Retailers in the 'festival' mood after hit Independence Day weekend

Lifestyle recorded positive same-store sales growth during the Independence Day weekend, which the retailer did not anticipate, given a lacklustre EOSS

Retailers, street shopping — Due to weak sales earlier in the year, retailers were compelled to launch the EOSS ten days earlier

Sharleen Dsouza Mumbai

3 min read Last Updated : Aug 17 2023 | 11:19 PM IST

The spring/summer end-of-season sale (EOSS) remained subdued, but it ended on a high note as customers flocked to stores during the Independence Day (I-Day) weekend, bringing cheer to retailers.

Some retailers even saw fresh merchandise fly off the shelves as customers thronged malls and stores over the long weekend, since I-Day fell on a Tuesday.

“The EOSS was muted this year, but the last two weekends came as a surprise as we saw terrific footfall at our stores, thanks to the long weekend from Friday onwards, which extended until Tuesday,” said Devarajan Iyer, chief executive officer (CEO), Lifestyle.

He added that blockbuster film releases also drew people to malls, resulting in increased footfall traffic this weekend.

Lifestyle saw positive same-store sales growth during the I-Day weekend, which the retailer did not anticipate due to a relatively flat EOSS.

Pepe Jeans experienced more than double the sales of its full-priced merchandise during the I-Day weekend compared to last year.

Due to weak sales earlier in the year, retailers were compelled to start the EOSS 10 days earlier, and discounted merchandise was higher among most retailers.

“We were expecting a 10-12 per cent growth during the I-Day weekend and saw growth of 30-35 per cent, which is much higher than expected,” said Manish Kapoor, CEO, Pepe Jeans India.

He added that customers are now back in the market.

Electronics retailer Vijay Sales, which ran regular promotions during the I-Day weekend, reported a 25 per cent growth compared to last year’s I-Day sales.

“We witnessed crowds back at our stores after five to six years. Sales were strong, and even our Sunday sales were 2.7x higher than a normal day,” said Nilesh Gupta, managing director, Vijay Sales.

He added that more people were out on the weekends, coupled with numerous movie releases at the box office, which encouraged people to leave their houses.

“The signs are promising for the upcoming festival season,” Gupta said.

During the I-Day weekend, BookMyShow reported strong demand for tickets as many chose to watch movies on the silver screen. The weekend featured releases including Rajinikanth’s Jailer, Gadar 2, Bhola Shankar, and OMG 2.

“The I-Day weekend set the silver screen ablaze, with a massive 11.5 million cinephiles opting for the cinematic big-screen experience, the highest ever for a five-day weekend on BookMyShow. More than 120,000 watched at least two or more of these titles on the silver screen between August 11 and 15, 2023," said Ashish Saksena, chief operating officer-cinemas, BookMyShow.

Following the announcement of its April-June results, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail’s Chief Financial Officer Jagdish Bajaj also informed investors in a conference call, “Despite near-term challenges, we expect the market to rebound in the second half of the year following the festival period.”