NEW DELHI: Indian companies are hiring thousands of temporary workers, expanding to smaller cities and launching new products as the country prepares to celebrate its peak festive season without COVID restrictions for the first time in three years. doing.
Many people in the country of 1.4 billion decorate their homes and buy new clothes, cars, phones and other items during the festivals of Durga Puja and Diwali between September and November. E-commerce major Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart have already announced huge discount sales.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which says its 80 million small and medium-business members generate annual sales of more than $1.5 trillion, forecast sales this Diwali season to be at least 30% compared to last year. % will be higher.
“Consumer sentiment is very upbeat after two years of restrictions,” said CAIT general secretary Praveen Khandelwal, who has traveled to many parts of the country this month to ask traders to stock up and ensure that they have where to compete. There are different types of products. players.
He added that the demand for CAIT members has already exceeded 90% of the pre-Covid levels.
Although India’s annual retail inflation rose to 7% in August after a three-month decline, Khandelwal said the trick was to provide customers with options tailored to their budget, on which he is conducting sessions for businesses across the country. whom they represent.
Ecom Express, which distributes products on behalf of e-commerce firms, said it has doubled its parcel-processing capacity to 6 million units per day and expects volumes to grow by 65% during the festive season, Most of which is coming from growth. small town.
Smart Logistics, which began operations a year ago, said it is expanding into a dozen predominantly smaller cities, besides adding new hubs in several other large cities such as New Delhi, where it already has a presence. . It cited growing demand around the time of festivals and its goal of connecting smaller towns.
Yogesh Dhingra, Founder, Smarter said, “We aim to strengthen connectivity beyond metro cities to provide better access and ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises in Tier-II and III cities.”
Dunzo, an online delivery platform backed by retail-to-energy conglomerate Reliance Industries, said August has been a busy month due to its many festivities and overall demand usually jumps up to 30% during the Diwali season.
Dunzo executive Mrinmayee OK said, “We have planned our inventory in such a way that we stock our assortment based on the festivals celebrated in each city.”
Logistics operator Delhi Ltd said late last month that it would create more than 75,000 seasonal jobs around September to meet “significantly higher volumes during the festive season”.
Automakers like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki have either launched new models recently or are planning to do so soon.
Industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said earlier this month that a good monsoon and the upcoming festive season are likely to boost demand, but higher fuel prices are a cause for concern.
Many people in the country of 1.4 billion decorate their homes and buy new clothes, cars, phones and other items during the festivals of Durga Puja and Diwali between September and November. E-commerce major Amazon and Walmart’s Flipkart have already announced huge discount sales.
The Confederation of All India Traders (CAIT), which says its 80 million small and medium-business members generate annual sales of more than $1.5 trillion, forecast sales this Diwali season to be at least 30% compared to last year. % will be higher.
“Consumer sentiment is very upbeat after two years of restrictions,” said CAIT general secretary Praveen Khandelwal, who has traveled to many parts of the country this month to ask traders to stock up and ensure that they have where to compete. There are different types of products. players.
He added that the demand for CAIT members has already exceeded 90% of the pre-Covid levels.
Although India’s annual retail inflation rose to 7% in August after a three-month decline, Khandelwal said the trick was to provide customers with options tailored to their budget, on which he is conducting sessions for businesses across the country. whom they represent.
Ecom Express, which distributes products on behalf of e-commerce firms, said it has doubled its parcel-processing capacity to 6 million units per day and expects volumes to grow by 65% during the festive season, Most of which is coming from growth. small town.
Smart Logistics, which began operations a year ago, said it is expanding into a dozen predominantly smaller cities, besides adding new hubs in several other large cities such as New Delhi, where it already has a presence. . It cited growing demand around the time of festivals and its goal of connecting smaller towns.
Yogesh Dhingra, Founder, Smarter said, “We aim to strengthen connectivity beyond metro cities to provide better access and ease of doing business for small and medium enterprises in Tier-II and III cities.”
Dunzo, an online delivery platform backed by retail-to-energy conglomerate Reliance Industries, said August has been a busy month due to its many festivities and overall demand usually jumps up to 30% during the Diwali season.
Dunzo executive Mrinmayee OK said, “We have planned our inventory in such a way that we stock our assortment based on the festivals celebrated in each city.”
Logistics operator Delhi Ltd said late last month that it would create more than 75,000 seasonal jobs around September to meet “significantly higher volumes during the festive season”.
Automakers like Tata Motors, Mahindra & Mahindra and Maruti Suzuki have either launched new models recently or are planning to do so soon.
Industry body Society of Indian Automobile Manufacturers said earlier this month that a good monsoon and the upcoming festive season are likely to boost demand, but higher fuel prices are a cause for concern.