5 facts about PV Narasimha Rao, the man who liberated Indian economy

From boosting Indian Army to ending License Raj: 5 facts about PV Narasimha Rao, the man who liberated Indian economy

Did you know Rao was also referred to as 'Chanakya' for his ability to steer economic and political legislation? Read on to know more.

Today, on June 28th, 2020, India is observing the 99th birth anniversary of former Prime Minister Pamulaparthi Venkata Narasimha Rao, popularly known as PV Narasimha Rao. While serving as the ninth Prime Minister of India from 1991-1996, Rao oversaw one of the arguably most tumultuous phases in India's history, especially significant as the person singularly responsible for dismantling the Nehruvian policy of License Raj, thereby reversing the socialist policies of the Rajiv Gandhi government.

Forever debated as one of the most controversial moves, Rao nonetheless left behind a legacy in India's leadership as future Prime Ministers like Atal Bihari Vajpayee and Manmohan Singh continued the economic reform policies pioneered by Rao's government. With PV Narasimha Rao's mandate, Manmohan Singh had launched India's 'globalisation' angle of the reforms that implemented the International Monetary Fund (IMF) policies to rescue the almost bankrupt nation from economic collapse.

Rao was also referred to as Chanakya for his ability to steer economic and political legislation through the parliament at a time when he headed a minority government.

In addition to these, PV Narasimha Rao was also the first Prime Minister from southern India and was also the second one to hold such a post from a non-Hindi-speaking region.
On his 99th birth anniversary, here are five facts about former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao that you probably did not know:

    He was not just a Prime Minister from a non-Hindi-speaking region, PV Narasimha Rao had also mastered as many as eight Indian languages. Telugu was his mother tongue and he was fluent in Kannada and Tamil as well. In addition to these, Rao had an excellent command over Marathi, Hindi, Oriya, Urdu, Bengali, Gujarati, and even the classical language Sanskrit. Not just these, he could also speak eight foreign languages, including English, French, Arabic, Spanish, German, Greek, Latin, and Persian. Truly a polyglot! 
    Rao very nearly retired from politics in 1991. It was the assassination of the Congress President Rajiv Gandhi that persuaded him to make a comeback. As the Congress had won the largest number of seats in the 1991 elections, he had an opportunity to head the minority government as Prime Minister. He was the first person outside the Nehru-Gandhi family to serve as Prime Minister for five continuous years, the first to hail from the state of Andhra Pradesh, and also the first from southern India. 
    Rao energised the national nuclear security and ballistic missiles program, which ultimately resulted in the 1998 Pokhran nuclear tests. He had increased military spending and set the Indian Army on course to fight the emerging threat of terrorism and insurgencies, as well as Pakistan and China's nuclear potentials. It was during his term that terrorism in the Indian state of Punjab was finally defeated. 
    Rao opened up India's markets to foreign investment, reformed capital markets and trade regime, and deregulated the domestic business. His economic reforms were aimed at averting the impending 1991 economic crisis. During his time, the total foreign investment (including foreign direct investment, portfolio investment, and investment raised on international capital markets) in India grew from a minuscule US$132 million in 1991–92 to $5.3 billion in 1995–96. 
    Rao had launched the Look East foreign policy, which brought India closer to ASEAN member-nations. This, in turn, led to India's increasing economic interaction with South East Asia and forged important strategic and defense links with several countries in this region.

On his 99th birth anniversary, several politicos cutting across the spectrum, including Prime Minister Narendra Modi and Vice President M. Venkaiah Naidu paid their respects to former Prime Minister PV Narasimha Rao.

The Chinese government has acknowledged the deaths of only a few officers so far.

China still silent on Galwan casualties; failing to silence kin of slain soldiers: Report

Despite suffering multiple casualties in a violent faceoff with India in the Galwan Valley area, China has still not disclosed how many of its soldiers were killed in the incident.

This decision of the Chinese Communist Party has upset Chinese families who lost their loved ones in the incident, US-based Breitbart News has reported.

According to Breitbart, the Chinese government is struggling to silence the families of soldiers who are using Weibo and other platforms to vent their anger and frustration.

Following the June 15 incident, the Indian government had acknowledged that 20 of its soldiers were killed in the brawl with the Chinese troops.

The Chinese government has acknowledged the deaths of only a few officers so far.

Indian intercepts have, however, revealed that the Chinese side suffered 43 casualties including the dead and seriously injured.

Although the Chinese government is mum regarding the casualties, its state-media editor-in-chief had revealed that the Chinese side has also suffered casualties during the June 15 face-off with Indian troops in Ladakh.

"Based on what I know, the Chinese side also suffered casualties in the Galwan Valley physical clash," Hu Xijin, Editor-in-Chief of Chinese state-run media said in a tweet.

According to multiple reports, Chinese families are using Weibo to express their frustration over the secrecy of their government.


Meanwhile, Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Sunday said that a "befitting reply" has been given to those coveting Indian territories.

"The world has seen India's commitment to protecting its borders & sovereignty. In Ladakh, a befitting reply has been given to those coveting our territories," said the Prime Minister.

He paid his respects to the brave martyrs who fought to protect Indian territory at the borders. "India knows how to fulfill the role of an ally, and also to give a befitting reply to transgressions. Our courageous soldiers have shown that they won't allow a single scratch on Mother India's dignity," said Prime Minister Modi.

"India bows to our brave martyrs who lost their lives in Ladakh. Their valour will always be remembered. Families who lost their sons, still want to send their other children to defence forces... their spirit and sacrifice is venerable," he said.

The June 15 violent face-off occurred after China attempted to unilaterally change the status quo during de-escalation in eastern Ladakh. India has said that the situation could have been avoided if the agreement at the higher level been scrupulously followed by the Chinese side.

Want level-playing field with offline cos: E-tailers

During a meeting convened by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), e-commerce players pointed out that small players who sell on their platforms may find it tough to comply, given that products may be assembled or packed in one country but may have inputs from across the world.

 Ecommerce players on Wednesday demanded a level-playing field with offline retailers on disclosing the country of origin, amid indications that they are willing to accept the mandate, although it will take a few months to implement it.

During a meeting convened by the department for promotion of industry and internal trade (DPIIT), e-commerce players pointed out that small players who sell on their platforms may find it tough to comply, given that products may be assembled or packed in one country but may have inputs from across the world.

“It is possible that the bottle is made somewhere and the cap somewhere else, while the final product in it is made here with inputs from several other countries. How do you classify this product?” an executive with a leading company said.

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E-tailers to consider listing of 'country of origin' label on products

Many of the mobile phone manufacturers assemble handsets in India and source components from China and other countries, although the packet carries a Made-in-India label, companies said.

The government had called Amazon, Flipkart, Grofers, Jio, Reliance Retail, Snapdeal, ShopClues and 1mg, among others, for consultations on mandating country of origin norms, something that a GeM official said was easily doable.

Several company executives suggested that the government should launch a campaign encouraging people to buy locally made goods, which will help in reducing the demand for cheap products from across the border. “A guy selling Diwali lights in Delhi’s Chandni Chowk is not going to say that the product is made in China. You need a level-playing field,” said an etailer. The e-tailers stressed that liability of adhering to the requirement of disclosing the country of origin should also be on sellers, given that these platforms are marketplaces.

Chinese investments in Indian start-ups grow 12 times to USD 4.6 bn in 2019: Global Data

An analysis of the deals database of GlobalData's Disruptor Intelligence Centre showed 12 times growth of Chinese investments in Indian start-ups over the past four years from USD 381 million in 2016 to USD 4.6 billion in 2019.

There has been a 12 times growth of Chinese investments in Indian start-ups over the past four years to USD 4.6 billion in 2019 from USD 381 million in 2016 with a majority of unicorns in India being backed by corporates and pure-play investment firms from China, according to data and analytics firm GlobalData.

An analysis of the deals database of GlobalData's Disruptor Intelligence Centre showed 12 times growth of Chinese investments in Indian start-ups over the past four years from USD 381 million in 2016 to USD 4.6 billion in 2019.

The majority of the unicorns in India (17 out of 24) are currently backed by both corporates and pure-play investment firms from China, predominantly Alibaba and Tencent, GlobalData said.

Alibaba and its affiliate Ant Financial along with others invested over USD 2.6 billion in four Indian unicorns (Paytm, Snapdeal, BigBasket and Zomato), while Tencent alongside others invested more than USD 2.4 billion in five unicorns (Ola, Swiggy, Hike, Dream11 and BYJU's), it added.

Unicorns are the start-ups that have a valuation of USD 1 billion or above.

Other notable Chinese investors active in the Indian start-up ecosystem include Meituan-Dianping, Didi Chuxing, Fosun, Shunwei Capital, Hillhouse Capital Group, China Lodging Group, and China-Eurasia Economic Cooperation Fund.

Until last year, undeterred by any geopolitical tensions, China placed considerable bets on Indian tech start-ups anticipating significant growth in the medium-to-long term, Kiran Raj, principal disruptive tech analyst at GlobalData, said.

"However, the recent border conflict and the tightening of India's FDI (foreign direct investment) policy amid COVID-19 as a caution to avoid takeover or acquisition of distressed assets by border-sharing nations may turn a blockade to Chinese investors in achieving their investment goals," he added.

Nevertheless, it is only a temporary measure and the long-term impact can only be realised in the future given the significant bilateral investment relations between the two countries, he said.

Slow clearance of Chinese goods may put etailers like Amazon, Flipkart in a spot

Senior executives from ecommerce marketplaces told ET that the move to curb supplies from China will hurt local retailers, as many of these products, components or raw materials cannot be locally sourced, either due to non-availability or lack of scale.

