Best printers for Home

Best Mixer Grinder

Best wired Earphones

Best 43 Inch TV in India

Best Wi Fi Routers

Best Home Theatre in India

Smart Watch under 5000

Best Laptops for Education

Best Laptop for Students

<ul><li>Parle-G registered its best sales figures in over eight decades during the COVID-19 lockdown period. </li><li>We caught up with Mayank Shah, Sr. Category Head, Parle Products to understand how the brand managed to meet the ever-increasing demand, secret behind hike in sales, its shifting focus on digital mediums and overall marketing strategy. </li></ul>We all have grown up munching on Parle-G, dunking it in our chai and savouring the half-tea-soaked cookie everyday before rushing to school. The five-rupees pack came to the rescue yet again, cured the lockdown blues when our migrants trekked hundreds of kilometers back home. As a result, while many businesses struggled to survive, this home-grown glucose biscuit hasn’t seen its sales dip even for a day. In fact, Parle-G broke its own sales record by selling the maximum number of biscuits during lockdown in eight decades. Parle saw its overall market share increasing by nearly 5% in May and 80-90% of this growth came from Parle-G sales. “We have witnessed that during natural calamities and during COVID, there is an urgent need to supply rations to people and Parle-G has always been the go-to product and comfort food in any situation or location. It has a longer shelf life and the packaging keeps the biscuits fresh, thereby making it an ideal storage item,” said Mayank Shah, Sr. Category Head, Parle Products. Various NGOs and welfare organizations included Parle-G in their donation kits when Cyclone Amphan hit West Bengal and Odisha. Many people stocked it at home for emergencies. Another reason why Parle-G saw an uptick in sales is because the whole country was home and needed something healthy to snack on. “Today, most spending is happening on food and given the behavior, we are noticing people buying all sorts of biscuits, not just for snacking but for preparing various dishes. This is one reason why the demand went up. The second reason being staying at home has increased the consumption drastically. Typically, at the workplace the focus remains at work, at school focus is on studying but at home 24x7, consumption of food and snacking goes up. This is the reason why we saw uptick in consumption and we expect that this momentum will continue going forward as long as there are some or the other form of restrictions and also because of the concerns that people have in consuming outside food,” tells Shah. Challenges of meeting the market demand But how did Parle manage to meet this ever-increasing demand with scarcity of labor? “Right from day one, we were on the job in terms of ensuring that we get permissions to operate our plant, to ensure that the people are taking care of supply chains so any issues coming at any local level, there was a team that was functioning and taking care of those things to ensure smooth operation. Right from sourcing to manufacturing and supply chain, there were partners and teams already taking care of it. A big challenge was, a paucity of labor and the government additionally declared that offices will not operate with more than 50 percent capacity, which has changed today, initially it was even less than that,” said Shah. He added, “Depending on how a particular zone is affected, we probably have 20-40% labourers. To inspire and get laborers on board, we had to make them understand that it was not just a commercial activity rather it was food security of the country because of the sheer volume and consumption by people.” Shifting focus on digital mediums The lockdown has pushed even a traditional brand like Parle to embrace digital and explore the options available to reach out to its customers. While its ‘G Maane Genius’ iconic tagline continues to be a part of popular culture, to make it more relevant today and increase its recall value, Parle recently partnered with Amazon Prime Video for Shakuntala Devi. Talking about this partnership, Shah said, “This partnership celebrates what sets us apart, which is the generations of children that go above and beyond exploring possibilities in a way that makes their little world and imagination better.” Shah told us that the brand shifted its lion’s share from TV to digital during the lockdown because there was no fresh content on TV and on the other hand, there was a disproportionately higher rate on digital. “We would be investing a good amount of our budget into digital. Pre-COVID, the investments were typically 10 to 12% of the budget. During the initial part of the COVID, not just ours but many companies invested almost one third of the budget spent on digital. Now within a year or two, we will see almost about 20-25% of the total advertising spend happening on digital. Secondly, associations on OTT or TV only if we see a good synergy with our brand. So unless and until there is no great synergy in between our brand communication or brand proposition and the medium or rather the property with which we are associated, we normally don't associate,” said he. Tweaking marketing strategy to stay relevant This 82-year-old brand has grown to become a feeling in our country, it is not just any a cookie you dip in your chai. There is immense nostalgia associated with it. And to resonate with its consumers in gloomy times, Parle tweaked its overall marketing strategy. “We ensured that Parle remained part of consumers' life. Although we observed advertising by many brands, we opted to stay relevant and sometimes out of it. Rather, we continued talking to consumers about inspiring in these times, making them appreciate the role of the frontline workers and ensuring that they understand how the lockdown is beneficial to everybody. So they were not only public service ads which we executed, but ads of our products which talked about how we are part of their life by sharing their concerns. So, most of our communication was topical in nature.” When asked what keeps Shah motivated and at it, he said, “Today we are seeing many companies in the same category, same sector, who are giving up saying that it's the time of lockdown and nothing can be done. On the other hand and extreme, we can see companies that view this as an opportunity to rise up and go all out and carve out an opportunity out of constraint. We have seen both sides of the spectrum. A positive frame of mind, a positive bent of mind and a motivated team is something that makes all the difference.”

