Retail

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The world is turning the page and rewriting retail. After a tumultuous few years, the industry is moving from recovery mode to reformation with exciting changes and digital innovations. Despite talks on the revival of the high street, changing consumer behaviors have shifted from offline to online, and have become more channel agnostic. Retailers are now leveraging Artificial Intelligence (AI) and other cutting-edge technologies to streamline operations and improve efficiencies. As we progress into the year, these are the top trends to be aware of to stay ahead of the competition. 1. Generative AI to scale businesses AI-powered technology has been making waves for quite some time now. From artificial influencers to deep fakes, OpenAI’s ChatGPT platform is driving attention to the potential of generative AI. This form of deep machine learning combines natural language processing to compose ‘original’ content that is … [Read more...] about 5 Growing Retail Tech Trends That Will Dominate Asia And Beyond In 2023

Reliance Retail on January 31 announced that its FMCG arm has entered into strategic partnership with Sri Lanka-based biscuit brand Maliban. With this partnership, Reliance and Maliban will "develop unique value propositions that will strengthen Reliance Consumer Products Limited (RCPL) portfolio in the biscuit segment," the company said in a statement. Maliban, a heritage brand and household name in Sri Lanka, manufactures food items including biscuits, crackers, cookies and wafers. In addition, the company has reach over 35 countries across 5 continents, Reliance Retail added. Reliance Retail's FMCG arm RCPL had earlier launched its packaged consumer products brand, ‘Independence’ in December 2022 and is "creating a distinct and dedicated retail distribution network for its fast-expanding FMCG portfolio." Speaking on the partnership, Isha Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, said, “With a leading market position, Maliban has deep-rooted heritage and … [Read more...] about Reliance Retail’s FMCG arm partners with Sri Lanka-based biscuit brand Maliban

Just Dial's promoter Reliance Retail Ventures on Wednesday sold 2 percent stake in the company for Rs 101 crore in order to comply with the minimum public shareholding norms. According to the bulk deal data available with stock exchanges, Reliance Retail Ventures, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, offloaded a total of 16,86,119 shares, amounting to 2 percent stake in Just Dial. The shares were sold at an average price of Rs 600 apiece, taking the transaction value to Rs 101.16 crore. The shareholding of promoter and promoter group entities in Just Dial, which offers online directory for local contacts, has come down to 74.98 percent from 76.98 percent. On Monday, Just Dial said that Reliance Retail will sell 2 percent stake in the company through open market transactions to comply with regulatory requirement of 25 percent minimum public shareholding. Read More On Wednesday, shares of Just Dial closed 2.97 percent lower at Rs 589.85 per piece on BSE and Rs … [Read more...] about Reliance Retail Ventures sells 2% stake in Just Dial for Rs 101 crore

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The retail industry’s supply-chain-induced inventory glut may turn out to have been a gift in disguise. Although companies are expected to report subdued annual earnings (the retail year typically ends January 31), diminished by markdowns and logistical costs, the abundance of merchandise may have allowed some breathing room to accelerate investment in reshoring and re-sourcing suppliers. The top goal appears to be the unshoring of China, which established in 2022 that it is no longer a reliable source, given its handling of Covid and the twists and turns of geopolitics and trade skirmishes. A recent surve y by Forbes and Zogby Strategies found that about half of American CEOs whose companies depend on manufacturing to produce and deliver their goods have plans to reshore operations this year. Among the 150 CEOs and decision makers that the researchers track, about 90% expect supply chain disruptions to continue, … [Read more...] about The Great China Unshoring, Retail’s Big Trend For 2023

Former RBI governor Raghuram Rajan said too much of investments have been made in making chips globally. Former Reserve Bank of India (RBI) Governor Raghuram Rajan has cautioned Indian banks on their aggressive tilt towards retail lending, flagging potential risks involved in the event of a downcycle. “If you see, banks in India are moving towards retail lending. Are they pricing properly? Are banks looking at the risks involved?,” Rajan told Moneycontrol in an exclusive interview on the sidelines of Davos 2023. Highlighting the problems with infrastructure lending in the past, Rajan said banks have to make sure that all the risks involved are checked. “In 2007,2008 and 2009, we moved towards infrastructure loans because they played out well at the time. But afterwards, they created problems,” Rajan said. Asset quality Read More Talking on the asset quality front, Rajan said that there has been some significant progress made on the repayment side. He … [Read more...] about Davos 2023: Raghuram Rajan cautions Indian banks on aggressive retail bet, warns of risks

