Benetton India expects up to 45 pc slump in revenue this year due to COVID-19

The coronavirus pandemic is expected to hit the revenue of fashion retailer Benetton India by up to 45 per cent in 2020, and its brand journey in the country has gone back by a year due to the health crisis, a top company official said.

The company, which has restarted opening its stores in India, expects online sales to gain traction by around 10-15 per cent in the post-COVID-19 era, but believes that offline sales will remain dominant.

"From the point of impact, yes it is a big one and from our business perspective we feel that we are a year behind now in our brand journey," Benetton India Managing Director and CEO Sundeep Chugh told PTI.

Elaborating further, he said,"What we are supposed to deliver in this year's budget (January-December), if everything goes well and there is no COVID-19 phase II, we anticipate that it can only be delivered next year. To sum it up, almost a year behind in our brand journey in India."
He further said,"Even if we lost two months of turnover, the team when they are back, with an incremental contribution everyday over the next 12-15 months, when they look back this (difficulties) should be a thing of the past..."
Stating that COVID-19 is also setting a new phenomena wherein people are going to adopt newer ways of communication and presentation, he said "this will also help people settle when the 'new normal' is back."