Economic blues hit corporate market this Diwali New Delhi, Oct 31 (KNN) With less than a week to go for Diwali, the traders and gift manufacturers are still waiting for the Diwali rush. Though the markets in major cities are all decorated as every year, still the shop owners can feel the impact of economic slowdown and high inflation leading to less enthusiasm among shopkeepers. The markets are decorated with lights, sweets, dry fruits, clothes, utensils, presents and the godowns are full of stock, according to a trader. But there is around 30-35 per cent fall in the business this year and unlike past years, the traders do not have enough orders. Even as sales are lukewarm, the prices of the gift items, decorative, lightings, and crackers have gone up by almost 25 per cent this year, said a wholesale trader from Sadar Bazaar here. The slowdown has impacted the corporate gift segment as companies are cutting their costs. “Corporate gifting requires enough funding and the corporates are cutting costs. So, the orders have gave down by almost 30 – 40 per cent this year,” said Co-Founder and COO at Dyna Plast India, H S Arora here. Dyna Plast (India) is the manufacturer, exporter and supplier of corporate gifts, advertising gifts, business gifts etc. “Mostly, our end users are the small and medium entrepreneurs. Large enterprises have activities all the year and it’s not merely Diwali oriented. We can feel the huge impact of slowdown on the MSME sector. They are cutting on their quantities immensely, and giving presents only where ever necessary,” he added. In the past, the gift manufacturers had so much work during festival season that they had to outsource many works. “This year our labour doesn’t have much work, so we are not at all outsourcing,” added Arora, who is also a Joint Secretary at the Badli Industries Association in the National Capital. Since, the corporates are cutting costs wherever possible, even the marketing executives have changed their strategies of giving presents to build network with the clients. “Since last few years several small as well as big corporates, especially in the private sector have stopped giving presents during festivals in order to save money,” said Marketing Consultant, Sachin Vashishtha. “Now, the decisions of the companies are not influenced much on the basis of such practices, rather they only focus on the best deals,” he added. However, since Diwali is an important occasion for shopping, there is still a desire to buy new products and exchange gifts amongst the start-ups. “For me, the slowdown had a positive impact as orders have gone up by 30 per cent,” said Proprietor of Batra novelties, a recently started postal for online shopping. “Since the businesses are not doing so well, so the small and new companies are focusing on presenting gifts this festive season as their branding and marketing strategy. “For example, last year, if we had the order of Rs 50 thousand, then this year it is Rs 70 thousand,” Batra added. Source: knnindia.co.in/economy/policies/economic-blues-hit-corporate-market-this-diwali/2-3231.go
Posted on: Thu, 31 Oct 2013 09:20:34 +0000
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