Revival & Survival: Safety to be the only relevant SOP for most retailers: Amit Sirrohi

Amit Sirrohi, Head - Retail, Raymond Ltd
Amit Sirrohi, Head - Retail, Raymond Ltd

Prepared or not, India has to gear up for an exit strategy for the lockdown period. It is definitely a changed world that India is entering now, and we will have to learn to live with the Coronavirus in our midst.

A lot has been written, debated and discussed over how much the economy and business operations have been hit. We, at Adgully, aim to look at the revival story. What does it take to jumpstart an economy? That is the great narrative that we are following up as part of our ‘Revival and Survival’ series.

Amit Sirrohi, Head - Retail, Raymond Ltd, has several strategic propositions to get the economy up and moving now that lockdown restrictions are being eased in a phased manner across the country.

What does the new normal look like? How much has the COVID-19 crisis disrupted business operations?

I believe that things have changed significantly over the past couple of months. Safety will possibly be the only relevant SOP for most retailers as sanitization and social distancing needs will have a significant effect on all other retailing processes. On the other hand, I believe that digital and Internet-based business models will gain higher acceptance as more and more consumers will overcome their mental barriers related to online shopping as it will be driven majorly by their safety needs.

While a lot has changed, businesses like ours in this sector have seen much disruption since the first week of lockdown. Consumer demand is also expected to be weak for most retailers in the coming quarters, given the safety related apprehensions and general drop in purchasing power. Recovery rate for retailers will depend on their categories, target consumers and corrective actions taken.

While the business has stalled during the complete lockdown period, 10-15 per cent of retail stores are now in operation across India and Tiers. Raymond’s presence in more than 630 cities, brand strength and unique market position will help it bounce back faster, and the initial signs are encouraging and much better than our initial estimates.

What should be the blueprint for a post-COVID-19 economy?

Reviving consumption by 1.3 billion-plus Indians is the surest way to get the Indian economy back on track, but the market’s liquidity needs to be improved to increase the country’s purchasing power. Also, sectors will need the Centre/ State economic relief packages, as economic activities will take time to revive. We also need to attract foreign capital, both in our markets as well as by taking conscious efforts to establish India as a viable manufacturing alternative, while the world is actively looking for options beyond China.

What are the 5 key measures needed to ensure a speedy business revival for the food category?

  1. Institutionalise safety protocols and take all relevant measures to ensure safety of your customers and employees
  2. Realign your cost structure and sharpen productivity to maximize capital efficiency. This is critical to sustain no to weak consumer demand periods
  3. Maximise consumer value either through innovation, newer business models or by simply providing higher value at better price points
  4. Initiate rapid digital transformation to align with changing consumer behaviour and purchasing trends. Having crossed the initial barrier and given prevalent safety concerns, more and more consumers are expected to purchase online
  5. Prepare your organisation and teams for the new world

How are you strategising for the remaining quarters of this Financial Year 2021?

  • Prioritising Safety: Safety of our customers, employees and franchisee partners is our first priority and we further aim to keep pushing the envelope on store-level safety measures
  • Effective Marketing: With constrained resources, an objective assessment of marketing expenditure against the intended business objective is critical. Hence, our focus is on loyal consumers while also exploring newer and sharper ways of customer acquisition
  • Managing Micro Markets: Treating each store as a micro market is the need of the hour for optimizing the allocation of resources and taking timely corrective actions
  • Product Innovation: Product innovation and excellence is at the core of Raymond and therefore, products are designed to meet the health and safety needs of consumers
  • Cost Consciousness: Keep a close eye on all forms and types of costs, as minimising cost obligations is important for speculative gains

How do you see businesses and the Government working together to undo the lockdown disruption and address the market uncertainties?

No one has prepared for an unprecedented scenario like today, be it Customers, Brands/ Retailers, Government or Local Administration. Moreover, the reality of each market differs from the other in terms of the impact of COVID-19, the availability of resources, socio-economics, and population density, etc. We, therefore, need to help each other to navigate through and beyond this crisis. Industry associations are already playing an active role in consistently voicing their concerns to Government agencies. Even the Government agencies are also receptive to addressing those concerns. The initial signs are encouraging, but we still have a long way to go.

How do you visualise the economy and your sector a year later? How much would it have recovered by then?

It is difficult to predict at the moment as multiple factors will have an impact on this such as:

  • Whether we will have a vaccine and if yes, by when?
  • To what level are we able to contain or losses during the impacted period, and at what cost?
  • What kind of stimulus package is coming from the government and where it is directed?
  • How soon are we able to restore purchasing power back to consumers?
  • How much global capital and manufacturing demand are we capable of capturing?
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