India’s move to delay Customs clearance for goods, components and raw materials imported from China could hurt companies like Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal and Paytm Mall, as it puts at risk categories that contribute over 50% of sales on these ecommerce platforms.

Apart from smartphones — which is the largest sales driver for online retailers — consumer electronics, personal care, home and furnishing and toys, which rely highly on supply chains from China, will be impacted.

As per the gross merchandise value (GMV) data for 2019, these categories make up 51% of sales for the Indian ecommerce industry, according to a sectoral analyst who did not want to be named, although he clarified that the curbs on supply will not wipe out China-made products from these categories. Of the online GMV, smartphones make up around 35%, consumer electronics 7%, home and furniture 4% and toys form 2%.


Social commerce companies such as Meesho, Shop101, Bulbul and Simsim are more dependent on long-tail affordable items from China. “At least 60-70% of the merchandise priced below ₹300 comes from China. India doesn’t have the kind of cost capabilities to manufacture items at that price,” said an investor in a social commerce startup.

“This supply blockage will affect overall retail and not just ecommerce. But the reliance of ecommerce on some of these categories, specifically smartphones, to drive sales is higher than in offline retail,” the analyst quoted earlier in the story said.

Senior executives from ecommerce marketplaces told ET that the move to curb supplies from China will hurt local retailers, as many of these products, components or raw materials cannot be locally sourced, either due to non-availability or lack of scale.

Food deliveries at quick service restaurants back at pre-covid levels

Almost all brands have restarted promotions, upfront discounts of 20-40%, or cash-back offers on deliveries, either through aggregators or exclusively on their own apps, to spur demand as most consumers remain indoors and offices and schools continue to operate largely from homes.

Large quick service restaurants such as Pizza Hut, McDonald’s and KFC said their delivery sales have either reached pre-Covid volumes or witnessed significant pickup over the past two weeks since lockdown curbs eased. This comes at a time when dine-in sales remain negligible.

“We have reached pre-Covid volumes on delivery, spurred by offers like ‘buy one, get one free’ and 40% savings on larger boxes,” said Merrill Pereyra, managing director of Pizza Hut India.

The chain owned by Yum Restaurants has introduced individual consumption boxes in select cities across delivery and takeaway since consumers would be conscious about sharing food, he said.

Almost all brands have restarted promotions, upfront discounts of 20-40%, or cash-back offers on deliveries, either through aggregators or exclusively on their own apps, to spur demand as most consumers remain indoors and offices and schools continue to operate largely from homes.

McDonald’s India – North and East said business is making a comeback. “We have seen growth in our delivery sales, as people are ordering more,” a company spokesperson said. “Besides, drive-thru’s are also performing well, as a result of speed with which we can serve customers.” The burger-and-fries chain said it has opened over 130 restaurants in the North & East since the time the government announced relaxation of restrictions.

KFC India chief marketing officer Moksh Chopra said: “Wednesdays and weekends continue to be big crowd pullers.” He said delivery continues to be strong, with about half its sales coming from the channel. Contactless deliveries, takeaways and dine-in have received “encouraging response”, he said.

Delivery platform Swiggy said the overall supply has grown to over 50% of what it was in pre-Covid period. “We are witnessing an increase in orders from customers who are unwinding from the recent lockdown and ordering frequency from this segment has doubled or tripled,” a Swiggy spokesperson said. “With restaurants resuming operations gradually, and many other factors improving, we expect this boost in demand for food delivery to further pick up pace and start inching towards the pre-Covid levels.”

McDonald’s West and South, operated by Hardcastle Restaurants, on Friday announced a 'Thank God its FriYaY' promotion which it said was exclusively on delivery platform Swiggy at discounts of over 20%. Swiggy’s rival Zomato on Friday announced flat 30% off on its Zomato Gold platform.

Zomato Gold, which covers both dine-in and delivery, has been a bone of contention with restaurants which in its original format offered one-plus-one, or two-plustwo offers on food or liquor with participating restaurants taking the discounts. Restaurants across fine-dine, which require larger spaces and rely on ambience and instore experiences, however, said reopening outlets is not an ideal option unless rentals are waived off or reduced, given half capacity seating and restrictions on timing and serving of alcohol.

Malls see 77% degrowth in first half of June; consumer sentiment low: Report

As per the survey conducted by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) with participation of more than 100 big and small retailers, it was found that lockdown relaxations did not benefit retailers as there was no significant surge in their business.

Malls witnessed 77 per cent degrowth while high street retail showed a decline of 61 per cent in business in the first half of June, as compared to the same period last year, with consumer sentiment remaining low even after lockdown relaxations, according to a report. As per the survey conducted by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) with participation of more than 100 big and small retailers, it was found that lockdown relaxations did not benefit retailers as there was no significant surge in their business.

After lockdown guidelines were relaxed in early June, most states permitted malls and high street retailers to reopen after a gap of more than 70 days.

"However, it was found that consumer sentiment continues to be at a low. This is consistent with findings of a recent consumer survey by RAI which revealed that 4 out of 5 Indian consumers would reduce shopping expenditure post the lockdown," the retailers' body said in a statement.

The sentiment was reflected in categories like quick service restaurant (QSR) and restaurants (dip of 70 per cent), followed by apparel and clothing (69 per cent decline), and jewellery, watches and other personal accessories (65 per cent decrease), it added.

RAI said although retail is slowly opening up, the relaxations in restrictions are not uniform across states. A lot of retail still remains closed, which is hurting businesses and as a result, the economy.

"The survey uncovers the urgent need for opening all forms of retail so India can start its journey back towards recovery," it added.

RAI CEO Kumar Rajagopalan said, "While we appreciate the Centre's intent to restart the economy and open up retail with detailed guidelines under the Unlock 1.0 phase, it is important for states to embrace the mandate and ensure smooth and regular opening of all forms of retail."

"We hope that in the coming days, restrictions across states will ease in a uniform manner, which is crucial for consumption to pick up," he added.

Amazon, Bigbasket ask sellers for ‘origin country’

Brands and merchants TOI spoke to said they have received email communications and notifications on seller apps to share relevant details on the origin of products. Platforms like Bigbasket have started the process of collecting this data, while its in-house labels like Fresho, in some categories, sport the ‘made in India’ tag already.

Bengaluru: E-commerce platforms like Amazon India and Bigbasket have started asking sellers and brands to put ‘country of origin’ for the products on their platforms. This comes a day after government officials held a meeting with e-commerce players over the issue that has gained prominence due to the border conflict with China in Ladakh.

Brands and merchants TOI spoke to said they have received email communications and notifications on seller apps to share relevant details on the origin of products. Platforms like Bigbasket have started the process of collecting this data, while its in-house labels like Fresho, in some categories, sport the ‘made in India’ tag already.


Amazon India, which has 6 lakh sellers in India, has started notifying merchants and brands to share these details. “Some of my products already had the details, but now we are being asked formally to add this information, which would be available for users,” one of the brands selling on Amazon India said. For this label, some of the products had started reflecting their ‘country of origin’ on Amazon India.

“As of now, this information will be displayed in the ‘other product info’ section. However, based on the decision taken by the (commerce) ministry, we have to display this information as a tag or on the image. This will be decided after announcement of the final legal metrology,” Bigbasket told one of the food brands on its platform.

The Bengaluru-based firm added that, if a product is manufactured in multiple countries, then all of them need to be mentioned. “If, for example, Pampers is manufactured in India, Canada and China, we will need all the three country names as we may not at any point be sure the batch supplied to us was manufactured in which country,” the note added. Another merchant, who sells electronic accessories, said, “It’s not a long-term solution. I have over a lakh listings, so it would be a tedious task and most of my products are from China. As an Indian, this will impact sales for products that I have already paid for,” he said.

An Amazon India spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, while an email sent to Bigbasket did not elicit any response till the time of going to the press.

Xiaomi covers up its store branding with Make in India logo

Three senior industry executives said this comes on back of the brick-and-mortar cellphone stores, under their body All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), writing a letter to the Chinese smartphone brands about the threat of damages to shops for selling such products allowing them flexibility to remove or hide brandings.

India's largest smartphone maker, Xiaomi has started to cover its logo and sign boards outside exclusive and multi-brand cellphone stores with the 'Made in India' logo and has asked its shop floor promoters not to wear uniform fearing that miscreants may damage the shops or attack promoters due to anti-China sentiments.

Three senior industry executives said this comes on back of the brick-and-mortar cellphone stores, under their body All India Mobile Retailers Association (AIMRA), writing a letter to the Chinese smartphone brands about the threat of damages to shops for selling such products allowing them flexibility to remove or hide brandings. This is since the brand signage is linked to retailer incentive and any damages are retailer liability.

The executives said Xiaomi has already covered most of the retail signage in cities like Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Chennai, Pune, Agra, Patna amongst others where there has already been reports of demonstration against Chinese brands and threats to shops.

AIMRA has written the letter to Xiaomi, Oppo, Vivo, Realme, OnePlus, Lenovo-Motorola and Huawei requesting them to allow retailers to either cover the signage or remove them for a few months till the anti-China sentiments die down. “Damage to these boards should not be the retailer’s liability as the circumstances are not in our hands or in our control,” the letter said.

An email sent to Xiaomi did not elicit any response till Wednesday press time. Industry executives said other Chinese brands are yet to take any action like Xiaomi has done. Be that as it may, retailers said there has been no impact on demand for Chinese brands except due to short supplies which several brands like Xiaomi, Realme, Oppo and OnePlus are facing. In fact, Xiaomi India MD Manu Kumar Jain on Wednesday tweeted that one of its models was sold out online in less than 50 seconds.

