No cash blues for shoppers, despite demonetisation; top retailers expect 15-18% growth

Cash ban might have created a lot of problems but it couldn’t dampen end-of-season sales as the malls were full of shoppers and top retailers expecting 15-18% year-on-year growth in the ongoing sale season.

Retailers such as Future Group, Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle reported buoyant demand in the last few weeks, signaling a quick revival from the note ban blues that led to 30-50% fall in their business in November.

"Post demonetisation, November sales had turned weak. But December onwards the sales growth has been strong and in double digits,” Govind Shrikhande, managing director at Shoppers Stop, told ET. He expects this year's end-of-season sale to beat all previous records.

The e-commerce websites such as Myntra, Jabong, Tata Cliq and Reliance's Ajio, too, have got good response to their end-of-season sales that coincided with those of brick-and-mortar retailers.

Top retailer Future Group's Brand Factory, which retails some 200 fashion brands including Wrangler, Nike, Louis Philippe and Allen Solly, said it crossed its sales target for special sale events planned around demonetisation.

"The only impact of demonetisation was in the first week after announcement. We are out of it now,, Jitendernath Patri, chief marketing officer at Central, told ET.

However, most brands report healthy growth in sales some feel it could have been better.

"This could have been one of the best seasons if not for demonetisation,” Kavindra Mishra, chief executive at denim brand Pepe Jeans that reported 18% likefor-like growth in the sale period, told ET.

Yogeshwar Sharma, executive director at Delhi's Select Citywalk Mall, expects luxury retailers to grow at a slower pace or remain flat, while other categories will grow 10-12%.

"All retailers have put their best foot forward and are giving 40-60% off on merchandise, which is good enough to attract people to malls,” he told ET.