Difficult times ahead, say retail industry veterans

According to ‘Nalli’ Kuppuswami Chetti, the pandemic had made people restrain their purchases, adding to their woes. “Wedding season from January to July is a huge revenue generator but that opportunity is lost. Now with social distancing restrictions on crowd gathering coming into play, it is difficult times ahead of us,” he told DT Next.

Earlier, sons on their annual visits from abroad would prod the mother to purchase without a care. “But the current global economic scenario is bound to make them curtail the spending,” Chetti said, hopeful of a recovery in two years.

The veteran retailer pointed out that the permissions varied from State to State. For instance, Nalli has decided to open four of the shops in Bengaluru in a phased manner, while in Tamil Nadu, it is awaiting directions so that it can re-start its operations soon. Overall, Nalli has 40 outlets.

After orders were issued allowing shops to open up, they had reached out to the authorities but were told that the order was applicable only for shops that typically had an owner/manager with a couple of staff. “In fact, even air-conditioners are not allowed in such retail outlets, we are given to understand,” he said.

He also cited reports about standalone shops in Sholinganallur trying to function but authorities closing these outlets.

He also said the salary for March and April had been paid in full with bankers’ support. “Our monthly salary bill is over Rs 10 crore and we usually pay our staff on the first of every month. But owing to the uncertainty, there was a few days’ delay in payment of April salaries,” he said, adding some of the retailers have paid in full, while others are still considering partial payment.