25% retailers may be out of biz after lockdown if govt doesn't help: Study

Firms may have to sack 20% of workforce, says study by retailers' association

Around 25 per cent of retailers would require serious infusion of capital to help them deal with the impact of the 21-day nationwide lockdown imposed to check the spread of coronavirus disease (Covid-19), else they would be out of business, the Retailers Association of India (RAI) said based on its estimates.

Says Kumar Rajagopalan, RAI chief executive officer: “It’s a tough situation until the government comes to the rescue. Non-food retailers have had no revenues during the lockdown, yet their fixed costs continue.”

To add to the woes, retailers who are members of the association say that they have to