Diwali boom wipes off retailers' gloom

Terming this year’s festive sales as ‘bumper’, retail czar, Kishore Biyani, said his stores have seen electronic goods fly off the shelf. “I haven’t seen this kind of a Diwali in a long time. We did Rs 75 crore worth of sales in electronics and consumer durables in just a day. We are targeting Rs 500 crore of sales in the week October 15-21,” Future Group Founder and CEO Biyani told PTI here.  Tata Group company, Infiniti Retail, which runs the electronics megastore Croma, has also witnessed a 30-35 per cent jump in sales. “Sales have shot up by 30-35 per cent in the last 15 days. There is buoyancy and the sentiment is very positive compared with Diwali last year,” Infiniti Retail’s Chief Executive Ajit Joshi said. The company, which runs 37 stores, sold 1,300 digital cameras, 1,170 microwave ovens and 1,100 LCD televisions in a single day in the run-up to the festival, he said. LG, said it expects LCDs, refrigerators and washing machines to drive 35-40 per cent growth in revenue this Diwali. Japanese camera manufacturer, Canon, has come up with a ‘scratch & win’ offer, whereby customers can win prizes up to Rs 4,999 on the purchase of digital imaging products. “We hope the festival this year bids farewell to the adversities of the economic slowdown, which has gripped our economy since Diwali last year. 

Growth anticipation

This Diwali, we are looking at an annual growth of 30 per cent over last year,” Canon India’s Senior Vice-President Alok Bharadwaj said.

Value retailers have not been left far behind as Aditya Birla Retail, which primarily sells food items, saw a 15 per cent spurt in consumption. “The turnout of shoppers in the last 10 days has been pretty good. We have seen a 15 per cent extra sales in food items,” Aditya Birla Retail Chief Executive Officer Thomas Varghese said.

However, BSE-listed Shoppers Stop felt sales this Diwali were better than last year, but somehow belied expectations. “There is certainly an uplift in sales, but the mood is not as exuberant as expected. Non-apparel and jewellery items have seen a pick-up in sales,” Shoppers Stop Vice-Chairman B S Nagesh said.