and human rights to earn a fair wage for their work.

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30 August 2022, Mumbai

Increased internet penetration will enable India to become the second largest e-commerce market by 2034 globally from its current ninth rank, saysAkshayGulati, Co-founder, of Shiprocket, a logistics software platform.

By 2030, 1.3 billion Indians will be able to access the internet and smartphones with 500 million online shoppers, adds Gulati.

With over 800 brands in the D2C (Direct To Consumer) segment, the Indian market size is seen at $60 billion by 2027 and online adoption has accelerated in the past two years. The rising domestic e-commerce market will also open doors for Indian manufacturers to tap the global market as D2C gains momentum.

Already, India’s post-pandemic exports are at a record high with total merchandise exports at $105 billion during the third quarter of 2021-22 (Apr-Mar),

The changing paradigm in consumption and spending through digital mode has re-positioned the brick-and-mortar mall infrastructure into experience centres, according to experts at the convention.

Arvind Singhal, Chairman, Technopak – a management consulting firm, expected India’s merchandise retail to undergo a paradigm shift in the next decade with the introduction of the 5G network and rising per capita income. He added “Open Network for Digital Commerce will be the biggest transformation in Indian retail as the 5G network penetrates and facilitates product discovery much faster.

From being a $300 billion economy in 1992 to around $3 trillion economy in 2022, the Indian economy would grow by approximately 1.5 times to around $7.5 trillion, adds Singhal.

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 24 August 2022, Mumbai

The net profit of Reliance Retail, Reliance Industries' flagship retail business entity, grew 7.6 percent to Rs 5,000 crore in fiscal 2021-22, as per the latest regulatory disclosures. The company’s net revenue from operations (after deducting the GST recovered) rose 29 percent to Rs 1,69,397.35 crore.

The company’s net profit was nearly three times the combined profit of the nearest five listed retailers: AVENUE SUPERMARTS LTD which owns the DMart chain, Tata-owned Trent, Shoppers Stop, Spencer’s Retail, and V-Mart Retail. Revenue was more than four times the combined revenue of the rivals.

The performance of Reliance Retail indicates a recovery in business in FY22 from the first year of the pandemic. In FY21, its gross revenue from operations had grown 2 percent to Rs 1,49,925 crore, while net profit had declined by 17 percent to Rs 4,587 crore. The net revenue from operations was Rs 131,687.81 crore.

Reliance Ind in its latest annual report for FY22 said Reliance Retail had invested Rs 30,000 crore in 2021-22 to expand its store presence, through acquisitions and strategic partnerships. It said the unit added over 2,500 stores and 11.1 million square feet of warehousing space during the year.

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20 August 2022, Mumbai

Japan’s fashion giant Uniqlo plans to expand its operations in India by opening a high-street outlet in New Delhi and a highway store in Punjab.

Uniqlo has leased about 10,000 sqft in New Delhi’s Connaught Place and the store will come up in the retail space that was previously occupied by Italy’s Benetton.

Uniqlo fast-fashion brand also plans to open a highway store in Zirakpur in Punjab where the world’s third-largest fashion retailer has leased about 25,000 sqft space in Dhillion Group’s retail park called Dhillion Plaza that is home to Starbucks, Burger King, McDonald's, Decathlon, KFC and a host of other global brands.

Uniqlo entered India in September 2019, barely months before India went on months of lockdown due to the Covid-19 pandemic that had hit in early 2020. So far, Uniqlo has opened six stores in the National Capital Region and one in Lucknow, the latest outlet that was rolled out in July.

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29 August 2022, Mumbai

India’s premier fashion and beauty destination Shoppers Stop is all set to launch the most sought-after beauty festival, ShowStoppers’22 from August 26 to September 11, 2022.

As per a Global Prime News report, the festival will entail multiple activities to engage customers with the newest beauty trends, educative and engaging masterclasses, makeover sessions, incredible deals up to 50 percent off, and personalized consultations.

Taking this a notch higher, Shoppers Stop is also launching a campaign that goes beyond traditional beliefs and standards of conceived beauty. The campaign shall bring forth the idea of ‘Beauty for All’ with compelling narratives and celebration of moments that give one confidence.

With the launch of its campaign, the brand is set to break the stereotypical standards of beauty and regressive beliefs that surround it to democratize beauty and makes it attainable for everyone.

The film resonates with people of varying ages, and diverse genders and promotes inclusivity. It highlights the remarkable moments in the lives of a young girl, a couple, a trans woman, a male, and a fitness enthusiast. Through the campaign, Shoppers Stop hopes to inspire people to discover their inner confidence. It encourages people to flaunt their true selves and how beauty can empower them.

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24 August 2022, Mumbai

A new report by property consultant CBRE South Asia says shopping malls and other physical retail locations must focus on providing a unique experience to customers for success.

Titled, ‘The Retail Perspective on Experience and its Impact on Real Estate’–the report highlights the growing footfalls across Indian retail and recreational spaces as the COVID pandemic ebbs.

Even before the pandemic, the report mentioned that the experience was a critical factor in deciding how retail spaces were designed.

As a result, the consultant said that experiential retail is currently counterbalancing the prevalence of e-commerce.

Across cities, brands are resizing and recalibrating their physical store strategies to diversify their portfolio and expand their footprint, with 'experience' fast becoming an important frontier to bridge the retailer-consumer gap.

Retail transactions grew over 100 percent on a quarter-on-quarter basis in Q2 (April-June) 2022,.In H1 (January-June) 2022, transactions grew by over 160 percent year on year. This growth resulted from pent-up demand causing a renewal in physical retail visits even as online shopping continued to perform strongly.