Jain had told ET that it has not issued any security advisory and hasn’t beefed up security at its offices, shops or factories. He described people who demonstrated outside the company’s stores as fringe elements. Chinese brands together control almost 81% of the Indian smartphone market as per Counterpoint Research.

HUL to rebrand Fair & Lovely cream as criticism heaps on fairness products

The decision by Johnson & Johnson had put HUL and L’Oreal in a spot as they faced criticism over their presence in skin lightening products. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and is expected to change in the next few months, HUL said.

Hindustan Unilever (HUL) said it will drop the word “fair” from its skin lightening cream Fair & Lovely, as part of rebranding its flagship brand. The move comes after Johnson & Johnson decided to exit the fairness cream category in India and Middle East over rising protests related to gender discrimination and stereotyping based on the colour of skin, following the death of George Floyd in the US.

The decision by Johnson & Johnson had put HUL and L’Oreal in a spot as they faced criticism over their presence in skin lightening products. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and is expected to change in the next few months, HUL said.

“We are making our skin care portfolio more inclusive and want to lead the celebration of a more diverse portrayal of beauty. In 2019, we removed the cameo with two faces as well as the shade guides from the packaging of Fair & Lovely and the brand communication progressed from fairness to glow which is a more holistic and inclusive measure of healthy skin. These changes were very well received by our consumers,” said Sanjiv Mehta, CMD of HUL.

The fairness cream category is a high revenue market for HUL in India with Fair & Lovely having revenue of Rs 2,000 crore and is part of the company’s beauty and personal care category which is worth Rs 17,000 crore. For Johnson & Johnson, the revenue is insignificant in India.

Last week, oral toothpaste maker Colgate-Palmolive said it was reviewing its Chinese toothpaste brand Darlie, which though widely sold across Asia, essentially translates to “black person toothpaste.”

HUl said it moved away from advertising the benefits of fairness, whitening and skin lightening that it claimed could happen by usage of its cream. It also removed from Fair & Lovely’s packaging, words such as ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ that could indicate a fairness-led transformation. The cameo with two faces showing shade transformation, as well as the shade guides were removed from the packs.

Top retail and restaurant brands in Delhi's high street locations switch to revenue share model

According to industry executives, average rentals in Khan Market till last year were Rs 7-10 lakh a month, or Rs 1,400-2,700 per sq ft, but things have changed drastically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW DELHI: Many marquee retail and restaurant brands in high street locations like Delhi’s Khan Market have stopped paying rentals and switched entirely to revenue-share models amid continuing uncertainty over a revival in business, industry executives told ET.

Town Hall, a marquee restaurant brand in Khan Market which is among the world’s most expensive high-street retail locations, will run entirely on a revenue-share basis instead of paying rentals “till things are back to normal”, its owner, Navneet Kalra, said.

According to industry executives, average rentals in Khan Market till last year were Rs 7-10 lakh a month, or Rs 1,400-2,700 per sq ft, but things have changed drastically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

AD Singh, the managing director of Olive Group that runs Olive Bar and Kitchen, SodaBottleOpenerWala and The Grammar Room in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Goa and Bengaluru, said: “Our rentals have been waived in at least five locations including Khan Market since we have long-term associations with landowners. We are also seeking complete removal of minimum guarantee post reopening since footfalls will be significantly impacted for a while.”

Singh said the group was renegotiating deals with all other landlords. “If you’re running half the restaurant, how can you pay the full rental? Social-distancing norms, shutting down at 9 pm and restrictions on alcohol have made our business entirely unsustainable,” he said.

Premium locations such as Delhi’s Connaught Place and Mumbai’s Linking Road are seeing rentals crash as much as 80%. Three top industry executives said various retailers were working on the following arrangement with landlords — entire waiver of rentals for the April-June quarter when the lockdown was most stringent, an 80% discount on rentals in the July-September quarter and 60% and 30% discounts in the third and fourth fiscal quarters, respectively.

DLF Malls has offered tenants no minimum guarantee and no rentals from the time the lockdown started till June 15, a 75% waiver in the remaining weeks of June, and subsequently 50%, 25% and 10% waivers till the fourth quarter sequentially.

Popular chain The Big Chill owner Aseem Grover told ET: “Our rentals for the period of lockdown have been waived in some high-street locations and discounted rates of rent for the rest of the year are being worked out. As far as the malls are concerned, we have told them that while their proposals for the July-September quarter is workable, further increment in rent cannot be based merely on a pre-defined time period since no one can predict when footfalls will normalise … we are discussing this further.”

Premium retail brands Levi’s, Nike and Sketchers are exiting stores in plum areas like Delhi’s Connaught Place and Mumbai’s Linking Road, industry sources said. “Levi’s is moving to a lesser expensive outlet within CP,” said one of them. “Bigger stores are now available at lower rentals there.”

Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s family is learnt to be renegotiating the rental for a 25,000 sq ft property it has leased out to the Future Group on Mumbai’s Linking Road, an industry executive directly aware of the development said. The Future Group declined to comment, while Khan's property agent, JLL, said: "Discussions are still on with the existing tenant."

Khan Market Welfare Association President Anshu Tandon said while some retailers had agreed to revenue sharing, others were negotiating. “There are no standard operating procedures or manuals; where both parties are reasonable it is possible to strike a balance, so different models have been worked out between different tenants and landlords.”

Tandon, who is also the landlord of the popular Big Chill restaurant, said the latter has been given a reduction in rent for the full year.

“We are telling landlords and tenants this is not the time to go for watertight contracts as litigation is not in the interest of either party. It’s best not to form cartels and instead engage in dialogue. The government also needs to reach out and give financial support to the sector,” Tandon said.

The chief executive of a prominent brand who retails at Khan Market and switched to no-rent during lockdown and revenue share for future said everybody kept talking about going back to normal but it was unlikely rents would move back to 2019 levels.

“It’s a real crisis. The shift is happening in a more permanent way; some of this will revert to original levels but there will be lot of new things emerging. If we continue to not open and delay, more businesses will go to ecommerce channels and there is already a massive shift towards that.”

Minimum guarantees too won’t work till uncertainty stays, industry executives said. “If the (Covid-19) positive cases increase and there is another lockdown or alcohol isn’t allowed and restaurant timings doesn't get extended, we don't have an option but to renegotiate again with the landlords,” a person who runs four high-end fine-dine brands said.

Brands such as Smoke House Deli, Cafe Turtle, Full Circle, Sidewok, Harry’s Bar, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Smokey’s are exiting Khan Market.

Brands looking to shift production from China to India

Third-party manufacturers were already exploring options to reduce their dependence on imports of finished products since the Covid-19 crisis disrupted their supplies from China, but the recent border issue and government’s vocal for local pitch has increased interest in last one week.

Indian contract manufacturers said there is a surge in interest from brands to make products like televisions, air-conditioners, microwave ovens, shoes, speakers, ear phones, set-top boxes and apparel in the country as companies fear consumer backlash against 'Made in China' products and expects surge in import duties by the government as a retaliatory step against China due to the Galwan crisis.

Third-party manufacturers like Dixon, Videotex International, SSIPL amongst others said companies were already exploring options to reduce their dependence on imports of finished products since the Covid-19 crisis disrupted their supplies from China, but the recent border issue and government’s vocal for local pitch has increased interest in last one week.

However, companies said China will still play a big part in sourcing of raw materials and components since no other country manufactures them as competitively.

“Companies will act according to the decisions of the Indian government. If India adds some additional duties on imports, then they will immediately look for alternatives,” said VK Mishra, chairman of India China Trade Centre.

Dixon Technologies chairman Sunil Vachani said brands are trying to de-risk themselves from tariff barriers which the government may put against China. “Consumers want to know the origin of the product and more interest for made in India which is triggering such increase in enquiries,” he said.

Electronics industry body, CEAMA president Kamal Nandi said 30% of air-conditioners are imported in India and majority of microwave ovens, with most of them coming from China. “We expect these will change by next year as several manufacturers are beefing up their capacities in India,” he said.

Arjun Bajaaj, director at Videotex International, said several brands, including the new entrants in TV category, want to start local production with contract manufacturers which will only further grow pace. The company already designs and manufactures for 15 television brands.

Even Chinese brands like OnePlus and Realme will be manufacturing their TVs in India.

The Centre is reportedly preparing a list of imports from China, including finished products, to curb them after the border tension at Galwan Valley. It is also scrutinising import of made in China products from ASEAN nations misusing the trade agreements.

Rishab Soni, managing director at SSIPL Group, which manufactures for brands such as Puma, Asics, Lotto and Power, said several brands have increased talks to move their China production not just to India but also ASEAN nations.

Shoe maker Woodland India managing director Harkirat Singh said while it imports specialised footwear from China, it is looking at newer sourcing avenues including India. “The cost of production may go up by 5-10%, but we will absorb it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) is preparing a list of categories they currently import from China and identifying the products its members can ramp up or shift manufacturing in India.

“Sentiments will be driven by the consumers. If the consumers take even more aggressive stand, then the industry would be compelled to take immediate and dramatic steps,” said Rahul Mehta, chief mentor of CMAI.

He said India still has to build capabilities and expertise in areas of winter clothing, active-wear, speciality clothing and specialized sportswear.

Mishra said some companies are looking to route products through countries that enjoy trade concessions from both India and China like in the case of ASEAN countries and Bangladesh.

Apps with Chinese funds face users’ ire

Users are targeting the Google Play Store ratings of apps which are backed by Chinese capital. Top Indian consumer-focused unicorns like Paytm, Ola, Zomato, MakeMyTrip and others are now in the line of fire because of their ‘Chinese connection’. The down-voting of these apps hasn’t yet changed overall ratings significantly but indicates the consumer sentiment.

