Comments
Retailers, making the most of the approaching three-day holiday, are firing on all cylinders to keep footfalls and conversion rates high. While Big Bazaar's annual MahaBachat Sale during the Independence Day weekend is expected to drive up family billing sizes by at least 15 per cent and footfalls by about 25 per cent, apparel brand Indian Terrain is looking forward to a “crazy 25-30 per cent jump in sales over the last weekend.” Bangalore's Mantri Square mall expects footfalls to almost double during the weekend.
Leading retail chains, malls and brands are bombarding consumers with promotions and discounts. The long weekend, they expect, will wipe out the damp mood of the last fortnight when the global economy crashed and the Indian markets took a knock.
Mr Sadashiv Nayak, CEO, Big Bazaar (South and East), expects an at least 15 per cent increase in average billing during the retail chain's annual MahaBachat Sale that runs for six days from August 10 to 15. Tier-2 and tier-3 towns would get charged up during the weekend, he says. Although about 65 per cent of Big Bazaar's sales come from the top eight cities, during the MahaBachat period, tier-2 and tier-3 towns become active regional hubs for shoppers, points out Mr Nayak. While the Independence Day sale was originally started by the Future Group, other retail chains and malls have followed suit. Reliance TimeOut, for instance, holds every August the Grand Indian Book Bazaar to promote Indian writers. The electronics and books store chain has stocked more than 1.5 lakh books by Indian authors for the season. Bangalore's Mantri Square has a freedom@midnight sale and remains open for shoppers till midnight on August 14-15 night. It has lined up various activities such as games and contests offering 64 prizes, signifying 64 years of Indian independence. Normally, 1.40-1.60 lakh people visit the mall every weekend. However, for this long weekend, the mall expects footfalls of 2.50-2.70 lakh, says Mr Jonathan Yach, CEO of Mantri Square.
Most apparel brands have been running end-of-season sales for the last three weeks. The long weekend has added significance as it marks the close of the sale period after which the autumn-winter season kicks in, says Mr Amitabh Suri, Senior Vice-President, Indian Terrain.
Comments
Comments
Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide by our community guidelines for posting your comments.
We have migrated to a new commenting platform. If you are already a registered user of TheHindu Businessline and logged in, you may continue to engage with our articles. If you do not have an account please register and login to post comments. Users can access their older comments by logging into their accounts on Vuukle.