New Delhi: Terming the pandemic-impacted April-June 2020 quarter as ”the darkest hour of the fiscal”, the country’s leading player in suiting and shirting Raymond said a recovery in the segment would take a ”mid-term time frame” when life is back to normalcy, primarily driven by occasion- and celebration-led dressing along with ongoing vaccination.
Demand for clothing, which is a non-essential item, with discretionary spending has been impacted, said Raymonds in its latest annual report while talking about branded textiles, its flagship business.
It expects ”modest growth” in the fabric business with increasing competition from ready-made garments, besides low traction for the near term in the exports market due to the pandemic.
In 2020-21, sales of branded textiles had declined nearly 46 per cent to Rs 1,572 crore, as against Rs 2,917 crore of 2019-20.
While discussing the outlook for the segment, Raymond said: ”With vaccination gaining momentum, there is an uptick in consumer sentiments leading to pent-up demand, increased footfalls and higher conversion rate.” ”Key sales drivers like impending wedding season, festivities and markets reopening fully are expected to amplify demand,” it added.