Anshuman Magazine, Chairman and CEO - India, South-East Asia, Middle East & Africa, CBRE, says, real estate stakeholders, need to improve their spaces to enhance the experience quotient and subsequently value.

Ram Chandnani, Managing Director, Advisory & Transactions Services, CBRE India, adds, that players in the retail space need to improve physical experiences.

CBRE has suggested a multi-pronged approach, including diversification of store formats and functions, leveraging data science to develop customized location strategies based on the catchment, repurposing existing stores, creating a personalized experience, and developing fruitful partnerships.

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20 August 2022, Mumbai

India’s retail sales grew by 18 percent during July compared to the same month in 2019, shows a business survey by the Retailers Association of India.

As this survey the East India region saw the highest year-on-year growth of 25 per cent last month, followed by the south at 21 per cent, north at 16 per cent and west at 10 per cent.

In terms of categories, sports goods clocked the highest growth rate with a 32 per cent increase over July 2019, followed by footwear and furniture & furnishing at 23 per cent each.

Apparel and clothing registered a 22 per cent rise, while quick service restaurants, consumer durables, electronics, and footwear posted a growth of 17 per cent, according to the survey.

The jewellery category grew by 15 per cent in July this year compared to the same month in 2019, while food and grocery rose 11 per cent. Beauty, wellness, and personal care saw the least growth with just a 3 per cent rise.

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29 August 2022, Mumbai

The Q1 FY23 consolidated net loss of Future Lifestyle Fashions narrowed to Rs 135.96 crore against a net loss of Rs 348.08 crore in the corresponding quarter a year ago.

The company’s revenue from operations declined by 8.42 percent to Rs 272.88 crore during the period under review as against Rs 297.99 crore in the corresponding period last fiscal. Its total expenses declined by 33.45 percent to Rs 436.56 crore against Rs 656.07 crore a year ago.

FLFL has in-house retail chains Central and Brand Factory, exclusive brand outlets (EBOs), and other multi-brand outlets (nearly a dozen apparel labels, including Lee Copper, Champion, aLL, Indigo Nation, Giovani, John Miller, Scullers, Converse, and Urbana) in its portfolio.

According to Future Lifestyle Fashions, under the One Time Restructuring (OTR) plan with the lenders, FLFL has debt servicing obligations aggregating to Rs 422.11 crore within the next 12 months, which comprises repayment of the principal amount of long-term debts of Rs 277.04 crore and short-term borrowings of Rs 145.07 crore.

The company’s current liabilities exceeded its current assets (including assets held for sale) by Rs 1,180.66 crore as on March 31, 2022.

Also, it has already defaulted on repayment of Rs 335.08 crore of principal amount on loans from banks as on June 30, 2022.

Since classification as NPA, the company has already repaid the principal amount of debt amounting to Rs 76.67 crore, FLFL added.

Further, the company has initiated the process for the monetization of some of the assets to repay the debts and to manage the working capital requirements as part of the same plan, said FLFL.

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23 August 2022, Mumbai

Improving In-store experience can help retailers not just boost sales, but to also increase customer engagement, according to the findings of a report by realty consultancy CBRE released on Monday.

Customers are looking for engaging, immersive, and convenient experiences that give them a reason to visit stores instead of making online purchases. As a result, experiential retail is counterbalancing the growing popularity of e-commerce, and ensuring profitability by increasing the brand’s physical presence, the report adds.

With the resumption of out-of-home activity and shoppers returning to physical stores, organized retailers are picking up on expansion plans that were stalled during the pandemic. Transaction activity in the retail sector grew over 100 percent on a sequential basis in the June quarter. In the first half of 2022, it reported massive growth of over 160% year-on-year, albeit, on a low base, it said.

Growth was driven by pent-up demand, which resulted in a renewal in physical visits to stores even as online shopping continued to perform well.

Retailers are favoring dynamic and flexible lease contracts as they meet rapidly changing consumer expectations. This is driven by the demand for plug-and-play outlets, particularly for small, independent firms. Showrooms with personalized designs are becoming more popular.

The CBRE report recommends retailers infuse more technology in stores. Already, apparel retailers are using technology like virtual trial rooms and smart mirrors to for customers to ‘experience’ the outfit or accessory instead of actually putting them on.

Given the popularity of athleisure clothing, retailers are also collaborating with brands to include these categories in their offerings, it adds.

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17 August 2022, Mumbai:

The company had posted a consolidated net loss of Rs 149 crore in the January-March quarter a year ago, Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (FLFL) said in a regulatory filing.

Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (FLFL) revenue from operations during the quarter under review declined by 27.04 percent to Rs 607.42 crore from 831.62 crores in the March quarter of FY21.

During the quarter, Future Group owner Kishore Biyani enterprise total expenses were higher at Rs 1,438.35 crore from Rs 984.05 crore in the year-ago period, it said.

The company said it incurred losses primarily due to "provision for diminution of investments, doubtful provision for receivables, the lower sales volumes, finance costs, and depreciation".

As of March 31, 2022, the company said 34 Central stores and 78 Brand Factory stores were non-operational.

FLFL (Future group) has in-house retail chains Central and Brand Factory, Exclusive Brand Outlets (EBOs), and other Multi-Brand Outlets (MBOs of nearly a dozen apparel labels, including - Lee Copper, Champion, aLL, Indigo Nation, Giovani, John Miller, Scullers, Converse and Urbana in its portfolio.

For the financial year ended March 2022, Future Lifestyle Fashions Ltd (FLFL)'s revenue from operations was at Rs 2,993.93 crore.

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