The Economic Times Mumbai, 2 February 2016 Aditya Birla Retail reported a 15% increase in its sales for the last financial year but it continues to pile up losses, according to latest available numbers. The retail arm of the Aditya Birla Group posted Rs 2,893-crore sales for the year ended March 2015 and its losses reduced 5% year-on-year at Rs 571 crore, according to the company's filings with the Registrar of Companies last week. The firm's accumulated losses stood at nearly Rs 5,320 crore after eight years of operations. Experts said gestation period in the highly competitive food and grocery…
Madhav Chanchani, The Times of India Bengaluru, 28 June 2016 If traditional retailers weren't so busy creating digital avatars to take on their new-age rivals, they might have noticed online stores gaining a firm foothold in their territory, one store at a time. Some of India's largest online stores including baby products retailer Firstcry, eyewear brand Lenskart and furniture marketplace Pepperfry are beginning to see significant contributions to revenue and bottomline from their physical stores. "We get significant revenues from our offline business and we are already EBITDA-positive (profitable from core operations) collectively," said Supam Maheshwari, chief executive of Firstcry, declining…
Aggregator models and hyperlocal delivery, in theory, have some significant advantages over existing business models. Unlike an inventory-based model, aggregation is asset-light, allowing rapid building of critical mass. A start-up can tap into existing infrastructure, as a bridge between existing retailers and the consumer. By tapping into fleeting consumption opportunities, the aggregator can actually drive new demand to the retailer in the short term. A hyperlocal delivery business can concentrate on understanding the nuances of a customer group in a small geographic area and spend its management and financial resources to develop a viable presence more intensively. However, both business…
Sapna Agarwal, MINT Mumbai, 21 January 2016 Mahindra Retail, a part of the $16.9 billion Mahindra Group, will sell products of US kidswear firm Carter’s Inc. in its chain of BabyOye stores across India and online, the company said on Wednesday. This will be Atlanta-based Carter’s third attempt at establishing itself in the Indian kidswear market. Mahindra Retail plans to open 40 so-called shop-in-shop BabyOye stores—where a brand owner or retailer takes space in another retailer’s store—in 15 cities across India in 2016. In the past, the OshKosh B’gosh kidswear brand, which Carter acquired globally in 2005, tried to make…
Sagar Malviya, The Economic Times Mumbai, 19 January 2016 Fabindia Overseas has crossed Rs 1,000-crore sales mark to become the largest retail apparel brand in the country, significantly ahead of nearest rivals Zara and Levi's India. During 2014-15, the ethnic wear firm posted a 12% rise in consolidated sales at Rs 1,148 crore with 36% increase in profit before exceptional items at Rs 112 crore. Its domestic business grew 25% to touch Rs 767 crore ahead of largest fast-fashion brand Zara that clocked sales of Rs 720 crore during the same period. "Customers are moving to one of two responses…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
