Post lockdown period will be crucial for Indian manufacturers : Utkarsh Arora
By Mohit Manghani | April 07, 2020
Governments, businesses and communities are facing the brunt of coronavirus pandemic. As COVID-19 impacts more people every day, most sectors of the economy have been reduced to a standstill.
So what's at stake for the Retail Industry, how much of it will be hit? Utkarsh Arora, Director, Xylo Woodworks Pvt. Ltd shares his take on the future of retail, plan ahead and much more
How do you foresee the next few months business-wise?
Currently, the pandemic has affected businesses and industries all over the country. The market forces of demand and supply have been slow since mid-February onwards and have gone for a downward spiral ever since the onset of the month. Given the current scenario, the markets aren't expected to open up/have the regular customers flowing in until at least a month after this clears up.
Any plan B in place?
Plan B is to work on more products and prepare yourself for when things get cleared up eventually. Meanwhile, we are setting up an e-commerce option on our website whereby if the customer cannot reach us, we will reach them. Online sales platforms are an option to consider but given the rumours and the apprehensions around this pandemic, those don't seem too viable at this point either
Any specific measures you have put in place for business continuity & employee welfare?
Some of the workforces has been allowed to return home since the beginning of March itself and others are being given paid leaves while we wait for the situation to get better.
Since an economic recession is expected, how do you see your industry getting impacted?
It'll be impacted negatively in a huge way. There's already big inflation in terms of the raw materials that were being imported from China/Korea and other countries around due to limited/lack of availability. There is further expected to be a severe hit to the production cycles for those units/factories that depend on foreign imports for their raw materials.
The interior decor segment is hugely dependent on the influx of finished products from China and the impact of the last 2 months whereby not much has been incoming is expected to show in the near future. Given that there will be limited trade with China in the coming months, it allows the industries in India to develop and manufacture products; whereby giving them a chance to establish a successful market for them.
Do you see this crisis changing the way the whole retail industry will function, moving forward?
At least initially, yes. There's going to be a lot of hesitancy and inhibition in people to step out and buy. It'll also make the end consumer more aware and inquisitive about what they're buying, where its coming from and so on.
