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Amidst the ongoing auspicious Navratri and Durga Puja, it seems like consumer product companies have unearthed their own treasure chest of good fortune. Across various categories, players in the consumer durables, apparel, and footwear arenas are now seeing a surge in sales. After a September slumber brought on by a delayed festival season, they’re now gearing up for a much-needed growth spurt this month.
NS Satish, President, Haier Appliances India, said, “Since the past 6-7 days we have begun witnessing good traction and seeing growth of 40-42 per cent over the same period last year. We are seeing even higher demand for mid- and premium products such as side-by-side refrigerators and bigger size LED Televisions. In the entry level products, growth is in the 10-20 per cent range.” He said the white goods industry is expected to garner value growth in the range of 15-20 per cent during the Navratri-Dussehra period.
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The footwear industry, too, is banking on the festival and the wedding season. Anupam Bansal, Director-Retail, Liberty Shoes, said, “ In the past few days, we have begun seeing an upswing in footfalls and the festival season looks promising. We expect to end October with 30 per cent growth.”
Harkirat Singh, MD, Aero Club, that owns brands Woodland and Woods, echoed a similar sentiment. “ There has been a surge in footfalls at our stores. We expect to garner 10 per cent growth during the October-December quarter over last year,” he added.
Positive outlook
Due to inflationary pressures, consumer spending had been muted in the past few months and apparel players are banking on the festival season to see a resurgence in consumer buying sentiment. Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India, said,” Sentiments on-ground are improving in October after a little slowdown in September. We are hopeful of a further pick-up in the coming days of the festival and wedding season. We are aiming for a good double digit growth this festival season.”
“Initial shopping trends look encouraging for us and hopefully we are gearing up for a good festive season ahead,” added Shailendra Nath, GM-Retail, Max Fashion India. The Clothing Manufacturers Association of India believes a higher uptick in sales in the apparel segment will be visible during the wedding season that kickstarts in the November-December period.
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Abhishek Bansal, ED, Pacific Group, pointed out that even before the Navratri period, footfalls had begun picking up with younger shoppers thronging the malls , irrespective of when the auspicious buying period begins. He added that the company expects to see growth of 7-8 per cent in revenues during the festival season compared to last year.
“The festival period sees a significant uptick in the demand for packaged snacks. We are seeing a consumption upswing and are planning product innovations and activations to capitalise on the positive consumer sentiment during this period,” said Saumya Rathor, Category Lead – Potato Chips, PepsiCo India.
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