Malls and retailers are betting on quicker demand recovery compared to last year as several State governments focus on cautious unlocking of non-essential stores and malls with various restrictions.

Retailers said they are seeing consumers venture out for need-based purchases and are hoping to see an uptick in footfalls in the next few weeks as more stores open up. Brands are also expected to focus on early end-of-season sales for stock clearance of inventory in the June-July period according to industry observers.

For now, malls have been given a go-ahead in regions like Delhi, parts of Maharashtra and Uttar Pradesh, Gujarat and Telangana among others with restrictions in operational hours. Standalone non-essential stores and high streets too have been given a nod to operate in many regions.

Shorter lockdown

Mukesh Kumar, Chairman, Shopping Centers Association of India and CEO of Infiniti Malls, said, “The lockdown this year was relatively for a shorter period compared to last year, ranging between 4 and 8 weeks depending on various States. Therefore, we believe the bounce back in demand will be stronger and quicker compared to last year. We hope to see strong recovery in Q3 and nearly 80-85 per cent of the malls to get operational in the next 7-10 days.”

Kumar said since retailers are saddled with a lot of inventory there are expectations that retailers will focus on early sales and other consumer promotion offers to get consumers back to stores.

Unlike last year, in many regions malls are opening up with permissions to operate food courts and multiplexes, which is adding to the confidence of mall owners of a quicker recovery.

Lalit Agarwal, Chairman & Managing Director V-Mart, said nearly 60-65 per cent stores of the value fashion retail chain are now operational. “State governments have been very agile and mindful in unlocking business activities. We believe recovery will be faster than what we saw after the national lockdown as we feel consumers are now tired and would want to get back to their normal lives, post the the trauma of the second wave as infection numbers are coming down and the vaccination pace is picking up . We expect many States to remove restrictions further on operational hours and weekend lockdowns in the coming days,” he said.

Rental issues

Retailers are also in negotiations with landlords and mall owners on issues of rentals and rationalising fixed costs such as common area maintenance charges. “While some landlords have agreed, we are in negotiations with others as we seek their co-operation like previous year,” Agarwal added.

In the past, analysts have raised concerns about the time it will take for footwear and apparel retailers, which are discretionary categories, to get back to sales that they saw during pre-pandemic times. Value-fashion retail, casualwear and athleisure are categories in branded apparel that are expected to see faster recovery trends.

Harkirat Singh, Managing Director, Aero Club, known for brand Woodland, said that nearly 60-70 per cent of the company’s stores are now operational in-line with regulations. “We are seeing consumers venture out for need-based purchases. But it will take some time for things to normalise as sentiment has been impacted adversely due to the second pandemic wave. Consumers tend to do shopping at leisure during weekends or during evenings on weekdays. But there are still restrictions on operational hours and weekends which we are hoping will ease out in the coming weeks,” he added.