Curfews, protests lead to end-of-sales season

New Delhi: Night curfews and the farmers’ protests have hit year-end shopping, with retailers disappointed that the post-Diwali festive fervour appears to have fizzled out. Cities such as Mumbai and elsewhere in Maharashtra, Gujarat, Punjab and other states are forcing shops to close by evening while the farm agitation centred around Delhi is deterring potential buyers in Punjab, Rajasthan and Uttar Pradesh from hitting the National Capital Region’s shopping destinations. That’s put a dent in fashion and lifestyle retailers this Christmas, especially as they were hoping to keep the momentum going after welcome Diwali gains that followed the Covid shutdown.Despite advancing end-of-season sales by 10 days in December, brands and malls said purchases have declined 10-15% from November when retailers recovered about 70-75% of last festive season’s business, buoyed by Diwali and pent-up wedding shopping. The decline in Covid numbers had buoyed expectations but the fear of a spike due to the variant discovered in the UK has led to the curfews. Christmas sales are lacklustre despite retailers offering flat 40-50% discounts.Shoppers Wary of Jams on Highways“The gradual recovery process continues in the marketplace. Malls have been slower to recover and we expect the process to take a few more months,” said Vishak Kumar, chief executive of Madura Fashion and Lifestyle.Benetton India chief executive Sandeep Chugh said, "Farmers’ agitation has impacted sales in large markets like Delhi and northern India." There’s usually a spike in sales during this time of the year, when the mercury dips and new collections are put on display, he added.79949902Customers who visit Delhi NCR for shopping from nearby areas of Punjab, Uttar Pradesh and Rajasthan are not traveling for fear of being caught in jams on highways, said brand owners.While sales in tier 2 and 3 cities are good, those in the metros — where the contribution of malls is higher — are muted as there is still some scepticism about going to the big shopping centres due to Covid, Chugh said.After a new strain of the coronavirus was found in the UK, some Indian states announced night curfews as a precautionary measure to check its spread. Maharashtra was the first state to announce a night curfew followed by Gujarat, Punjab, Rajasthan, Himachal Pradesh and others. However, Karnataka on Thursday withdrew its day-old order for a night curfew until January 2.Brands typically double the business they do between 11 am and 6 pm on a weekday in the 6-10 pm slot. "Now, if you are closing two hours early, it shaves 25% off your daily potential sales," said the chief of a global apparel brand.Brands are also watching for the impact of the new strain of the virus in India."The number of new Covid-19 cases going down is a good news but this new strain could spoil things for us again," said the head of a global fashion brand who did not want to be named.While November saw a significant uptick in business for most brands compared with October, it was largely due to the combination of a late Diwali and a strong wedding season. Hence, retailers said they will consider December business a truer picture of the recovery process.ANS Commerce, which manages omni-channels for several brands such as Aldo, Bath & Body Works and Vero Moda, said that November was the peak for brand store sales due to festive events. "Hence, average sales in brand stores in December will be marginally lower than that in November," said Vibhor Sahare, cofounder of ANS Commerce.Mall owners said that December would see them posting 70% of last year’s business in the popular shopping centres and 65% in others."In my mall, I would not imagine more than 70%," said Abhishek Bansal, executive director, Pacific Mall, West Delhi.Weddings and holidays are big reasons consumers to flock to malls — both have now been cancelled by many due to the new curbs. "Only discounts cannot be a saviour," Bansal said. However, some brands still expect a good run in December, aided by the onset of winter and cold weather in a large part of the country."We have seen a significant increase every month including in December. This is mainly because of the dip in temperature and year-end festivities," according to Japanese fashion brand Uniqlo, which recently launched in India.Madura Fashion and Lifestyle’s Kumar said, "We have experienced a strong response to our winter merchandise which has been aided by an early onset of winter this year."

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