A good Diwali for retail majors

The Economic Times reports that Diwali has brought good sales results for most retail majors after a slow start. Leading retail chains such as Westside, Pantaloons, Wills Lifestyle, Ebony and Landmark recorded sales figures of 40-45% higher than last year during the same period. While sales were slow to pick up after Dussehra, the traditional start of the shopping season, the last seven days saw a significant growth in sales.

Mr Biyani, which owns the Pantaloons and Big Bazaar retail outlets, attributed the late sales surge to late start of holidays in schools and colleges. However, opinions differ across industry players on the issue. An industry official said the September clearance sales might have cannibalised the festive period sales to an extent.

According to Ebony Retail Holding’s CEO Lalit Kumar, “Diwali sales usually coincides with the pre-winter sales. However, this time since winter is yet to set in, the sales were damp in the initial days.” Mr Kumar feels the company’s aggressive festive marketing campaign, with a sharp focus on a different categories every week, helped Ebony achieve its target for the festive season.