COMPANIES
Retail CFOs say worst is behind, hope to recoup COVID losses this festive season
Many retailers are hoping to make up for their losses in the lockdown, with sales during the festival season
BUSINESS
Delivering the goods: How companies are forming unusual partnerships to connect with customers
FMCG companies ITC, Marico and Godrej Consumer Products have partnered with delivery services Zomato, Swiggy, Dunzo and Scootsy. Car rental firm Zoomcar and Uber have tied up online grocers for deliveries. Meanwhile Adidas has tied up with MacDonald’s for a sneaker range and Dabur has partnered SIS for personal protective equipment
INDIA
Healthy eating is high priority for 79% Indians since coronavirus outbreak: Mintel Survey
However, the average sodium in cereal launches in India was 76 percent higher than the global average. Only 18 percent of Indians have been reducing their salt intake in the 12 months to December 2019.
BUSINESS
Reduce commissions on takeaway services, restaurants plead Zomato, Swiggy
Restaurant lobby requests the food-service aggregators to reduce the commission by 5 percent, with effect from May 2020. Before Covid struck, both Swiggy and Zomato delivered around 20 lakh orders in a month. In August, Zomato indicated that it delivered 7 crore food orders after the lockdown was imposed in March. A month earlier, Swiggy said it had delivered 4 crore orders since the lockdown began
BUSINESS
Mumbai Power Cut: Malls say they have 100 percent power backup, unaffected by outage
Most parts of Mumbai reported a major power outage on the morning of October 12 due to a technical failure. Back up of mall generators lasts for 14 hours.
BUSINESS
80% percent of restaurants yet to open and 40% may never open again, says sector body HRAWI
Thin customer footfalls, staff shortages and working capital challenges mean it will be a while before things return to a semblance of normalcy for the hotel and restaurant sector
BUSINESS
Personal-care brands go gender-neutral to win over young consumers
Startups lead the change, launching a range of gender-neutral products like skin creams, shampoos, face scrubs and body-polishing oils
BUSINESS
Brands to remain cautious before signing up Bollywood stars as ambassadors in the wake of drugs controversy
With the Narcotics Control Bureau naming Deepika Padukone, Sara Ali Khan and Shraddha Kapoor, many brands are now downplaying their ads. Experts say their brand value may drop around 30 percent. In 2019, Padukone enjoyed a brand value of $93.5 million.
BUSINESS
Mutual fund monthly SIP inflows, AUM fall a tad in September; but SIP folios rise MoM
Assets under management (AUM) of mutual fund companies that have come through the systematic investment plan (SIP) route fell marginally to Rs 3.35 lakh crore in September
BUSINESS
MFs registers total outflows of nearly Rs 52,000 crore in September; debt schemes hit the most
Across all scheme categories, liquid funds posted the highest outgo of Rs 65,951 crore during the review period, followed by nearly Rs 5,000 crore outflows each from money market schemes and ultra-short duration funds
TRENDS
Unlock 5: Maharashtra govt issues clarification on timings of restaurants, bars
Hotel & Restaurants Associations (HRAWI) had written a letter to the Maharashtra Chief Minister Uddhav Thackeray seeking clarity on the issue.
BUSINESS
ITC remains hungry for lucrative acquisitions says ITC's Sameer Satpathy
ITC's personal care portfolio includes brands such as Essenza Di Wills, Fiama, Vivel, Engage, Savlon, Charmis, Shower to Shower, Nimyle, Nimwash and Superia brands.
BUSINESS
Unlock 5.0: Restaurant seek clarity on closing times, write to Maharashtra chief minister Uddhav Thackeray
Instead of easing and bringing relief to the Industry in the opening of Restaurants & Bars, the closure by 7PM will result in immense losses, says HRAWI in a letter to Maharashtra CM
BUSINESS
Theatres were shut, but this company sold tons of popcorn during the lockdown
Binge-watching drove sales of popcorn to a new high for Popcorn & Company, helping it to easily surpass its full-year sales in FY20 in just six months
BUSINESS
B S Nagesh steps down as chairman of retailers association; Bijou Kurien to take over
Bijou Kurien is also an Independent Director on several listed and unlisted companies, and advises select consumer product companies and mentors a few start-ups.
BUSINESS
Despite rise in gold prices customers looking to buy gold, says Tanishq CEO
With festive season inching closer, Tanishq launched the festive season collection called Ekatvam
BUSINESS
Amazon, Flipkart, Myntra all set to roll out festive season sales; to focus on fashion
Flipkart’s Big Billion Days and Myntra’s Big Fashion Festival start on October 16; Amazon is expected to reveal the dates for its Great Indian Festival sale soon
BUSINESS
Mall owners see a ray of hope as food courts, restaurants to open from October 5
For most malls, F&B is a popular section as customers who do not wish to shop end up grabbing a bite at the food court or a restaurant within the mall.
BUSINESS
Companies selling coffee-based beauty products eyeing bigger share of Rs 500-cr market
mCaffeine has sold more than 2.8 million products since inception in 2016. It aims to become a Rs 500 crore brand by FY23. The Beauty Co, which recently ventured into coffee and chocolate-based beauty products, wants to capture half the market size.
BUSINESS
SBI-HUL tie up for digital payment for retailers; bank to provide paperless overdraft of up to Rs 50,000
Under the partnership, SBI will digitally empower HUL retailers and distributors through UPI based payment solutions and PoS (point-of-sale) terminals.
BUSINESS
Unlock 5.0 Guidelines: These are the SOPs restaurants in Maharashtra will follow when they restart dine-in services on October 5
Battered by the Lockdown and struggling to get by on deliveries, restaurants in the State will be opening their doors to dine-in services after more than six months
BUSINESS
Amway India expects home delivery to double to 6 lakh per month by fiscal-end
Direct seller firm witnesses increase in online sales from 33.6 percent in February 2020 to over 70 percent in September 2020. Before lockdown in March, the company had executed 1 lakh deliveries, accounting for 40 percent of total sales count.
BUSINESS
Covid impact: Marico counting on Saffola to take its food business past the Rs 500 crore mark
The FMCG firm expects the heightened focus on health and surge in sales of ready-to-cook and ready-to-eat products to drive growth in the coming years
BUSINESS
Online shoppers await festive season sales for buying appliances, mobiles: Report
Nielsen data indicated that restrained spending during lockdown is enabling consumers to prioritise spending on categories to improve quality of living at home.