Piramal Finance will be focusing more on small towns, primarily the micro-markets on the outskirts of large cities. Piramal Capital & Housing Finance expects to grow its retail loan book to more than Rs 1 lakh crore over the next three years from around Rs 25,000 crore now. The company, part of Piramal Enterprises, has been rebranded as Piramal Finance. It is into housing finance, SME lending, and retail finance along with wholesale lending, which is the mainstay with over Rs 42,000 crore in developer financing. Its retail book stood at Rs 24,872 crore at the end of the September quarter. Out of the retail book, as much as 63 percent is affordable housing loans and most of them came from the takeover of DHFL in September 2021. Around 26 percent is secured MSME loans, 4.2 percent is digital finance, 2.6 percent is unsecured MSME book and 1.3 percent is used car loans. Read More The microfinance book, which the company started last September, forms 3 … [Read more...] about Piramal Capital aims to increase retail loan book to more than Rs 1 lakh crore

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin Topline Retail trading hit an all-time high this year, according to JPMorgan data, as non-institutional market participation enjoys a renaissance amid a favorable start to 2023 for equities, even surpassing 2021’s high-profile, meme-driven surge in day trading. Key Facts The percentage of total trading volume coming from retail investors was about 23% from January 25 to February 1, JPMorgan’s Peng Cheng wrote in a note to clients this week, narrowly edging out the record retail share of 22% in the pandemic-fueled trading frenzy and a massive increase in retail volumes since late last year, when it hovered at about 15%. Meme stocks like GameStop, AMC and Bed Bath & Beyond are each up 35% or more this year, despite the latter being on the verge of insolvency, and retail volume remains concentrated in smaller stocks, but habits of day traders are shifting, according to Cheng’s analysis. Retail investors … [Read more...] about Retail Trading Just Hit An All-Time High. Here’s What Stocks Are The Most Popular

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin On January 11, a delegation of workers from the REI store in Cleveland, Ohio, formally filed for the right to hold a union election with the National Labor Relations Board, seeking representation with the Retail, Wholesale and Department Store Union (RWDSU). This came on the heels of two REI stores winning their union elections at the flagship in New York’s SoHo, and in Berkeley, California stores. These wins came despite REI efforts to union bust coast-to-coast, the RWDSU said. The worker-led movement to unionize at the store in Beachwood, Ohio, a suburb of Cleveland, has been underway for more than a year, according to the RWDSU, but workers cited the overwhelming response at REI’s SoHo flagship as the motivation they needed to move forward. The store workers in Cleveland made a push to get a majority of card signers and file for election. On January 11, REI workers at the Ohio store formally filed for a union … [Read more...] about Workers At Cleveland REI Store File For Union Election With The NLRB

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin While consumers feel the continued squeeze of inflationary pricing, the outlook for Valentine’s Day spending seems optimistic. Consumers are expected to spend $25.9 billion on Valentine’s Day in 2023, up 8% over last year. The National Retail Federation and Prosper Insights & Analytics revealed that spending this year will be one of the highest numbers on record for the February holiday. “This year, as consumers embrace spending on friends and loved ones, retailers are ready to help customers celebrate Valentine’s Day with memorable gifts at affordable prices,” stated NRF President and CEO Matthew Shay. The NRF survey of 7,616 U.S. adult consumers also showed that even among those who don’t plan to celebrate Valentine’s Day, 28% will still mark the occasion somehow. They may treat themselves to something special, plan a get-together or evening out with single friends and family members. Budget-conscious … [Read more...] about Cupid Is Not Fretting Over Higher Prices For Valentine’s Day

Share to Twitter Share to Linkedin The revolution will, it appears, be streamed after all. For those who have just got their heads around the extraordinary $16.4 billion brand value of influencers, TikTok is suddenly full of their apparent nemesis, ‘deinfluencers’. Yes, deinfluencing is everywhere, persuading viewers what not to buy and what does not work as spectacularly as claimed, or at all, in a trend that is threatening to upend the digital marketing campaigns of retailers and brands. The term first cropped up at the turn of the year, conjured by social media creators who have taken to either urging viewers against buying something, or criticizing favorite brands and products. And use of the #deinfluencing hashtag has spun off at an exponential rate, especially in the beauty and lifestyle markets. Because, of course, many influencers are only too happy to promote products purely for profit, rather than merit. Deinfluencing is meant to turn … [Read more...] about Could The TikTok Deinfluencing Backlash Topple Influencer Culture?