Festive Season

Used-car sales may rise 12-15% this festive season on strong rural demand

Organised used-car players expect 25-30 per cent growth during the festive quarter, supported by rural demand, first-time buyers and rising interest in SUVs and luxury cars

Shopping scams: How to spot warning signs, avoid fraud this festival season

Use official apps and websites, check parcels before paying, and report financial fraud immediately

Muthoot Microfin eyes festive demand with consumer durable loans: CEO

CEO Sadaf Sayeed says the lender plans to diversify beyond group lending, expand digital offerings and target ₹30,000 crore in assets under management by 2030

Festive hiring grows 7% to 1.27 lakh jobs, led by quick commerce: Report

Quick commerce recorded the fastest festive hiring growth at 18 per cent, while Tier-III and emerging cities led geographic growth with a 15 per cent rise

FSSAI asks states to step up food inspections ahead of festival season

The regulator wants enforcement officials to focus on hot spots, deploy Food Safety on Wheels vehicles in markets and record all inspection data in real time

Appliance makers expect double-digit growth in festivals despite price hike

Despite a 5-8 per cent increase in prices of air-conditioners and other consumer appliances ahead of the festive season, manufacturers are hopeful of recording double-digit growth in sales, led by premiumisation, replacement demand, easy financing and improved consumer sentiment. The latest price increase, the third round of revisions this year, has come ahead of the peak festive season, with higher costs of copper, aluminium, steel and crude derivatives, besides rising freight expenses and currency fluctuations prompting companies to raise prices. The industry, which started the festive season on a positive note with strong sales during Onam in the South, expects the momentum to continue through Navratri and Diwali, aided by premiumisation, replacement demand and easy availability of consumer financing. Consumers are increasingly opting for larger-capacity and feature-rich appliances, including energy-efficient and smart connected products, which is expected to support value growth

Homegrown brands bet on smaller towns for festive growth through Flipkart

Flipkart says homegrown brands have grown 60 per cent in Tier 2 and Tier 3 markets, while its beauty and general merchandise category is growing nearly 50 per cent

Govt tightens sugar stock limit despite 15% fall in prices since August

Dealers can hold sugar for only 15 days from October 15 to November 30, while Kolkata and its extended metropolitan areas, along with Assam, have a 2,000-quintal limit

Nykaa Fashion offers six-month zero-commission model for apparel brands

Brands joining Nykaa Fashion's Hidden Gems accelerator will pay no commission for six months and gain access to marketing support, mentorship and preferential visibility

Quick commerce becomes the new battleground as festive season approaches

E-commerce giants bank on speed as they expand beyond metros ahead of Big Billion Days, Great Indian Festival sale event.

Flipkart gears up for festive season with massive supply-chain expansion

Logistics arm Ekart adds 14 million cubic feet of storage and 900 delivery hubs to push same-day shipping into remote regions

Why ACs, TVs and smartphones are set to get costlier before Diwali

From copper and aluminium to memory chips and freight, several cost pressures are converging just before India's biggest shopping season

Festive season hiring: Here are 5 job roles likely to see strongest demand

Delivery and warehouse roles are top employers' festive hiring demands, while workers seek higher pay, flexible hours and opportunities that could lead to long-term employment, an Indeed survey found

Employers start festive hiring early, look to retain workers beyond peak

Nearly seven in 10 employers began or expect to begin festive hiring by September, while 74% expect to retain at least 10% of seasonal hires beyond the peak period, according to a survey by Indeed

Freight costs, shipment delays weigh on consumer durable manufacturers

Prices could rise after Diwali as freight costs more than double and shipment delays stretch beyond 15 days, though manufacturers have enough stock for the festive season

FCNR(B) funds find a runway ahead of festival season-led credit demand

RBI Deputy Governor Rohit Jain said banks have an opportunity to deploy FCNR(B) liquidity in the coming months, while maintaining healthy credit standards

Myntra creates 26,000 seasonal jobs ahead of Big Fashion Festival

Online fashion retailer more than doubles its seasonal workforce from last year as it expands fulfilment, delivery and customer-service capacity for the festive event

Ahead of a festive season buy, check out the best car loan rates available

As the festive season approaches, a number of people start planning a car purchase to coincide with one or the other major festival. Here's a list of available car loans

Myntra creates over 26,000 temporary jobs ahead of festive season

Myntra has created over 26,000 seasonal jobs ahead of its Big Fashion Festival, including 8,000 delivery roles and 2,700 customer service positions, with 350 roles for persons with disabilities

Amazon opens first fulfilment, sort centres in Varanasi for festive season

Amazon has launched its first fulfilment centre and sort centre in Uttar Pradesh's Varanasi ahead of the festive season, the company said in a statement. According to Amazon, the new fulfilment centre has a storage capacity of one lakh cubic feet, while the sort centre spans 13,000 square feet. The facilities will help speed up deliveries to customers in Varanasi and nearby areas and create hundreds of local jobs. The new facilities are being operated by logistics industry partner firms, the company said in the statement on Tuesday . "With the expansion, Amazon now has two fulfilment centres, five sort centres and 170 last-mile delivery stations across Uttar Pradesh," it said. Amazon said the Varanasi expansion is part of its nationwide network expansion, involving 20 new fulfilment centres, six sort centres and 150 last-mile delivery stations. The company said the expansion has increased its total storage capacity by 50 per cent to 64 million cubic feet and sorting space by 25 p