BENGALURU: Top Indian consumer-focused unicorns like Paytm, Ola, Zomato, MakeMyTrip and others backed by Chinese capital are facing the ire of consumers. Users are targeting the Google Play Store ratings of these apps, citing their ‘Chinese connection’ even as experts feel that hardware products like smartphones will be harder to discard.

Most of these mobile applications have seen over the last one week increasing comments and lowest possible ratings from consumers. Some of the users are even uninstalling the apps as they are backed by China’s largest internet companies like Tencent, Alibaba and Ctrip. But interestingly, all these companies are run by Indian entrepreneurs based out of the country.

The down-voting of these apps hasn’t yet changed overall ratings significantly, but indicates the broader consumer sentiment gaining traction following the killing of 20 Indian soldiers owing to a border conflict with China in Ladakh. Chinese goods, especially leading smartphone players like Xiaomi, Vivo and other electronic appliance items, will take centre stage on top e-commerce platforms like Flipkart this week when the e-tailer holds its first summer sale since the virus outbreak.

Apps with Chinese funds face users’ ire

For instance, at the end of March quarter, Chinese smartphone brands like Xiaomi, Vivo and Oppo together had a market share of 73%. Xiaomi, Vivo, OnePlus, Paytm, Zomato, Ola and MakeMyTrip declined to comment on the story, while emails sent to other mentioned firms did not elicit any response.

Counterpoint senior research analyst Prachir Singh said the current situation would open new opportunities for brands like Samsung to gain during the anti-China sentiment, but consumers also don’t have as many options for low- to mid-level priced phones. “Leaving an app from a phone is easy compared to throwing a hardware device. Chinese brands have dominance in this (smartphone) space, so choices for consumers are very less compared to segments like smartwatch,” said Singh.

In fact, a host of Flipkart’s own private labels like SmartBuy, MarQ and Miss&Chief, under which it sells products like electronic accessories, washing machines and toys, are also made in China, according to the description of the origin of these products on the platform. On Amazon India, too, select handset and other accessory sales are lined up for brands like Xiaomi, OnePlus and Vivo along with its flagship private brand AmazonBasics. This private brand largely sells products that are made in China across categories at a noticeable discount than others.

OnePlus concluded a sold-out event of its device last Thursday on Amazon India. An ongoing sale on Myntra too has several products originating from China. This indicates the penetration of Chinese products in segments like mobile, smart TVs, power banks and headphones. People may be expressing their anger online, or there could even be incidents like a fringe group protesting outside Oppo’s office in Greater Noida, as reported on Sunday. But brand experts and analysts say the immediate impact would relatively be more on consumers apps, which one can uninstall, compared to devices that are Chinese and often cheaper than other market options.

“This (standoff) will definitely impact many Chinese-owned brands and apps that are widely in use in India. While some of this is being driven by the strong anti-China rhetoric and the sentiment fuelled by media reports, the calls to shun Chinese phone makers seems to be gaining traction, specifically in categories where there are reasonably priced options available. The same is true of apps, where many are feeling the need to replace them with options — or worse, going out of the way to negatively rate and review them,” said Lloyd Mathias, business strategist and marketer. He added that, historically, these nation boycotts have been short term and have not impacted purchasing behaviour on a permanent basis.

HUL in a spot as J&J exits fairness line

The company, while vocal about its ‘purpose-led’ growth mission, has so far been quiet on this front. Unilever’s Fair & Lovely is the largest selling skin cream in India. The brand was also extended to soaps last year.

Mumbai: As Johnson & Johnson (J&J) exits the fairness space globally, leading beauty players like Unilever and L’Oreal are facing criticism over their presence in skin lightening products. J&J’s exit from the fairness category comes as part of the global movement against racism gathering steam following the killing of George Floyd in Minneapolis in Minnesota (US).

When Unilever shared on social media its responsibility towards racial justice, it faced a barrage of comments from netizens over its fairness products. The company, while vocal about its ‘purpose-led’ growth mission, has so far been quiet on this front. Unilever’s Fair & Lovely is the largest selling skin cream in India. The brand was also extended to soaps last year.

The category may be insignificant for J&J in India in terms of revenues, but for Unilever’s Indian subsidiary Hindustan Unilever (HUL), the stakes are quite high. Fair & Lovely is an over Rs 2,000-crore brand by revenue and is part of HUL’s beauty & personal care category, which clocks Rs 17,000 crore annually. Edelweiss Securities research analyst Abneesh Roy said, “HUL dominates fairness creams in India and it is also a high-margin business. In the past, HUL has maintained that they are fulfilling a consumer demand and not propelling any skin stereotype. In the short term, HUL would gain market share as J&J exits fairness creams in India.”

Harish Bijoor, brand-strategy specialist & founder of Harish Bijoor Consults Inc, said, “J&J has let the cat among the pigeons with this decision. When a global player — albeit with very small shares and stakes in the segment — takes a call, the entire category sits up as do consumers.”

Queries sent to HUL & L’Oreal India remained unanswered.For most consumers in India, a fairness product is said to be the first point of entry into the world of beauty. Over the years, as the debate grew louder on how fairness products could be promoting discrimination based on skin colour, marketers have adopted a new nomenclature and changed the semantics of fairness. Most products talk about “glowing”, “flawless”, “brightness” in their communication to consumers.The word “fair” exists only in the brand name. This, said industry experts, was a conscious effort on the part of marketers. Last year, Fair & Lovely combined the new facial glow trends to launch a “High Definition (HD) Glow” product line.In past interviews to TOI, Unilever’s leaders have maintained that Fair & Lovely is “a safe skincare product, which is not the case for many alternatives used by consumers… and that the product boosts the confidence of women”.

Bijoor said he does not believe any product can promote racism. “Racism is in the eye of the beholder. An innocent looking Fair & Lovely that sits on retail shelves is hardly the promoter of racist sentiment in anyone. The link is rather tenuous and lives more in the imagination of those who want to search it out in the product,” said Bijoor.

In its latest annual report, HUL said it continued to strengthen the core brands, one of which is Fair & Lovely, by driving penetration. The company further said, “In skin care, Fair & Lovely continues to deliver healthy growth.”

A J&J spokesperson said, “Conversations over the past few weeks highlighted that some product names or claims on our dark spot reducer products represent fairness or white as better than your own unique skin tone. This was never our intention — healthy skin is beautiful skin. We’ve made the business decision to no longer sell the Neutrogena Fine Fairness and Clean & Clear Clear Fairness product line.”

J&J’s website and retailer pages are being updated to remove links to purchase. “For a short while products may still appear on a limited number of in-store shelves as stock runs through. We will no longer produce or ship the product line,“ said the spokesperson.

Indian fashion industry on the verge of collapse

The Indian garment manufacturers have received virtually no orders from domestic fashion retailers in May and June, generally a busy time for businesses for the fall season, manufacturers said. “Orders for May and June have been very negligible and we are not expecting a big improvement in July either,” said Kulin Lalbhai, executive director at Arvind Ltd.

New Delhi: The Indian fashion industry is on the verge of collapsing amid supply orders drying up from retailers that are already reeling under mountains of unsold inventories.

Garment manufacturers said they received virtually no order from domestic fashion retailers in May and June, generally a busy time for businesses for the fall season, and that they don’t expect any significant improvement in July either.

On Tuesday, several Twitter users shared a video showing a protest by hundreds of workers outside a Bengaluru factory that produced goods for retailers including H&M. “H&M cancelled orders and refused to pay for (the) work done,” a tweet said.

An H&M spokesperson, in response to the tweet, said, “The drop in customer demand due to Covid-19 will inevitably impact suppliers. However, we are placing orders with this supplier and we fully stand by our responsible purchasing practices. We are in dialogue with the supplier and the trade unions to resolve the conflict peacefully.”

Indian fashion industry on the verge of collapse
With most fashion brands looking to run their unsold spring-summer collections until October without placing fresh orders, garment manufacturers say many factories will be closed and hundreds of thousands will lose their jobs.

“Retailers will be liquidating inventory for the next two months and they will only start placing orders when the cash cycle starts to improve,” said Kulin Lalbhai, executive director at Arvind Ltd that supplies apparel products to both domestic and international clients. “It will mean a couple of months of very low orders… People (retailers) would be cutting down their overall autumn-winter orders by more than 50%.”

Most garment shops opened earlier this month after more than two months of anti-coronavirus lockdown, but sales have remained tepid.

Sales of goods in malls are paltry at around 25% of pre-Covid levels, retailers said.

“Footfalls have been below expectations in malls as well as in high streets, specifically in the metro cities,” said Rakesh Biyani, managing director of Future Group that sells fashion brands such as FBB, Lee Cooper, Converse and Clarks.

He said retailers were expecting around 50% of mall traffic to be back, but currently footfalls in malls are hovering around only 25% of pre-Covid period.

“The situation of the retail industry is very bad,” Biyani said. “You need 60-70% sales just to make ends meet. That is why the domestic retail industry is not placing any orders.”

On Wednesday, a group of retailers are scheduled to have a videoconference meeting with finance ministry officials. They would ask for financial stimulus for the beleaguered industry, industry insiders said.

Fashion retailers were ready with their spring-summer collections in early March but many could not even launch them as most states ordered closure of shopping malls to curb the spread of the Covid-19 by then and then in late March the nationwide lockdown started. Hence, the move to run the unsold inventory until October when the winter season begins.

“The intention is to continue with the existing collection till the end of this year,” said Sundeep Chugh, CEO of Benetton India. “This may lead to an overall drop of orders by around 40% as compared to last year.”

Siddharath Bindra, MD of Biba, said the ethnic brand is reducing its orders for the August to December season by 40%. “We are also moving some of existing inventory into the next season,” he said.

