After three years, the market celebrates this festive season with bigger sales
There is a lot of euphoria at the New Delhi headquarters of consumer electronics giant LG. Over the last few months, the company has been preparing to ramp up its product line inventory to be offered in the current festive season. This year, there is considerable expectation that after a long hiatus of three years, Indian consumers will open their purse strings to shop generously during festivals.
LG’s optimism stems from a rather robust doubledigit sales growth in the first half of the year, which was followed by a good showing at the outset of the festive season beginning September. During the 10day Onam celebrations last month in Kerala, the company witnessed a sales growth of 3540 per cent, reflected in a business of Rs 1,0001,200 crore. “There is a strong positive sentiment in the market,” says Niladri Dutta, chief marketing officer, LG India. “We expect to clock at least 30 per cent growth in the NavaratriDiwali season. In fact, we hope strong growth will continue till November. We are looking at business worth anything around Rs 5,000 crore this season.”
This optimism is palpable pretty much across the corporate spectrum, with almost all consumer durable companies readying their arsenal to meet the festive season demand, which is expected to be bigger than in the last two years in terms of sales. According to rough estimates, sales worth Rs 20,00025,000 crore is expected to happen through online shopping alone in the current festive season, while physical retail is expected to account for another Rs 10,00015,000 crore in the same period.
This story is from the October 24, 2016 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber ? Sign In
This story is from the October 24, 2016 edition of Outlook.
Start your 7-day Magzter GOLD free trial to access thousands of curated premium stories, and 8,500+ magazines and newspapers.
Already a subscriber? Sign In
The Propaganda Files
A recent spate of Hindi films distorts facts and creates imaginary villains. Century-old propaganda cinema has always relied on this tactic
Will Hindutva Survive After 2024?
The idealogy of Hindutva faces a challenge in staying relevant
A Terrific Tragicomedy
Paul Murray's The Bee Sting is a tender and extravagant sketch of apocalypse
Trapped in a Template
In the upcoming election, more than the Congress, the future of the Gandhi family is at stake
IDEOLOGY
Public opinion will never be devoid of ideology: but we shall destroy ourselves without philosophical courage
The Many Kerala Stories
How Kerala responded to the propaganda film The Kerala Story
Movies and a Mirage
Previously portrayed as a peaceful paradise, post-1990s Kashmir in Bollywood has become politicised
Lights, Cinema, Politics
FOR eight months before the 1983 state elections in undivided Andhra Pradesh, a modified green Chevrolet van would travel non-stop, except for the occasional pit stops and food breaks, across the state.
Cut, Copy, Paste
Representation of Muslim characters in Indian cinema has been limited—they are either terrorists or glorified individuals who have no substance other than fixed ideas of patriotism
The Spectre of Eisenstein
Cinema’s real potency to harness the power of enchantment might want to militate against its use as a servile, conformist propaganda vehicle