VPC Newsletter | SEPTEMBER – 2017

The Month That Was…….

 MACROECONOMY

  • In the quarter April – June, 2017, Indian GDP annual growth rate came in at 5.7%. Albeit slightly below expectations, the number was seen as reflecting the uncertainty and paralysis owing to the run up to GST rollout on July, 1 st . As a matter of fact, several indicators in the month of August point to an uptick in economic activity. Exports and a few key industrial segments such as passenger and commercial vehicles sales, saw significant growth. This is in turn validating the expectation that investment cycle pickup may be coming and consumer sentiment is turning positive.

VPC SECTORS

Consumer Markets

  • Brazilian shoe-maker Grupo Priority has brought its flagship men’s shoe brand West Coast to India in a tie-up with the distribution arm of footwear retailer Metro Shoes Ltd. The brand was soft-launched in May and is now available in 122 department stores in the country including the top six metros and tier 2 and tier 3 cities. On a related note Metro Shoes has appointed Bollywood stars Katrina Kaif and Siddharth Malhotra as their new brand ambassadors.
  • Flipkart-owned online fashion retailer Myntra has won the rights to manage international fashion brand Esprit’s offline stores in India, and also to sell the brand’s products exclusively on its online marketplace, months after the e-commerce firm bagged a similar deal from Spanish fashion brand Mango. As part of this alliance, Myntra will manage at least 15 offline stores across India for Esprit over the next five years. The brand will also be sold online on Myntra – owned fashion retailer Jabong.
  • American footwear major Skechers is looking at opening up to 400 more exclusive outlets in India within 5 years as it expands operations as well as launches apparel and accessories collection in the country. It operates 100 exclusive outlets in the country that are company-owned as well as franchises.
  • British luxury men’s footwear and accessories brand Harrys of London is planning to open its first outlet in Delhi, followed by Mumbai by early 2018.
  • Global fast-fashion retailer Zara announced it will start online sales throughout the country starting October 4, through its website, and mobile application.
  • Swedish fashion retailer Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) will roll-out its online marketplace in India by next year, after witnessing huge demand from the country leading to nearly three times jump in sales this year.
  • Textile maker Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd, which sells foreign labels like Tommy Hilfiger, Nautica, GAP and Aeropostale, is developing kids wear as a separate business vertical in a bid to double its business over the next five years. In the process, the company is planning to open exclusive kids wear outlets which will sell apparel, footwear and accessories from Arvind’s in-house brands, starting with Bengaluru and Delhi. Currently, the company retails kids wear products through standalone brand stores.
  • In a sign of the growing things to come in the Indian consumer markets story, Unilever CEO Paul Polman said India could become Unilever’s biggest market, without specifying a timeline.
  • Fast-moving consumer goods (FMCG) sales by volume rose 6 per cent in July, faster than 2 per cent a year ago. This was mainly driven by 12 per cent growth in rural areas and a 7 per cent rise in the food and beverages category that has a significant chunk of unbranded players. A year ago, both segments grew 2 per cent each.
  • ITC has lined up ~ € 325 Billion investment in 65 projects, including 20 factories for consumer packaged goods, in an attempt to move away from the cigarette maker tag. ITC Ltd, the cigarettes-to- shampoo company, is working on an eight-point strategy to reinvent itself and accelerate growth in its non-cigarette businesses, especially branded consumer packaged foods, a segment it entered 15 years ago.
  • Godrej Appliances, the consumer durables division of the Godrej Group, is eyeing a turnover of ~ € 520 Million this fiscal, at a growth rate of over 20%.
  • Intex Technologies is aiming at becoming the largest Indian consumer durables company in the next five year with a turnover of ~ € 650 Million. Right now the company has a 6% market share in LED TVs and 3% share in washing machines nationally. It is aiming to increase it to 10% and 8% respectively this year.
  • French liquor giant Pernod Ricard SA reported a marginal increase in its India sales for the financial year 2016-17. Pernod, which owns brands like Chivas Regal whisky and Absolut vodka, said it has an over 45% market share in terms of value in India.
  • The textile industry is growing exponentially in the country, with Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) having tripled in three years, Union Minister Smriti Irani said today. The FDI flow into the sector reached ~ € 525.58 Million in 2016-17. However, there is still huge potential for further growth for which various efforts are being made by the Centre as well as states.
  • Yum Brands-owned pizza chain Pizza Hut India plans to double its outlets to over 700 in the next five years, based on the growing popularity of western fast-food in the country.
  • Future Group’s hypermarket chain Big Bazaar is planning to launch around 100 stores in the next 12 months across the country under its expansion plan, a senior official of the company said on Wednesday. Altogether, the company has 300 stores in over 100 cities across the country and has plans to launch 100 more in the next 12 months.
  • Amazon has picked up a 5% stake in Shoppers Stop, one of India’s leading offline retailers. The stake purchase comes on the back of a wider engaging collaboration whereby the two parties will leverage their respective strength and reach in offline and online.
  • Amazon India on Wednesday unveiled the Amazon Fashion Studio in Gurugram, a facility that offers allied services such as high-quality catalogue imaging to fashion sellers on Amazon.in. The studio, called BLINK, is Amazon’s third such facility in the world—the company has one each in London and New York. The 44,000 sq. ft. studio in Gurugram includes 16 photography bays, a ramp and a presentation area along with enclosed workspaces for Amazon teams and fashion sellers to collaborate on creative content.
  • Flipkart-owned fashion retailer Myntra said on Thursday that its private labels and brands business has turned profitable, even as it remains on track to grow revenue by at least 50% this financial year to ~ € 1.1 billion.
  • Herbal-goods major Dabur has set up an online ayurveda marketplace with Amazon to strengthen its presence in the fast-growing space of ‘natural’ consumer products. The online store will sell ayurveda brands, while offering consumers valuable insights into the medicinal properties of ayurvedic products for treating various ailments.
  • Tata Group is venturing into online grocery business under Starquik brand, taking on Amazon and Bigbasket in a nascent yet rapidly growing market. A pilot venture will be rolled out within the next two months as an online channel for Trent Hypermarket, an equal joint venture between Tata and British retailer Tesco.

Newsletters

Value Prism Consulting
Connect with us on LinkedIn