A top executive of another ethnic brand said his firm has curtailed its orders this year by 50% as its sales are hovering around 35% of the pre-Covid levels.

Retailers Association of India (RAI), which represents thousands of modern outlets, said the fashion apparel business declined by 70% year on year during June 1-15.

“Customers are still wary of getting into retail stores and we are only doing about 30% of business compared to last year,” said Kumar Rajagopalan, chief executive of RAI. “With that kind of sales we have enough stocks for the next four months. So manufacturers are not getting the orders.”

Manufacturers confirmed that they have hardly received any fresh order for retailers.

“Even the orders for winterwear this year is going to be limited because of the cash crunch the retailers are facing,” said Rahul Mehta, chief mentor of Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI).

So, the only ground for hope for garment manufacturers is the exports market. Mehta said export orders have started to pick up in places like Tiruppur, the garment hub in Tamil Nadu.

Lalbhai of Arvind said, “Exports are seeing a stronger recovery. Both Europe and the US are opening up. We believe exports will start moving towards 60-70% of the original mark possibly by the end of second quarter.”

Amazon Pay now allows you to buy from local stores & pay via QR code

This initiative aims to encourage customers to visit small stores, which have seen a reduction in footfalls due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

Bengaluru: Amazon Pay has launched Smart Stores, an initiative that allows customers to scan a QR Code to explore products within offline stores and pay for them using various payment instruments available on the payments platform.

The launch comes at a time when leaders in the digital payment ecosystem such as Google Pay, PhonePe and Paytm have begun offering an expanded suite of products to merchants, giving them access to credit and enabling store discovery on their platforms.

“The basic QR code payment method is accepted at 4 million stores across India. But, Smart Store is a more evolved experience where customers can pay using any payment instrument, including EMI and bank offers,” said Mahendra Nerurkar, director and CEO of Amazon Pay.

Apart from offering customers a wider suite of payment methods, including Amazon’s own credit facility under the ‘buy now, pay later’ scheme, Smart Stores will also expose product listings on the app, allowing customers to see details and reviews of them on its app.

This is also being done to encourage customers to visit small stores, which have seen a reduction in footfalls due to the Covid-19 pandemic, and it can limit customer interactions with store owners or attenders. It also allows stores to run promotions that are visible to customers on the app.

“What we’re trying to do is bring the convenience of shopping online -- the way you can be informed, the various payment instruments that you get, and making it available to every customer in any store,” added Nerurkar.

Amazon’s payments business was growing at a fast clip, he said, without commenting on the number of Unified Payments Interface (UPI) transactions or the value of transactions the platform was clocking.

According to a Bernstein report, Amazon has closed the gap in terms of volume of UPI payments between Paytm and itself, which is in the third spot after Google Pay and Flipkart-owned PhonePe.

ET could not independently verify these values as the National Payments Corporation of India does not give a share-wise breakup of UPI transactions.

Current crisis will expedite fashion retailer's digital transformation

For Ganguly of Puma, there is no doubt that there will be acceleration as everyone is now looking at the online opportunity. According to him, till the time offline has challenges in the current situation, online is going to be the go-to the channel. We need to run faster on this front and leverage e-commerce and digital, even more, going forward, Ganguly explained.

New Delhi: Fashion retailers who were already on the path of digital transformation for some time now, feels that the current Covid-19 pandemic situation will accelerate their online journey even further, said panelists during the panel discussion at RetailTech Summit organised by ETRetail.com.

The topic of discussion was "How fashion retailers will use technology in the new age of shopping" and the panelists were Amar Nagaram, CEO of Myntra, Vishak Kumar, CEO of Madura Fashion and Lifestyle, Sanjeev Mohanty, managing director South Asia, Middle East & North Africa at Levi Strauss & Co., Abhishek Ganguly, General Manager at Puma India and Southeast Asia, John Mullins, Area Vice President-Commerce Cloud at Salesforce, and Tejas Kadakia, co-Founder & Director at EasyRewardz.

According to Kumar, the digital transformation journey is not recent, but a crisis like the Covid-19 pandemic sometimes makes you change gears. "I think in any case there was also a lot of force with which technology was pushing the edge on brands to become more and more digital and more towards e-commerce. And that is something which was happening anyway. It is just that an external event has accelerated the process," said Kumar.

Mohanty of Levi's echoes the same sentiment as his fellow panelist. "If you look at the digital transformation journey, most of us have undertaken it for a long time. This transformation is only going to be accelerated right now. It will be interesting to see how brands will look at the adoption as well as the acceleration of the digital transformation."

For Ganguly of Puma, there is no doubt that there will be acceleration as everyone is now looking at the online opportunity. According to him, till the time offline has challenges in the current situation, online is going to be the go-to the channel. We need to run faster on this front and leverage e-commerce and digital, even more, going forward, Ganguly explained.

"The transition is already happening. In fact, that is what we have seen in the last few weeks. The offline stores are becoming more and more partners with the online players like Myntra and we are actually bridging the gap and blurring the lines between offline and online," said Nagaram. The online-offline transition in the fashion industry during the time of this crisis happened in a much more accelerated manner, he said.

Mullins of Salesforce quoted a global study conducted by McKinsey, which found people who never shopped online before the crisis, of them more than 50 percent said they will shop online post the crisis. "In other words, convenience in the new normal has captured a number of online shoppers who never had used that medium," Mullins said. Kadakia feels it is not only about getting the customer online but to start conversational commerce. A lot of brands will start to move into mechanics where the customer will be happy to chat with the store staff and go ahead with the shopping, he said.

Technology is everywhere in the retail value chain today: Hari Vasudev, Walmart Labs

RetailTech Summit: Technology is everywhere in the retail value chain today: Hari Vasudev, Walmart Labs

According to the top executive, in the last decade e-commerce penetration has gone from zero percent to about 19% in the US. But in the last 10 weeks, ever since the Covid-19 crisis hit, that penetration has gone up from 19% to 28%.

New Delhi: Technology is playing an ever more critical role in retail, in the wake of the Covid-19 crisis, said Hari Vasudev, Country Head and Sr. Vice President-Technology at Walmart Labs India, during his keynote address at the RetailTech Virtual Summit, 2020, organised by ETRetail.com. Every retailer is using technology more and more across their businesses said Vasudev. We believe that technology is the linchpin to power the next retail disruption, he said.

"From using machine learning to artificial intelligence to create a more personalised experience for the customers, to demand forecasting at a store item level using data sciences; to track and trace the supply chain via IoT, to robots in distribution centres and stores, I can just go on and on about how technology is shaping the next generation of retail. The point is that technology is everywhere in the retail value chain today," said Vasudev during his address.

According to the top executive, in the last decade e-commerce penetration has gone from zero percent to about 19% in the US. But in the last 10 weeks, ever since the Covid-19 crisis hit, that penetration has gone up from 19% to 28%. "While that may come down a little bit as the lockdown situation eases and the customers are able to get out of their homes we do believe that customer behaviour has changed and many customers have experienced the ability to do omnichannel shopping in a very frictionless way."

Giving the example of Walmart's Best Price Store in India, Vasudev said, during this crisis we have seen a huge surge in demand in India just like elsewhere in the world. In fact, we have 7X more customers logging in online because of the lockdown and because of their inability to go down to the stores. And that has put huge stress on our systems, he said.

"Our teams have leaned in and very quickly scale up our systems by optimizing the infrastructure to ensure that the customers are able to continue to have their orders fulfilled. What we have also seen interestingly enough is the customers during these times have switched their behaviour. Not they only became more mobile by using online mobile applications but their behaviour as to how they use the systems have also changed."

During his keynote address, Vasudev also spoke about how Walmart Labs is helping its store across the globe through technology, to fight this crisis. The company has introduced Express Delivery, Curbside Pickup, Contactless Delivery, and Ship from Store facilities to serve its customers globally in a quicker and efficient manner.

RetailTech Summit: Covid-19 situation will accelerate the adoption of omnichannel strategy

Big Bazaar, which was hardly into home deliveries of the food items, ramped up its deliveries from zero to 10,000 in a matter of forty days, to keep servicing the customers who were not able to come to the stores, said Nayak of Big Bazaar.

New Delhi: The current Covid-19 pandemic situation will accelerate the adoption of omnichannel strategy among the retailers in the country, said the panelists during the inaugural panel discussion at RetailTech Summit organised by ETRetail.com.

The topic of discussion was "Assessing retail's dependency on technology in the post-COVID-19 era," and the panelists were CK Venkataraman, managing director of Titan Company, Arvind Mediratta, managing director and CEO of Metro Cash & Carry India, Sadashiv Nayak, CEO of Big Bazaar, Martin Bailie, CEO of Star Bazaar and KT Prasad, managing director, and RVP-India Subcontinent at Zendesk.

According to Mediratta, just like demonetisation gave a big boost to the adoption of digital payments in the country, the current pandemic will give a big boost to the omnichannel strategy to almost all the retail players. It is not that the technology was not important earlier, it always played a very important role in every retailer's business cycle but now it will get a big impetus, he said.

Over the last 3 months, in particular, almost everyone has got a much better taste of engaging with technology than earlier and there has been some kind of leapfrogging that everyone has done on the subject of technology, said Venkataraman. "Because of the fear that people are having at the moment of stepping out to buy, the role of technology particularly the multiple aspects of omnichannel technology is going to be very very high in every one of the categories that we operate in. I think there has been a substantial acceleration in the adoption of technology because of what we are facing."

Big Bazaar, which was hardly into home deliveries of the food items, ramped up its deliveries from zero to 10,000 in a matter of forty days, to keep servicing the customers who were not able to come to the stores, said Nayak of Big Bazaar.

