Apparel March 2020 Apparel March 2020 issue | Page 20

MARKET WATCH Sudhanshu Agarwal, Founder and Director, Citykart: The announcements made by the government are a promising move to boost the income and purchasing power of people. Simplification of GST norms will inspire consumer demand and consumption. Ramesh Kaushik, VP - Brand Experience, Blackberrys: The government remains committed to accelerating consumption in Budget 2020. Government measures of reducing corporate tax and initiatives to boost MSME sector will help accelerate industrial and corporate growth. Simplifying GST and income tax relief will give a push to consumer consumption and demand, thus accelerating growth across industries. Arjun Ranga, Managing Director, Cycle Pure Agarbathis: “The policy reforms will boost our economy and enhance the purchasing power of the common man. Steps taken towards financial inclusion, digitisation, employment generation, and tax deductions in Budget 2020 will help us grow exponentially. Mukesh Kumar, CEO, Infiniti Mall: The reduced income tax slabs announced in Budget 2020 will provide relief to the common citizen. It will help put more disposable income in their hands and enable them to improve their standard of living. We believe this inflow of cash in retail will boost the sector significantly.” Nidhi Yadav, Creative Head and Founder, AKS Clothings: The most commendable effort towards boosting local manufacturing and start-ups has been contained in the proposed 2020 budget. The new initiatives such as the plan for NBFCs to increase invoicing to MSMEs and the plan to increase the interest subvention scheme to MSMEs by a year will increase productivity in both local manufacturing and service industries. Excerpts from retail4growth.com 18 I APPAREL I March 2020 Retail Brands React to Union Budget 2020 Reliance to Bring Spain’s Balenciaga to India Reliance Brands, a subsidiary of Reliance Industries, which sells luxury labels like Ermenegildo Zegna, Brooks Brothers, and Bally in India, is sprucing up its luxury portfolio. After bringing iconic American jewellery brand Tiffany and Co to India, Reliance has signed up with luxury fashion house Balenciaga to bring the brand to the country, people familiar with the matter said. Spanish brand Balenciaga, now owned by luxury giant Kering, has not been present in India so far. Reliance plans to launch the brand at its upcoming Jio World Centre mall in Mumbai, sources said. Excerpts from ETRetail.com Uniqlo Set to Open a Third Store in India Japanese fashion retailer Uniqlo will open its third store in India at the DLF Avenue mall in Delhi on February 29. Uniqlo that counts itself among the world’s top fashion retailers opened its maiden store in the country in Delhi in October at Ambience Mall, Vasant Kunj, followed by its second store in Gurugram's DLF CyberHub which draws a large office going crowd. The retailer’s third store in Delhi's Saket area will be spread over 21,500 square feet of retail space over two floors, it said in a media statement. “We are delighted with the positive feedback our products have garnered in the winter season and are now looking forward to opening our third store, UNIQLO DLF Avenue Saket, at the onset of the new Spring Summer season," Tomohiko Sei, CEO, Uniqlo India said in the statement. Excerpts from Live Mint