Still not fired up: Retail outlets miss the Diwali spark

This Diwali is turning out to be lacklustre for most retailers, including organised and traditional trade

The attendant at Sagar, a popular apparel retail store at Hill Road, Bandra, Mumbai, is looking wistfully at the sky. It is pouring outside on a cloudy Saturday and the attendant is well aware that this will hamper business during a crucial period for retail, namely, Diwali.

“I was counting on this weekend, which is the last before Diwali,” he says. “Business has been thin over the last few weeks and my bet was this weekend stretching over to the next. I am not happy how it has started out though,” he says.

Across the road at Reliance Trends, the fashion chain