"We have to be more omnichannel than ever before and think more dynamic because the consumer didn't want to leave their homes or couldn't leave their home. So we had to ramp up our home deliveries and develop a system of contactless payments which was not seen in India earlier. We developed the click and collect mechanism in three weeks which would generally take six months," said Bailie of Star Bazaar.

We have seen how businesses are adopting technologies like social messaging or even online chat. Digitally the customers are adopting these technologies and the businesses are embracing this omnichannel strategy that the panel talked about, said Prasad of Zendesk.

A blanket ban on Chinese goods not in the best interest of India, calibrated, well-thought-out strategy needed: FIEO

Ever since 20 Indian soldiers died and more than 70 were injured in a clash with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan area, there have been growing calls in the country to shun made-in-China goods.

New Delhi: An outright blanket ban is not in the best interest of India and is “not feasible at the moment, industry body Federation of Indian Export Organisations (FIEO) on Thursday said.

Amid growing calls in the country to boycott made-in-China goods, FIEO is all for “a calibrated, well-thought-out strategy” on the issue, said FIEO President Sharad K Saraf.

According to industry representative, there are many items belonging to 'essential imports' category which are critical for the production of several finished products that are exported worldwide, and thus there is a need to thoroughly analyse the pros and cons of any move and its possible repercussions.


“Given the Indian manufacturers’ huge dependence on Chinese imports, if China also takes retaliatory measures then the blow to Indian players will be far more damaging”, emphasised Saraf.

Ever since 20 Indian soldiers died and more than 70 were injured in a clash with Chinese troops in Ladakh's Galwan area, there have been growing calls in the country to shun made-in-China goods.

The Department for Promotion of Industry and Internal Trade (DPIIT) has even asked online retailers to explicitly display the ‘country of origin’ label, on all products sold on their platforms. The government ecommerce marketplace GeM also now exhibits a 'Make in India' filter, to help buyers know the ‘country of origin' of various goods on the platform.

“While we stand with the government, at present, we are all against a knee jerk, emotion-led reaction on the issue [of boycotting Chinese goods]. If that happens, there will be a cost to be borne by the Indian economy for which it might not be ready as yet", said Ajay Sahai, Director-General, FIEO.

According to official estimates, China remains India’s top trading partner. It accounted for over 5% of India’s total exports in the financial year 2019-20 and more than 14% of imports. Currently, the two neighbouring nation’s balance of trade (BoT) is heavily tilted in favour of China.

“There is a need to work out on a well thought out strategy. One thing that we can do is to keep a check on the exports of our raw material to China, using which China is competing with us in many markets,” Saraf suggested, adding there could be a cess on Indian exports of raw material such as cotton, spices, plastics and chemicals to China.

China is the third-largest export market for Indian goods as of FY19-20. Sahai added that 50-60 percent of Indian exports go to China in the form of raw material.

In many Indian sectors such as electronics, chemicals, pharmaceuticals, manufacturers are hugely dependent on key imports from the neighbouring nation, which is also the world's second-largest economy. For example, a significant share of inputs required in electronics components manufacturing has traditionally been sourced from China. For many electronics manufacturers, it has always been financially viable to import the SKD (Semi Knocked Down) or CKD (Completely Knocked Down) equipment from China.

With China in the backdrop, the apex body of exporters, while playing an active role in the government’s self-reliant India mission'(Aatma Nibhar Bharat Scheme), has asked its members to explore countries having high anti-China sentiments. These include countries such as the US, EU, Japan, South Korea, Australia, New Zealand, Canada, among others.

COVID-19 impact intense on MSMEs: Survey

The survey drew responses from close to 500 Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the first two weeks of June. One third of the respondents confirmed that they are temporarily shutting their business until normalcy resumes.

New Delhi : Many micro, small and medium enterprises have temporarily shut their businesses due to the impact of COVID-19 crisis, shows a survey conducted by Endurance International Group. The survey drew responses from close to 500 Indian micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs) in the first two weeks of June. One third of the respondents confirmed that they are temporarily shutting their business until normalcy resumes.

"This pause in business is more prominent among MSMEs in metro cities and those in the retail and manufacturing verticals. Majority of MSMEs (nearly 60 per cent of those surveyed) believe that it will take up to 6 months for business to return to normal," said the survey.

MSMEs are seeking support from the government to tide over this crisis. More than 50 per cent of MSMEs expect the government to offer tax discounts or exemptions, followed by 36 per cent of MSMEs asking for loans at zero interest or cheaper rates, a statement by the Group said.

Besides, 30 per cent of MSMEs started a business website or enabled e-commerce functionality since the lockdown started owing to the COVID-19 pandemic.

MSMEs in the educational services segment recorded the highest jump in the importance of using digital mediums.

With lockdown measures in place, the MSMEs who were able to offer e-commerce functionality witnessed revenue contribution from e-commerce increasing to approximately 50 per cent of their total revenues.

For MSMEs in retail and educational services, increase in revenue contribution from e-commerce was 53 per cent and 65 per cent respectively, the survey found.

More than 50 per cent of the MSMEs surveyed embraced video conferencing tools and WhatsApp to keep business running during these turbulent times.

"COVID-19 has forced everyone to rethink daily life. In response to the lockdown, MSMEs who could embrace digital presence were able to keep some semblance of normalcy and continue to serve or engage with their customers," said Manish Dalal, SVP & GM, Endurance Group - APAC.

According to the survey, lack of technical expertise and the perceived costs of developing a web presence continue to be the key challenges to creating web presence. Due to these challenges, very often MSMEs take assistance from web professionals to create digital presence.

Endurance International Group Holdings, Inc helps millions of small businesses worldwide with products and technology to enhance their online web presence, e-mail marketing, business solutions, and more.

The Endurance International Group (EIG) family of brands includes Constant Contact, Bluehost, HostGator, and Domain.com, among others.

Headquartered in Burlington, Massachusetts, EIG employs over 3,800 people across the US, Brazil, India and the Netherlands.

‘Origin’ debate to benefit us: eBay India

eBay India head Vidmay Naini told TOI the company has witnessed rising enquiries from SMEs and online sellers, who want to expand their businesses during the pandemic.

The talks around flagging the country of origin for products listed on online marketplaces have been hailed as a welcome move by US multinational e-commerce player eBay, which broke off its strategic partnership with Walmart-owned Flipkart in 2018 to focus on exports from India.

eBay India head Vidmay Naini told TOI the company has witnessed rising enquiries from SMEs and online sellers, who want to expand their businesses during the pandemic.

“From the current position that we have, the debate around country of origin is quite beneficial for us, as we are focusing on exports from India,” he said. “We are doing extremely well in Australia, the US, Germany and the UK. Demand is very high. We have the opportunity to tap into this demand.”

The pandemic has not dented global demand for made-in-India goods, Naini said. “Sellers who have been able to ship out have witnessed strong traction for both Covid-related products and ‘non-Covid’ goods.” Logistics, however, remains a challenge for most exporters. “Getting goods out of India is big challenge as sellers don’t have access to foreign couriers due to lack of flights,” he said.

India plans to impose strict rules and tariffs on Chinese imports

The state-run Bureau of Indian Standards is finalizing tougher norms for at least 370 products to ensure items that can be locally produced aren’t imported, the people said, asking not to be identified citing rules.

India plans to impose stringent quality control measures and higher tariffs on imports from China, people with the knowledge of the matter said, as a military standoff between the neighbors threaten economic ties.

The state-run Bureau of Indian Standards is finalizing tougher norms for at least 370 products to ensure items that can be locally produced aren’t imported, the people said, asking not to be identified citing rules. The products include chemicals, steel, electronics, heavy machinery, furniture, paper, industrial machinery, rubber articles, glass, metal articles, pharma, fertilizer and plastic toys.


Discussions are also on to raise import duty on products including furniture, compressors for air conditioners and auto components, they said. The proposal is being evaluated by the Finance Ministry amid the government’s push for local manufacturing.

The Trade Ministry is separately evaluating non-tariff measures to check Chinese imports to avoid falling foul of World Trade Organization rules. Such measures would include more inspections, product testing and enhnanced quality certification requirement, the people said.

A spokesperson for the Trade Ministry refused to comment, while a Finance Ministry spokesman didn’t respond to a call made on his mobile during office hours.

China is India’s biggest source of imports, with purchases including electronic goods, industrial machinery and organic chemicals running into almost $70 billion last year. Beijing enjoys a trade surplus of about $50 billion with New Delhi.

The need for import substitution started after disruptions to raw material supplies from China in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic. A deadly clash between soldiers from both countries along a contested Himalayan border this month added to calls for that process to be expedited.

Not just Corona drug, Patanjali's other projects also faced govt scrutiny

Many of the proposals made by Patanjali’s founder have been rejected by the government.

New Delhi: The Ayush ministry's red flagging of Patanjali Ayurved’s drug Coronil on Tuesday is another instance of the company facing government scrutiny.

Since 2014, the homegrown FMCG company that promotes “swadeshi” has been in talks with the Centre and various state governments for many projects. However, many of its proposals have either not been taken up immediately or have found their way only after many months. Many of the proposals made by the company’s founder Baba Ramdev were also rejected.

In 2015, the Patanjali proposed to revamp the state-run Khadi and Village Industries Commission by wanting to assume its “complete responsibility of research, marketing, quality control and management”. Patanjali officials had held at least three rounds of negotiations with the ministry of MSMEs. However, the then MSME minister Kalraj Mishra had rejected the proposal citing Khadi had an identity of its own that should not be tampered with.


After Yogi Adityanath became the UP CM in 2017, Patanjali lobbied to get part of the contract of the midday meals by giving panjiri (a mixture of sugar, ghee and wheat), fruits and milk to over 10 crore children. This proposal was rejected by the state government.

