Raghavendra Kamath, Financial Express June 29, 2023 Zara, touted as “Fast Fashion Queen”, has achieved a unique feat in India. The Spanish brand has been growing its revenues without opening any new stores. The fashion brand, run by a joint venture between Tata-owned Trent and Spain’s retail group Inditex, posted a 40.7% growth in its revenues to Rs 2553.8 crore in FY23. The catch is that while many retailers/brands garner sales from opening new stores, Zara did not open any store but closed one during FY23. In FY21 and FY22, its store count remained constant at 21 but its revenue…
Kuldeep Chauhan, Editor-in-Chief, HimbuMail20 June 2023, Shimla/New Delhi For the first time in India, a conference brought together influential religious figures and water practitioners, establishing a powerful alliance with a shared vision of safeguarding water resources for future generations. There is no disagreement over sanctity of water in all religions. But problem is how different communities and their followers take up the task to conserve and protect water and on which scale of their involvement? There are individual success stories in Assam, Himachal, Ladakh (Ice Stupa), Uttarakhand, Rajasthan, Maharashtra and other places where individual initiatives have created wonders conserving water…
Sharleen D'Souza & Shivani Shinde, Business Standard June 8, 2023 Why are companies finding it difficult to sustain the supply-chain business? Experts point out that gross margins in supplying fast-moving consumer goods (FMCGs) are very low. While it does look attractive because it is the largest part of the consumption market, the last-mile supply chain and retailer are not making money. “FMCG brands have ensured high margins for their businesses by streamlining and smoothing their supply chains over decades and making them cost-efficient,” said Anshuman Singh, founder and managing director, Stellar Value Chain Solutions. Singh said in rural markets, the…
By Pavan Lall, Fortune India Jun 9, 2023 For fashion designer Tarun Tahiliani, getting funding from a corporate house was incidental. It happened through a high-profile customer, none other than Aditya Birla Group chairman Kumar Mangalam Birla. Birla had been a customer of Tahiliani’s Ensemble some three decades ago when he was getting engaged. They stayed in touch over the years and at one stage discussed the need for an Indian fashion brand focused on scale and accessibility. “It came out of a conversation and was a two-year ambling route. I had asked if they were expanding their designer brand…
M. Sriram and Aditya Kalra, Reuters (MUMBAI/NEW DELHI) June 7, 2023 Starbucks is revamping its strategy to lure Indians, including children, with smaller, cheaper beverages as it looks to expand in small towns amid a fierce challenge from domestic startups in one of its fastest-growing markets. Among the first foreign coffee brands to enter tea-loving India, the U.S. giant has taken almost 11 years to open 343 stores, in contrast with private equity-backed chains Third Wave and Blue Tokai that opened about 150 in the last three years. "As you grow in size, you need to get new consumers," said…
Geopolitical friction has again sparked renewed concerns over inflation and rising input costs for FMCG companies as @itmeansjustice @whysnavi write. @devangshu commented.
