Value retailers see single-digit growth on Black Friday, Singles Day sales

Offer higher and fresh inventory on discounts

Value fashion retailers having a large presence beyond the metro cities are seeing increasing opportunities for growth with the emergence of new occasions like Black Friday, and Singles Day. Retailers are also putting up fresh stock on offer during these sales, unlike Republic Day and Independence Day sales.

 

“The customer in Tier II, III and IV cities is digitally forward today. With e-commerce making headway into these small towns, they are very aware of global trends reshaping the domestic retail sector, and are seeking those same opportunities and occasions for themselves,” Lalit Agarwal, managing director (MD) at V-Mart Retail, told Business Standard on the sidelines of the recently held Retail India Summit and Expo (RISE). 

“For retailers, such events offer the opportunity to make the customer a priority,” he further said, adding that the chain has seen a 5-7 per cent hike in sales during such one- or two-day occasions.

 

For Akhil Jain, MD, Jain Amar, and chief executive officer (CEO) at apparel brand Madame, these occasions have driven footfall across the retailer’s 190 stores, of which 130 are present beyond the metros. This rise in footfall has driven 6-7 per cent growth in value terms, Jain said.

 

“Tier II and III cities have always had more disposable income because other expenditures have been lower when compared to metros. Now, with discovery through social media platforms, the consumer from these cities wants to have the same experience as that of a metro city consumer,” Jain said.

 

The brand has started doing communications around events like Singles Day, celebrated on November 11.

 

“While no one still really understands what a Black Friday or Singles Day is, everyone wants to have that experience. What started as a one-day event with up to 20 per cent discount is a four-day event today with up to 50 per cent off and multiple bundle offers,” he added.

 

The brand has started stocking up more inventory around these occasions, by almost 110-120 per cent. While this is still lower than inventory hikes taken during marquee sales like Independence Day and Republic Day sales, the purchasing habits are very different.

 

“While we hike inventory by almost 140-150 per cent during the marquee sales occasions, we play with fresher inventory and try to build more offers to increase the ticket size of orders,” he said.

 

On the other hand, a lot of old season inventory is liquidated during the marquee events, “because the customer is out for value purchase and not necessarily for the experience,” he added.

 

At V2 Retail too, such occasions are slowly gaining prominence. "Our replenishment cycles are quicker during the festival season, but these occasions are catching the customer’s eye. Hopefully, they will turn into large opportunities in the years to come,” said Akash Agarwal, CEO and whole-time director, V2 Retail. 

Demand uptick

• These events now get fresh stock, unlike traditional Republic Day/Independence Day sales
• V-Mart reports a 5-7% sales rise during these short event days
• Madame sees a 6–7% value growth and higher foot traffic across non-metro stores
• Madame has begun Singles Day promotions and doubled inventory (110–120%) for these events
• New-occasion sales focus on fresh stock and bundle deals, not just discounting old inventory