Ramdev and his aide Acharya Balkrishna had also proposed to adopt the ghats of Haridwar as part of the Namami Gange programme. But their proposal was significantly reduced to their participation, along with several other NGOs, in planting saplings by the riverside. A similar episode occurred when Patanjali's Vedic Broadcasting failed to get clearance to launch three channels offering Vedic content in South India. The application was stuck for three years because of the “loopholes with regard to clearances”. They were finally granted a license last year. Ramdev's much publicised Vedic Education Board also took five years to get moving.

Patanjali also had major run-ins with the government when the company's Rs 2,000 crore food park in Noida got stuck due to pending clearances. Officials in the food processing ministry had said the company's application was found wanting of critical details. Adityanath had then assured both Ramdev and Balkrishna of cooperation from his government. The UP government officials had reached out to the Union food ministry to extend the last date for submitting documents. The project was cleared and awarded a subsidy later.

Balakrishna, the chief executive officer of Patanjali, admitted that some of the company's experiences with the government officials have not been good. "But it is a system with its set of procedures and people. We are only trying to understand how they work. Some state governments are more difficult to work with."

Balakrishna, however, said his experiences working with the tribal ministry and agriculture ministries recently have been “very good”. Ramdev and Balakrishna's teams are working with the Centre to research on herbs used by various tribal communities and training farmers in organic farming. The proposal to help double farmers' income has also been encouraged by the Centre and soil testing has already begun in many districts, said Balakrishna.

"Much of what we do doesn't involve the government, except when it comes to clearances. We wish people who work in the government are more sensitive to the welfare of people. Like in UP, we really felt by providing good and nutritious food to children, we can ease the lives of many women. Even the Ayush ministry should have reached out to us instead of making its concerns with our research public."

Meanwhile, the Centre and the Sangh Parivar have been careful when it comes to endorsing Ramdev's products openly. They have shown their appreciation for his efforts to promote yoga and “swadeshi”. Ramdev was one of the over ten star speakers for Yoga Day. Their discourses were telecast by the Ayush ministry for a week. PM Narendra Modi had inaugurated the company's multi-crore research centre in Uttarakhand in 2017.

Even with the RSS, Ramdev continues to be on the panel of advisors for the National Education Policy. "He (Ramdev) is not a formal member but his advice is often taken...As far as Vedic education goes, he has been batting for it for years. The Sangh recognises such efforts but wouldn't want to be seen as openly endorsing any business entity," a senior leader of the RSS told ET.

Bigbasket hits annualised gross sale runrate of $1 billion

The Bengaluru-based company will become the second sector-focused online retailer after fashion portal Myntra, and horizontal e-tailers like Flipkart and Amazon India that sell all goods, to cross the billion-dollar sales mark. Myntra has a gross merchandise value (GMV) of over $2 billion.

BENGALURU: Online grocer Bigbasket has crossed an annualised gross sale runrate of $1 billion for the first time in May, riding on strong consumer demand for grocery and essentials due to the Covid-19 pandemic.

The Bengaluru-based company will become the second sector-focused online retailer after fashion portal Myntra, and horizontal e-tailers like Flipkart and Amazon India that sell all goods, to cross the billion-dollar sales mark. Myntra has a gross merchandise value (GMV) of over $2 billion.

Bigbasket co-founder and CEO Hari Menon told TOI it clocked Rs 650 crore, or almost $90 million of sales, after discounts, in May and that the sales growth trend remains steady in June too. The Alibaba-backed company is also looking to raise $250-300 million from new and existing investors, eyeing a valuation in the range of $1.5-2 billion.

The aim is to shore up a war chest to fight the Reliance Industries-Facebook combine and diversify the investor base. Menon confirmed he has appointed Morgan Stanley and Goldman Sachs for the fund-raise, which are in the initial stages of the process, while declining to comment on further details.

“We grew 35% on a monthon-month basis in April, and then the next two months we grew roughly about 18% and 20%. It (the demand) is holding really well. Including BB Daily, we are clocking 3.5 lakh orders, which was around 2.2 lakh orders a day (before pandemic),” Menon said. BB Daily is a separate micro-delivery platform of Bigbasket, which delivers milk, bread and eggs on a subscription basis.

The product mix has also changed on Bigbasket. In value terms, fruits and vegetables — which used to be 16-18% of its business — have now jumped to 20-22%. “The whole thing (business) got advanced by 12-15 months. Operational profitability is a few months away,” he added. Menon said the growth momentum will continue, based on the sales expansion of the last four months.

HUL to rebrand Fair & Lovely cream as criticism heaps on fairness products

The decision by Johnson & Johnson had put HUL and L’Oreal in a spot as they faced criticism over their presence in skin lightening products. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and is expected to change in the next few months, HUL said.

 Hindustan Unilever (HUL) said it will drop the word “fair” from its skin lightening cream Fair & Lovely, as part of rebranding its flagship brand. The move comes after Johnson & Johnson decided to exit the fairness cream category in India and Middle East over rising protests related to gender discrimination and stereotyping based on the colour of skin, following the death of George Floyd in the US.

The decision by Johnson & Johnson had put HUL and L’Oreal in a spot as they faced criticism over their presence in skin lightening products. The new name is awaiting regulatory approvals and is expected to change in the next few months, HUL said.

“We are making our skin care portfolio more inclusive and want to lead the celebration of a more diverse portrayal of beauty. In 2019, we removed the cameo with two faces as well as the shade guides from the packaging of Fair & Lovely and the brand communication progressed from fairness to glow which is a more holistic and inclusive measure of healthy skin. These changes were very well received by our consumers,” said Sanjiv Mehta, CMD of HUL.

The fairness cream category is a high revenue market for HUL in India with Fair & Lovely having revenue of Rs 2,000 crore and is part of the company’s beauty and personal care category which is worth Rs 17,000 crore. For Johnson & Johnson, the revenue is insignificant in India.

Last week, oral toothpaste maker Colgate-Palmolive said it was reviewing its Chinese toothpaste brand Darlie, which though widely sold across Asia, essentially translates to “black person toothpaste.”

HUl said it moved away from advertising the benefits of fairness, whitening and skin lightening that it claimed could happen by usage of its cream. It also removed from Fair & Lovely’s packaging, words such as ‘fair/fairness’, ‘white/whitening’, and ‘light/lightening’ that could indicate a fairness-led transformation. The cameo with two faces showing shade transformation, as well as the shade guides were removed from the packs.

Amazon, Bigbasket ask sellers for ‘origin country’

Brands and merchants TOI spoke to said they have received email communications and notifications on seller apps to share relevant details on the origin of products. Platforms like Bigbasket have started the process of collecting this data, while its in-house labels like Fresho, in some categories, sport the ‘made in India’ tag already.

E-commerce platforms like Amazon India and Bigbasket have started asking sellers and brands to put ‘country of origin’ for the products on their platforms. This comes a day after government officials held a meeting with e-commerce players over the issue that has gained prominence due to the border conflict with China in Ladakh.

Brands and merchants TOI spoke to said they have received email communications and notifications on seller apps to share relevant details on the origin of products. Platforms like Bigbasket have started the process of collecting this data, while its in-house labels like Fresho, in some categories, sport the ‘made in India’ tag already.

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Amazon India, which has 6 lakh sellers in India, has started notifying merchants and brands to share these details. “Some of my products already had the details, but now we are being asked formally to add this information, which would be available for users,” one of the brands selling on Amazon India said. For this label, some of the products had started reflecting their ‘country of origin’ on Amazon India.

“As of now, this information will be displayed in the ‘other product info’ section. However, based on the decision taken by the (commerce) ministry, we have to display this information as a tag or on the image. This will be decided after announcement of the final legal metrology,” Bigbasket told one of the food brands on its platform.

The Bengaluru-based firm added that, if a product is manufactured in multiple countries, then all of them need to be mentioned. “If, for example, Pampers is manufactured in India, Canada and China, we will need all the three country names as we may not at any point be sure the batch supplied to us was manufactured in which country,” the note added. Another merchant, who sells electronic accessories, said, “It’s not a long-term solution. I have over a lakh listings, so it would be a tedious task and most of my products are from China. As an Indian, this will impact sales for products that I have already paid for,” he said.

An Amazon India spokesperson declined to comment on the matter, while an email sent to Bigbasket did not elicit any response till the time of going to the press.

Flipkart pushes electronics in first sale post lockdown

The sale will largely be led by brands looking to offload inventory, and partner banks bringing in affordability schemes.

BENGALURU: Flipkart is organising its first big sale event since the lockdown was lifted from June 23-27, with a focus on smartphones, television, laptops and fashion, at a time when overall industry sales volumes have recovered 80-90% of levels seen before the Covid-19 pandemic.

The sale will largely be led by brands looking to offload inventory, and partner banks bringing in affordability schemes.

Consumer packaged goods companies need to reset channel strategies, says Kearney

"In the short to medium term, this will open up somewhat of a direct-to-consumer channel for CPG players," said Kearney in a whitepaper titled ' How brands can thrive in the new normal'.

New Delhi : The Indian consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs) will need to "review and reset" their channel strategies and e-commerce which scored good growth during the lockdown will not be a game-changer, a report by Kearney, a leading global management consulting firm, said. In the COVID-19-induced lockdown, demand across e-commerce platforms saw a dramatic surge in volumes and value and grocery platforms such as Grofers and Big Basket saw a three- to five-times increase in daily demand but new players have also arrived in the form of hyperlocal delivery experts such as Zomato, Swiggy, and Dunzo expanding their services to the grocery category.

