V-Mart Retail sees strong demand resurgence; says co optimistic about festive season

V-Mart Retail saw a strong resurgence of demand in the last two months, said Anand Agarwal, CFO at V-Mart Retail, in an interview with CNBC-TV18.

“All the stores are now fully operational, footfalls have become positive, reached 80-90 percent of pre-COVID levels, that is a very heartening sign,” he said.

According to him, the consumer sentiment has changed towards indulgence, discretionary as a lot of occasion buying is happening against last year’s need-based buying. He further mentioned that he is optimistic about the upcoming festive season.

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“In the month of August, we saw a good number of consumers coming back and asking for more fashion, occasion-led apparel and less of lounge wear, economy range of clothes, which is a good sign. I will still be sceptical in terms of what the future holds for us but as of now, things are definitely looking good,” Agarwal said.

The company has acquired 74 stores from Arvind. “First focus is to get the entire system integrated, get the consumer confidence back and not make it into V-Mart, but improve things that we can identify, which can turn this chain profitable. The long-term aim is to bring this chain somewhere near the operating profit levels of V-Mart, which might take one-two years. We are very focused, confident and sure that value is something that every customer likes and that is what we have specialised in and that is what we hope to deliver,” he said.

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On expansion, he replied, “Not only will we keep expanding in the rest of the country, but we will also start building up our presence more in South India apart from these 74 stores.”