Brands expect festive season to boost like-to-like growth

After registering good business during the ongoing

festive season, apparel retailers are now looking at positive boost in like-to-like sales. Like-to-like growth is the increase in sales from the same store in comparative quarters. Apparel retailers and brands have been witnessing positive like-to-like sales growth in the last couple of quarters of this fiscal and expect it to further get a boost due to heightened activitivity during the festive period. For example, apparel retailers like Promart and Arvind who usually witness a healthy average like-to-like growth of 10 percent are anticipating better numbers this festive season.

Retailers across cities witnessed a suddent rush of consumers buying apparels, footwear and accessories in larger numbers, pushing up sales by almost 15 to 20 percent. Amid a slow economy and high inflation, consumers went all out to shop for personal requirements as well as gifts. And even brands as well as apparel retailers did everything from maximising in-store sales by offering discount, loyalty programs, value-based freebies such as meals, movie tickets or beauty treatments by partnering with companies to free parking, free home deliveries and so on.