"In the short to medium term, this will open up somewhat of a direct-to-consumer channel for CPG players," said Kearney in a whitepaper titled 'CPG Perspectives: How brands can thrive in the new normal'.

Besides, modern trade will need to innovate to survive, and doorstep delivery will be essential, while general trade will continue to be the leading sales channel.

"General trade has shown tremendous agility by using digital platforms such as WhatsApp and Paytm for orders and payments and has even offered home deliveries," it said while highlighting key trends.

The recent launch of JioMart in partnership with WhatsApp in select areas around Mumbai in the coming quarters will provide an additional impetus by bringing the local kirana store onto the digital platform, it added.

"However, the prevailing issue of a severe cash crunch as a result of slowing consumer demand before COVID-19 will worsen in the medium term. Around 80 per cent of the medium and large retailers don't expect to make any profits by August. Even retailers with some cash to spare will prioritize investments toward essential items over discretionary items," it said.

The report also added that there will be a slight reversal in the consumers' buying behaviours towards value purchase due to tightening in finances across households, said Kearney.

Value offered for the price charged is now more important to retain customers and attract new ones for the consumer packaged goods companies (CPGs), said Kearney.

"The prevailing issue of a severe cash crunch as a result of slowing consumer demand before COVID-19 will worsen in the medium term. Around 80% of the medium and large retailers don't expect to make any profits by August," it said.

Even retailers with some cash to spare will prioritise investments toward essential items over discretionary items, it added.

Kearney had reached out to COOs and operations leaders across some of India's top CPG firms for the study, and found an overwhelming majority believe COVID-19 will have a significant long-term impact on their company's business continuity processes.

"More dynamic and agile planning with scenarios (demand and supply) would replace traditional sales and operations planning with a single view of the future," it said adding Focus will be on increasing digitization across the supply chain."

Commenting on the paper, Himanshu Bajaj, Partner and Head India, Consumer and Retail Practice for Kearney, said COVID-19 situation will bring significant changes in the industry dynamics both from demand as well as supply standpoint.

"There will be significant impact on consumer buying habits - while some trends will continue as before, others will change dramatically. Channel strategy will require critical decisions to be made to adapt towards new normal. Further, it will have long term implication on strategic choices for supply chain and the entire organizational model," he said.

Brands looking to shift production from China to India

Third-party manufacturers were already exploring options to reduce their dependence on imports of finished products since the Covid-19 crisis disrupted their supplies from China, but the recent border issue and government’s vocal for local pitch has increased interest in last one week.

KOLKATA/NEW DELHI: Indian contract manufacturers said there is a surge in interest from brands to make products like televisions, air-conditioners, microwave ovens, shoes, speakers, ear phones, set-top boxes and apparel in the country as companies fear consumer backlash against 'Made in China' products and expects surge in import duties by the government as a retaliatory step against China due to the Galwan crisis.

Third-party manufacturers like Dixon, Videotex International, SSIPL amongst others said companies were already exploring options to reduce their dependence on imports of finished products since the Covid-19 crisis disrupted their supplies from China, but the recent border issue and government’s vocal for local pitch has increased interest in last one week.

However, companies said China will still play a big part in sourcing of raw materials and components since no other country manufactures them as competitively.

“Companies will act according to the decisions of the Indian government. If India adds some additional duties on imports, then they will immediately look for alternatives,” said VK Mishra, chairman of India China Trade Centre.

Dixon Technologies chairman Sunil Vachani said brands are trying to de-risk themselves from tariff barriers which the government may put against China. “Consumers want to know the origin of the product and more interest for made in India which is triggering such increase in enquiries,” he said.

Electronics industry body, CEAMA president Kamal Nandi said 30% of air-conditioners are imported in India and majority of microwave ovens, with most of them coming from China. “We expect these will change by next year as several manufacturers are beefing up their capacities in India,” he said.

Arjun Bajaaj, director at Videotex International, said several brands, including the new entrants in TV category, want to start local production with contract manufacturers which will only further grow pace. The company already designs and manufactures for 15 television brands.

Even Chinese brands like OnePlus and Realme will be manufacturing their TVs in India.

The Centre is reportedly preparing a list of imports from China, including finished products, to curb them after the border tension at Galwan Valley. It is also scrutinising import of made in China products from ASEAN nations misusing the trade agreements.

Rishab Soni, managing director at SSIPL Group, which manufactures for brands such as Puma, Asics, Lotto and Power, said several brands have increased talks to move their China production not just to India but also ASEAN nations.

Shoe maker Woodland India managing director Harkirat Singh said while it imports specialised footwear from China, it is looking at newer sourcing avenues including India. “The cost of production may go up by 5-10%, but we will absorb it,” he said.

Meanwhile, the Clothing Manufacturers Association of India (CMAI) is preparing a list of categories they currently import from China and identifying the products its members can ramp up or shift manufacturing in India.

“Sentiments will be driven by the consumers. If the consumers take even more aggressive stand, then the industry would be compelled to take immediate and dramatic steps,” said Rahul Mehta, chief mentor of CMAI.

He said India still has to build capabilities and expertise in areas of winter clothing, active-wear, speciality clothing and specialized sportswear.

Mishra said some companies are looking to route products through countries that enjoy trade concessions from both India and China like in the case of ASEAN countries and Bangladesh.

Top retail and restaurant brands in Delhi's high street locations switch to revenue share model

According to industry executives, average rentals in Khan Market till last year were Rs 7-10 lakh a month, or Rs 1,400-2,700 per sq ft, but things have changed drastically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

NEW DELHI: Many marquee retail and restaurant brands in high street locations like Delhi’s Khan Market have stopped paying rentals and switched entirely to revenue-share models amid continuing uncertainty over a revival in business, industry executives told ET.

Town Hall, a marquee restaurant brand in Khan Market which is among the world’s most expensive high-street retail locations, will run entirely on a revenue-share basis instead of paying rentals “till things are back to normal”, its owner, Navneet Kalra, said.

According to industry executives, average rentals in Khan Market till last year were Rs 7-10 lakh a month, or Rs 1,400-2,700 per sq ft, but things have changed drastically in the wake of the coronavirus pandemic.

AD Singh, the managing director of Olive Group that runs Olive Bar and Kitchen, SodaBottleOpenerWala and The Grammar Room in Delhi-NCR, Mumbai, Goa and Bengaluru, said: “Our rentals have been waived in at least five locations including Khan Market since we have long-term associations with landowners. We are also seeking complete removal of minimum guarantee post reopening since footfalls will be significantly impacted for a while.”

Singh said the group was renegotiating deals with all other landlords. “If you’re running half the restaurant, how can you pay the full rental? Social-distancing norms, shutting down at 9 pm and restrictions on alcohol have made our business entirely unsustainable,” he said.

Premium locations such as Delhi’s Connaught Place and Mumbai’s Linking Road are seeing rentals crash as much as 80%. Three top industry executives said various retailers were working on the following arrangement with landlords — entire waiver of rentals for the April-June quarter when the lockdown was most stringent, an 80% discount on rentals in the July-September quarter and 60% and 30% discounts in the third and fourth fiscal quarters, respectively.

DLF Malls has offered tenants no minimum guarantee and no rentals from the time the lockdown started till June 15, a 75% waiver in the remaining weeks of June, and subsequently 50%, 25% and 10% waivers till the fourth quarter sequentially.

Popular chain The Big Chill owner Aseem Grover told ET: “Our rentals for the period of lockdown have been waived in some high-street locations and discounted rates of rent for the rest of the year are being worked out. As far as the malls are concerned, we have told them that while their proposals for the July-September quarter is workable, further increment in rent cannot be based merely on a pre-defined time period since no one can predict when footfalls will normalise … we are discussing this further.”

Premium retail brands Levi’s, Nike and Sketchers are exiting stores in plum areas like Delhi’s Connaught Place and Mumbai’s Linking Road, industry sources said. “Levi’s is moving to a lesser expensive outlet within CP,” said one of them. “Bigger stores are now available at lower rentals there.”

Bollywood actor Salman Khan’s family is learnt to be renegotiating the rental for a 25,000 sq ft property it has leased out to the Future Group on Mumbai’s Linking Road, an industry executive directly aware of the development said. The Future Group declined to comment, while Khan's property agent, JLL, said: "Discussions are still on with the existing tenant."

Khan Market Welfare Association President Anshu Tandon said while some retailers had agreed to revenue sharing, others were negotiating. “There are no standard operating procedures or manuals; where both parties are reasonable it is possible to strike a balance, so different models have been worked out between different tenants and landlords.”

Tandon, who is also the landlord of the popular Big Chill restaurant, said the latter has been given a reduction in rent for the full year.

“We are telling landlords and tenants this is not the time to go for watertight contracts as litigation is not in the interest of either party. It’s best not to form cartels and instead engage in dialogue. The government also needs to reach out and give financial support to the sector,” Tandon said.

The chief executive of a prominent brand who retails at Khan Market and switched to no-rent during lockdown and revenue share for future said everybody kept talking about going back to normal but it was unlikely rents would move back to 2019 levels.

“It’s a real crisis. The shift is happening in a more permanent way; some of this will revert to original levels but there will be lot of new things emerging. If we continue to not open and delay, more businesses will go to ecommerce channels and there is already a massive shift towards that.”

Minimum guarantees too won’t work till uncertainty stays, industry executives said. “If the (Covid-19) positive cases increase and there is another lockdown or alcohol isn’t allowed and restaurant timings doesn't get extended, we don't have an option but to renegotiate again with the landlords,” a person who runs four high-end fine-dine brands said.

Brands such as Smoke House Deli, Cafe Turtle, Full Circle, Sidewok, Harry’s Bar, Coffee Bean & Tea Leaf and Smokey’s are exiting Khan Market.