Stuck in office, with no time to go out and buy a rakhi for your brother? Don’t worry. Courier companies come to your rescue. They are ready to wait on you hand and foot to ensure that your brother gets it on time. And you don’t miss out on your gift, if your generous brother decides to reciprocate the gesture.

The trend of sending a rakhi through courier companies and the post office has caught on in the last decade. Not surprising, considering the vast migration the country has witnessed in the last 10 years.

Companies such as Gurgaon-based TCI-XPS latched on to the trend 13 years ago. The company has an online service, where rakhis can be selected and the it will delivered across 300 cities in India.

“The company has posted annual sales growth of five per cent in this category. We sold about 10,000 rakhis through the online medium last year,” said Mr P.C. Sharma, President and CEO, TCI-XPS. His company charges Rs 101 for a rakhi to be delivered within India and Rs 1,001 for an overseas delivery. The rakhis come packed in a wooden casing along with the traditional rice granules.

The trend appears to be more prominent in the North, especially Gujarat and Rajasthan, where the festival is very popular.

Logistic company DTDC has a ‘ rakhi special’ scheme. It is offering special discount coupons of up to Rs 100 on rakhis sent through its express services or to international locations. For discerning customers looking for an attractive rakhi gift, DTDC has designed a rakhi box that is available at its counters. Customers can also book their rakhis online, within India or abroad.

“Year-on-year, we sent more than half a million rakhis through the DTDC network. During this month, at least 25 per cent of all retail sales at DTDC counters are related to rakhi . This amounts to Rs 75 lakh-Rs 1 crore of additional revenue. We are expecting at least a 35 per cent increase in sales compared to last year’s rakhi sales,” said Mr Abhishek Chakraborty, Executive Director, DTDC Courier and Cargo Ltd.

DTDC has a delivery network covering 10,000 pincodes in India and delivers to over 240 locations internationally.

Other logistics companies such as Blue Dart-DHL have special rakhi packaging on offer and a slogan-writing contest that enables sisters win a Titan watch for their brothers albeit after a lucky draw. This offer is open till August 4.

A special 50 per cent discount is on offer for international ‘ rakhi envelope’ deliveries.

Blue Dart, whose sales grew 96 per cent last year, it expects more than 100 per cent jump this season, according to Mr Ketan Kulkarni, Vice-President and Head – Marketing, Corporate Communications and Sustainability.

> niveditag@thehindu.co.in

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