Ease of Doing Business for MSMEs: Even as Indian retailers together with micro, small and medium enterprises have registered a 28 per cent gross sales development in March 2022 from the year-ago interval, the market continues to be cautiously optimistic, Kumar Rajagopalan, Chief Executive Officer of the apex retail commerce physique Retailers Association of India (RAI) informed Financial Express Online. “The growth should have been near 30 per cent from pre-pandemic level instead of from last year. There are multiple issues around it such as rising fuel prices, impact of the Russia-Ukraine war on India and the world, and overall caution around inflation. It is not as simple as the pre-Covid world, the virus is still there,” Rajagopalan mentioned as development from the pre-Covid degree (March 2019) stood at solely 12 per cent in March 2022.
The findings have been a part of the month-to-month survey carried out by the retail commerce physique Retailers Association of India (RAI). The development in February 2022 was 10 per cent when in comparison with the gross sales degree in February 2021. The improve in pan-India retail gross sales, nonetheless, indicated the continual restoration in shopper confidence amid the decline in Covid circumstances and withdrawal of a lot of the associated restrictions throughout the nation.
According to the info launched by the Ministry of Statistics on Tuesday, India’s retail inflation, which is measured by the Consumer Price Index (CPI), elevated to six.95 per cent in March from 6.07 per cent in February. This was the third consecutive month for retail inflation to be above the Reserve Bank of India’s (RBI) higher restrict of 6 per cent. The authorities RBI’s financial coverage committee has been requested to restrict retail inflation between 2 and 6 per cent.
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Meanwhile, the best year-on-year retail gross sales development of 45 per cent was registered within the shopper durables and electronics section adopted by meals & grocery and furnishings at 28 per cent every, in line with the survey. Beauty, wellness and private care noticed the bottom development of 14 per cent whereas jewelry grew by 22 per cent. “International customers make a big difference to the beauty and wellness segment. Since international flights were suspended (till last month since March 2020), it had an impact on the segment’s growth,” added Rajagopalan.
“Many spas and wellness centers depend primarily on foreign customers and hence, they will have to wait and watch for their next phase of growth as well as work on a more regulated pricing structure. However, as domestic demand has increased, it is a positive development for the industry. We now expect growth rates to accelerate to around 18 per cent unless there are any unforeseen events ahead,” Rekha Chaudhari, Managing Director at salon and spa model Oneline Wellness informed Financial Express Online.
Region-wise, retail gross sales in West India confirmed a YoY development of 37 per cent vis-a-vis 28 per cent in North, 26 per cent in East India, and 21 per cent in South.
Source: www.financialexpress.com”