Republic Day sales draw shoppers out; malls and markets busy

Conversion rate also higher as compared to last year

This Republic Day, shoppers stepped out in higher numbers compared to last year, and markets and malls registered more footfalls than expected. The conversion rate, too, was higher during the R-Day sales this time round. (Conversion rate refers to the percentage of buyers spending money compared to the total footfall.)

Last week, retailers had anticipated a lukewarm response at stores due to the ongoing third wave of the pandemic, coupled with restrictions and lockdowns in various states. Malls and retailers had also reduced advertising spends in order to avoid crowding in stores.

Fashion retailer Major Brands India saw better-than-expected sales with higher conversion rate. It has been running end-of-season sales across its brands, such as Charles & Keith, Aldo and Bath & Body Works, since the end of December.

“Our online sales remained the same, but we did see an increase in offline sales on Republic Day,” Tushar Ved, president, Major Brands India, told Business Standard. Major Brands’ end-of-season sales, however, overlapped with its Republic Day sales, which also caused its brands to see higher footfalls. Its sale will end on January 31.

Infiniti malls (Andheri and Malad) saw 30 per cent more people turning up compared to last year’s R-Day sales, said CEO Mukesh Kumar. “This time (on R-Day), sales were higher compared to what we see on the weekend,” Kumar said. Weekends make for 40-45 per cent of the entire week’s sales at Infiniti malls.

Discounts this year were to the tune of 25-30 per cent, while some brands offered up to 50 per cent off. However, brands that offered a higher discount did not put all of their merchandise on sale, Kumar said.

Nexus Malls, the Indian retail portfolio arm of The Blackstone Group operating over 15 malls in India, also witnessed higher footfalls because of the sales. “And the conversion rate was also higher compared to a dip we had witnessed due to the third wave,” Dalip Sehgal, CEO, Nexus Malls, said.

For Lacoste India, which is known for its polo neck T-shirts, R-Day sales were higher/or at similar levels compared to 2019. “Sales in the west were the highest for us, while the other regions recorded sales similar to those seen during the 2019 R-Day,” Rajesh Jain, MD & CEO, Lacoste India, said.

Sales were strong even at its high-street stores, he added. Typically, the brand has witnessed higher online sales during lockdowns and restrictions. Lacoste India’s sales were impacted during the third wave but not as severely as in the previous two waves. Jain expects sales to bounce back, hoping the worst is over.

An industry executive said some brands have not been able to clear out their inventory and will have to extend their sales into February.

Looking specifically at smartphones, the Xiaomi 11i Hypercharge and Xiaomi 11T Pro have been received extremely well. The 11i series matched in a day the sales that Xiaomi Mi 10i had recorded in a week last year, said a source. Mi 10i sales had touched Rs 200 crore in the first week of 2021, the source added.