Retailers advance discounted sales due to low festive revenues
By Chaitanya Muppala | Vjmedia Works | January 06, 2014
Mall developers said lower than expected sales was the main reason for advancing the end-year discounted sale
Prompted
by tepid festival turnover, fashion brands and have
advanced their end-season Raheja-owned , which normally starts its discounted sale after other brands, did so
from Saturday. Managing Director Govind Shrikhande said the chain had advanced
the sale by a week in Mumbai and Chennai, not in all locations.
Last year, Shoppers Stop had started its sale in Chennai and Bangalore on
January 12.
"Competion was doing it. We thought we should do the sale along with the
competition," said Shrikhande.
, the
department store chain of the Dubai-based Landmark group, also started the
end-season sale on Saturday. Last year, it had done so on January 10.
said lower than expected sales were the main
reason. "Retailers did not have a promising November and December.
Everyone went for sales from January 1," said Nirzar Jain, vice-president
at Oberoi Mall here. Added Anupam T, chief executive, malls, at the Runwal
group: "In the past five years, the cycle has moved ahead by 15 days. If
you take last year, it has moved by 10 days."
Retailers say it makes sense to go on the discounted sale at the same time,
than doing so at different dates.
"All the big chains deal with the same set of brands and retail a large
number of private brands. There is an unwritten agreement among retailers that
we need to do the sale together and end it together," said Rajesh Seth,
vice-president, sales, at Central, the chain run by Future group.
"Everybody wants to catch their customers early. Slower sales in the past
few quarters is also a factor," said a top executive from a Mumbai-based
chain.
The discounted sale of most brands is expected to go on for one-and-a-half
months. Seth said though were not as buoyant as expected for retailers, Central had seen a 50
per cent jump during the preview sale for loyalty card members.
