EDITALK

It's Time to Reflect and Change with the Flow of Time...

As we enter the New Fiscal 2024-2025 this month, and 'Doing the Business' norms are changing fast across the world, so are they in India too. Towards this goal, and the ease of doing business, the present Indian Government is doing all it can, to make life better for those who are engaged in business activity. Considering, that it is almost probable about the NDA returning to power once again for its third term this year headed by Prime Minister Narendra Modi with a hopefully impressive majority God-Willing, both in the Lok Sabha as well as the State Assemblies, which will vote in 7 phases between April 19 and June 01, it's also the right time to ponder and reflect on what each and all of us can do, towards helping to make our country a $5 Trillion Economy by 2027 and a Poorn Viksit Bharat (An Absolute Developed India) by 2047. It does sound like Wishful Thinking and a Dream of Sorts at times, but going by the many achievements that the present government has already garnered over the last 10 years of being at the helm, in terms of the overall development in various spheres carried out successfully up to now throughout India, it is not difficult to foretell, that the country will move forward on the same path and continue to develop itself further, in the years to follow with the same zeal or perhaps even better. Whether we speak of smart cities coming up, or railways, or national highways, or airports, or seaports, or solar power and water management getting better and smarter by-the-day, or for that matter any other specific area of activity, it becomes evidently clear, that the India of today has most definitely and completely transformed for the better. It's certainly not the India we grew up seeing. It is now a highly enterprising and engaging country, which is racing into the future at an admirable speed, while establishing its prowess and dexterity at accomplishing what was thought as being impossible to achieve, once upon-a-time. So, as responsible citizens of India, all of us need to identify areas to which we can contribute healthily, by not only advancing our thought processes and mind-set, but also beginning to understand that what the others can do, we can definitely do better. In every industry today, prowess in manufacturing, is the true link towards progress. The External Affairs Minister - Mr. S. Jaishankar, who was speaking at the recently conducted ET Awards for Corporate Excellence 2023 in Mumbai, while calling for support to domestic supply chains, stated, that "There's a kind of an appreciation that India is actually beginning to take manufacturing seriously at last. Without manufacturing, nobody's going to take you very seriously on technology... Today, we are behaving differently. There is a certain self-assurance." This is so true, because it's constant innovations in manufacturing, that will actually push us into the future. If we look at our own industry today - the horological industry, this too is changing rapidly by-the-day. While the large players are turning out more and more innovative products that are in keeping with the changing times, the mid-size and small players are also trying their best to establish their brands and products with offerings that are different from what they used to be. We have to now stop complaining about supply chains being concentrated in one geography alone, which accounts for over 30% of manufacturing. Instead, businesses should seriously consider and look at extending support to local companies too. We have to now go-ahead devotedly with the 'Make In India' philosophy. Not that most major players can depend completely on domestic sourcing, but wherever and whenever they can do so while remaining in their comfort zone, they should definitely do their bit or at least try to extend support. It's not just the prevalent pricing in India that should be looked at, but volumes also, as higher volumes always compensate the price factor. This will provide the much needed boost to Indian companies, who provide ancillaries to watch and clock makers - big, medium and small, since the last many years.. We all have to understand, that it's only new ideas and innovations, both technological and aesthetic, which will help us stay at the forefront in the long term. Merely, copying others will not help either, because the present-day consumers are not only well-educated and aware, but they are also equally smart. They can tell one from the other. The day and time has therefore come, when we have to encourage and promote our own entrepreneurs and start-ups and yet deliver the best products that not only match, but at times, even exceed international standards of excellence. Also as important for each and all of us, is to attempt at forming a united group of like-minded companies, if possible, and try to support each other, in whatever and whichever way that one can, in a combined effort, one of which, is to appeal to the government to impose a minimum value restriction on imports and disallow them into the country if found to be below the stipulated level. This will bring into existence, a corporate approach, which will lead us all forward, towards progress. And the same holds true for the retailers too. The country's consumer landscape is changing in several ways which keeps retailers on their toes. Moreover, a  premiumisation trend  is sweeping across categories for the past few years. Charting out shifts in India's retail sector, a joint study by Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and Retailers Association of India (RAI) brings good news as well as challenging news for Indian retailers. The good news is, that the Indian retailers have a vast business growth opportunity and scope to capture more. India continues to be a bright spot among top global economies with a robust GDP growth of 7% in 2023. It is projected to overtake Germany & Japan to claim the 3rd spot by 2030. Private consumption at the same time remains strong. Indian retail is expected to reach $2 trillion in the next 10 years and presents a huge opportunity for retailers, says the report titled 'Unlocking the $2Tn retail opportunity in the next decade'. As retail is going through key shifts, the pace of growth is influenced by several factors such as steady growth in disposable incomes, return of store expansion, momentum through small formats, increase in affluence impacting categories differentially, varied mix of volume and average selling price, steady increase in urbanization and relatively slower growth for e-commerce versus the recent past. On the other hand, the challenging news, is a discernible shift in spending to experiences and increased savings, says the report. Indian consumers are increasingly spending more on experience than on products, creating an 'experience economy' which poses a challenge to consumer good retailers despite a vast growth potential lying ahead. And so, perhaps as a direct result of this trend, Indian retailers are emphasizing more now on delivering experience while selling goods to consumers. Retailers across categories are opening bigger brick-and-mortar stores along with expanding their existing stores as consumers are increasingly looking for a better experience in physical retail, states real estate services firm Anarock. “Store is now more about delivering an experience, than just merchandising. Brands have realised this, and by expanding the store, they are expanding the offering,” says Pankaj Renjhen, COO and joint MD, Anarock Retail. Hence, in the fast altering situation that is predominantly happening across India today, the mantra for all watch and clock making companies be they big, medium or small is to promote domestic entrepreneurs and start-ups as much as possible, not only to make the horological economy strong, but also to take the country forward towards Viksit Bharat. We have to hence create products which end up causing a flutter. Similarly, on the retail front, the retailers have to understand, that the consumers of today are looking for experiences when out shopping. And, most importantly, whether one is a manufacturer or a retailer, each has to carve a specific and differentiated identity of one's own, through exclusive product offerings and collections, along with proper and transparent business dealings. The year 2024-2025 (FY 2025) is thus going to be the harbinger of big changes, be they in the products we make, services we render or the retailing experience we provide. So, let's all resolve to change with the flow of time and forge ahead on the path of growth.

Hemal M. Kharod