The market is hopeless ... waiting for customers

Bandra's Hill Road is a major shopping destination for the residents of Mumbai. It is difficult to avoid the board of an empty showroom here. Most street shops are closed towards this showroom. Shopkeepers on the other hand say that the business is running smoothly. Jay Kamble, an owner of a small handbag shop on Hill Road, said, "I used to have at least 50 to 100 customers before the lockdown started in March. Hardly few buyers come now. This is the situation after unlocking started last month. So how do I run my business? '

The dilemma facing Kamble is that of almost every big and small retailer since the unlock program started in June. Retail establishments and businesses across the country have been reopened in a phased manner, but the influx of buyers has not picked up.

Most customers are away from Crawford Market, Hill Road and Linking Road in Mumbai, Connaught Place and Lajpat Nagar Central Market in New Delhi and Brigade Road and Commercial Street in Bangalore. Retailers say that the same customers are coming at the moment, who are in great need of shopping. They are leaving immediately after purchasing the goods they need. The movement is missing. Restrictions on business hours and opening of shops and retail establishments one day a day are impacting operations heavily. Gopal Rajpurohit, owner of Real Test Dry Fruits in the Crawford Market, said that business had shrunk due to the current crisis. He said, "We are doing only 10 to 20 percent of the business before this crisis. A large part of our stock went bad during the lockdown and we incurred that loss. Increased do clown is causing fear among people, which is also impacting business.

Bangalore has over 125 branded and non-branded stores on Brigade Road. About 25 of these showrooms have been closed so far. These include showrooms that were selling VIP bags, woodland shoes, and flying machine apparel. "In a few days, 10 more shops will be closed," said Suhail Yusuf, secretary of the Brigade Shops and Establishments Association. A week-long lockdown is going to take place again in Bengaluru from Tuesday night, which will increase the difficulties for traders. There will also be a lockdown in cities like Pune from Tuesday. Lockdown has been imposed in states like Aurangabad and Uttar Pradesh in Maharashtra since Friday.

Apparel seller Tarandeep Singh at Lajpat Nagar Central Market in New Delhi said that sales have not even reached 25 percent as compared to Covid-19. He says he does not know what the situation will be in the months ahead. "I had to remove more than half of my staff, most of whom have returned to their villages," he said.

The Confederation of All India Traders and Retailers Association of India (RAI) believes that the retail business has been badly affected. This has come down from 65 to 70 percent in June. Operations are being severely affected due to the lack of uniformity in rules and fear of customers purchasing.

The RAI said that the malls have registered a 77 percent decline on an annual basis as they are not being approved to open across the country. Despite the approval of Main Street to open retail outlets across the country, its business has been down 62 percent year-on-year. The only exception has been sustainable consumer and electronics retailers. Among them, there has been a decline of only 19 percent in business, while the decline in total retail business has been 67 percent.

Nilesh Gupta, managing director of electronics chain Vijay Sales, said, "Business has picked up in the last month." He says, "Sales in categories such as laptops, phones, and home appliances have been good. One of the reasons for this increase is the culture of work from home and learn from home, which has gained momentum after the lockdown. Although the atmosphere is disappointing. I have an optimistic outlook with vigilance.

Executives at well-known outlets such as H&M and Levis say that more customers are visiting their stores than at the beginning of June, but the business has not even reached 50 percent before Covid. The kitchenware and cutlery dealer at Crawford Bazaar in Mumbai said that buyers are placing orders at their shop. He said, 'But the biggest problem for me is to get the goods to their home. Local trains are not running completely. This means that I have to depend on road transport, which is expensive. ' Customers shopping for a wedding need to avoid potholes and dunes at Commercial Street, two kilometers from Bridge Road in Bangalore. It is the main center for wedding shopping in the city, but construction work is going on here. This leaves hardly any space for parking and shopping. Mayank Rohatgi, secretary of the Commercial Street Association, said, "Our business is also affected by Sunday's lockdown in Bangalore as 80 percent of the shopping is done on weekends."

Rohatgi is also the owner of a bullion shop in this center. There are more than 600 small and big shops in this shopping area, out of which 34 have been closed so far. Rohatgi said, 'Most of the shopkeepers are struggling to pay rent and salary. If the current situation persists for a few more months, around 80 percent of the shops on Commercial Street will be closed. after. They used to have at least 50 to 60 customers before the Covid-19 pandemic started. The salon manager said, "We may take any measures for safety, but I believe there is a lack of confidence in shopping and going out." It will take time to getaway. '