Fashion retailers on Monday sought government support to ease fund flow and to compensate for essential expenses like vendor payments, rents and salaries, saying many players stare at insolvency and recovery from Covid-19 will be a long and arduous journey and with millions of jobs at risk.
As a result of the mandatory closure of retail stores across India, the industry is facing an imminent and massive financial crisis with major disruption, they said.
"With the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic, the entire retail industry is witnessing uncertain and challenging times more than ever. Getting back on track will be a long and arduous journey as the way forward looks fluid with millions of jobs at risk," Benetton India Managing Director and CEO Sundeep Chugh told PTI.
Seeking support from the government, he said the aid will not only help the sector survive but will in turn save many families that are supported by the retail employed workforce.
Expressing similar views, Bestseller India CEO & Country Head Vineet Gautam said the impact of the coronavirus outbreak on the fashion retail segment is more pronounced.
Fashion retailers are facing imminent financial crisis and insolvency in view of high cost of goods, fixed rentals, employee costs, etc, Gautam added.
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He further said that the government needs to come up with a "support package for the industry to ease fund flow and to compensate for essential expenses like vendor payments, rents and salaries".
"Fashion retail supports a lot of small and medium garment factories which are labour intensive. A relief package will help us prioritise their daily wages and ensure these companies and their people can survive these tough times. This is required urgently as the market recovery is going to be very slow and it'll help all of us remain afloat," Gautam said.
Forever New Country Manager Dhruv Bogra said that due to mandatory closure of retail Stores across India, the industry is facing an imminent and massive financial crisis and major disruption. Millions of jobs in retail are at risk as the impact will be felt for many months."