Manufacturers of shoes, bags and stationery saw strong sales growth as a large majority of students returned to physical classes after a long Covid-induced hiatus.
Sellers of school shoes, bags, backpacks and stationery saw a huge increase in demand in June for their products in both metropolitan and non-metropolitan cities.
“Back to school is often considered the second most important season for the retail industry. For parents, shopping will be unavoidable as the vast majority of students are now returning to a physical classroom after two years of distance and hybrid learning,” Utkrishta Kumar, CXO-Business, Meesho, told FE.
The e-commerce platform said its Office & Stationery category saw 37% month-over-month growth in June 2022. Sellers on this platform saw an increase in orders for bags, backpacks, notebooks, pencil cases, geometry sets, lunch boxes and water bottles. “Bags and backpacks saw a gigantic 71% sales increase, while lunch boxes and water bottles saw a 66% growth trajectory,” Kumar said. The company has seen maximum customers from Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Telangana and Uttar Pradesh.
Footwear giant Bata India has recorded increased sales in school shoes sector in states like Maharashtra, Delhi, Madhya Pradesh, Karnataka Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh, Telangana and West Bengal among others where schools are reopening. “With the reopening of schools, offices and the economy after the third wave of Covid, both school and formal footwear saw robust growth in the first half of the calendar year,” said the CEO of Bata India , Gunjan Shah.
Shah said the footwear industry is cyclical and different states see sales growth throughout the year. These triggers vary from regional new year, festivals, monsoon, reopening of schools and colleges, early spring and summer, weddings and others which drive requests for the different categories of the business like sneakers, fashion, formal wear, casual wear and essentials. “There are slight variations, however, we are seeing an overall rebound in activity across India,” Shah added.
Khadim India Ltd, the second largest retail shoe brand, has seen an increase in sales of school shoes since announcing the resumption of physical classes in schools in the new term of 2022. The growth in sales of l business in the school footwear category was up nearly 30%, consolidating all channels from its pre-Covid sales.
“We prepared well in advance, started our production in advance and took all possible measures to meet consumer demand… We are well stocked to meet any demand in the months to come. “said Namrata A Chotrani, CEO of Khadim India. . The company has witnessed nearly equal demands in metropolitan and non-metro cities.
Schools and colleges had completely switched to offline classes for almost two years after physical classes were closed due to the Covid-19 pandemic.
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