Vineet Gautam, chief executive officer, Bestseller India, hopes 2024 will bring better business prospects than 2023, a year that witnessed a slowdown for retailers in India.
He feels that the business has learned from their mistakes made in 2023 and is trying to correct them. He is though optimistic about the long term business potential of India and feels that the business will start to pick up in the next two quarters. “The industry is going to witness a much better positive vibe in the country post the election,” he said.
Speaking about Bestseller India’s focus in the year he said: “Emphasis will also be on the products and consumer journey in the stores. On the digital side, we are trying to see how we can bring a lot more fashion to consumers online rather than just discounted product lines.”
Since there is a clear distinction between an online and an offline consumer, understanding how brands cater to both these consumers differently and create cohorts and keeping products accordingly is important, he said.
On the expectations from the upcoming Phygital Retail Convention 2024 (PRC) to be held in May in Mumbai, Gautam added that there has been a lot of discussion going on online and omnichannel.
“I think the PRC should talk a lot about physical retail because I think if you look at it post-COVID, physical retail has started to become strong. And I think a lot of D2C brands are also realising that physical is the next word. Let’s spend more time on the physical retail part, how to improve experiences, and how to win back consumers for physical retail,” said Gautam.