How Parle-G continues to exceed its sales record despite a recession

<ul><li>Due to the rising retail inflation, <keyword id="471072" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="indian-consumers" source="Orion">Indian consumers</keyword> are struggling to meet their living expenses.</li><li>Not only have they put their big life plans on hold, but <keyword id="60468" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="consumers" source="Orion">consumers</keyword> are also switching to <keyword id="14587384" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="smaller-products" source="Orion">smaller products</keyword> and <keyword id="14587385" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="less-popular-brands" source="Orion">less popular brands</keyword> to deal with high <keyword id="118688" type="General" weightage="20" keywordseo="inflationary-pressures" source="Orion">inflationary pressures</keyword>.</li><li>They are leaving behind their old habits of bulk buying their ration.</li><li>As per Kantar’s recent report, consumers are buying smaller packs, which run out quickly and lead to high purchase frequency for FMCG brands.</li></ul>Inflationary pressures have pushed Indian consumers to switch to smaller packs. However, soon enough, the pack runs out, and consumers need to revisit supermarkets to refill ration. This has increased the purchase frequency of Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) products. As per data analytics firm Kantar, with lockdown being lifted, India’s FMCG brands witnessed a huge jump in their Consumer Reach Points (CRPs), which takes into account a brand’s reach in the country, overall penetration, and purchase frequency. The report predicts that with high inflation this year, purchase frequency and brand penetration are expected to grow even further. “When consumers are faced with inflationary trends, they tend to shift to smaller packs but buy them more often to meet their overall requirements. This results in improved frequency,” explained K. Ramakrishnan, Managing Director- South Asia, Worldpanel Division at Kantar. Established brands who were quick to read the market and launch smaller packs were able to leapfrog. As per Kantar, the bigger the brand, the faster the growth they witness. As a result, FMCG giants with over 61% penetration levels grew the fastest, with over 8% growth in 2021 over 2020. “This year as consumers returned to the marketplace in droves after tightening conditions in the by-gone year, frequency jumped significantly, which is reflected in the big jumps most brands took in their CRPs. This is why bigger brands always have an advantage,” said Ramakrishnan. For the last ten years, Parle Products has been indomitable in terms of reach, penetration, and purchase frequency. This year, too, Parle held the first spot with CRPs of 6,531 million and witnessed a growth of 14%. Sharing why Parle continues to hold the first position despite high inflation, Ramakrishnan said, “One of the things that are working for them [winner brands such as Parle] is that they are reaching a large number of people, therefore, their distribution is working for them as they are building their penetration. Second is pack play -- they continue to hold on to Rs 2 pack and Rs 5 pack, which helps with growth significantly. So lower the pack size, the more the frequency, therefore growth in CRPs.” After Parle, Amul, Britannia, Clinic Plus and Tata Consumer Products have scored high on CRPs. Newer FMCG brands get more popularity in India New entrants such as sweet and snack manufacturer Haldiram and biscuit and confectionary maker Anmol joined the billion CRP club, improving their reach and penetration in the country by leaps and bounds. Many regional brands also witnessed an uptick in CRPs, such as spice brands like Rajesh and Rakesh. In the dairy industry, Kerala’s Milma, Karnataka’s Nandini milk, and Telangana’s Vijaya also entered the list. Growth is driven by food, beverages and haircare In 2021, 70% of FMCG brands saw an improvement in their CRPs over 2020 -- jumping from 56%. This growth was driven by food, health and beauty, and beverage brands. Beverage brands witnessed an 18% growth in 2021, followed by food at 15% and health and beauty at 7%. Nescafe registered a 19% CRP growth within beverage brands, followed by Boost at 15%. Some snacking brands grew over 30%, with Balaji growing by 49%, followed by Kurkure at 45% and Bingo at 37%. Brand Footprint Top 10 Most Chosen FMCG Brands of India in 2021: <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none;" class="redcator-table-advance"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td colspan="4" style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2021 Rank </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2020 Rank </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Brand </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">CRP (Mn) </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Parle Products </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6531 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Amul </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5561 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">3 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Britannia </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5370 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Clinic Plus </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">4506 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">5 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tata Consumer Products </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2723 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">6 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ghadi </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2315 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">7 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Nandini </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2278 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">8 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Colgate </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2134 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">9 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">9 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Aavin </td><td style="vertical-align:top;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">2024 </td></tr><tr><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">10 </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Lifebuoy </td><td style="vertical-align:top;background-color:#f2f2f2;padding:0pt 5.4pt 0pt 5.4pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">1896 </td></tr></tbody><tbody></tbody><tbody></tbody></table> <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="92961985" title="Indians are saving more and working longer hours to meet living expenses, says study" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div>

Small packs are pushing consumers to shop more often, leading to an increase in purchase frequency of FMCG brands: Kantar report

<ul><li><keyword id="29464" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle">Parle</keyword>, founded in 1929, has been able to reinvent itself over the years, while keeping its legacy intact.</li><li>We speak to <keyword id="120094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Shah">Mayank Shah</keyword>, Senior Category Head, <keyword id="235733" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Products">Parle Products</keyword> about all that the brand has been doing, to further grow its presence in the market. </li></ul>Every time someone says Parle-G and we bet you cannot help visualize yourself dunking one in a steaming cup of chai (and at times losing half of it too). For decades now, Parle-G has been our favorite tea-time companion, the most affordable ‘snack’ that got many of us, from the previous generations, through college, and well basically a comfort food, that is so nostalgia-inducing. Much before Oreo popularized dunking it in milk, we had been doing it with Parle-G. <div type="image" title="Parle Products Creative 1" msid="84131808" hostid="261"></div> Parle, founded in 1929, first started manufacturing orange candies. It was only 10 years later that it manufactured its first biscuit, coming up as an alternative to the more elite British biscuits. From there to now, this homegrown brand has come a long way. While entering the premium segment with <keyword id="4498428" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="parle-platina">Parle Platina</keyword> in 2017 that comprises products like Hide &amp; Seek biscuits, Milano cookies, Mexitos nacho chips and Nutricrunch range of nutritious products, it recently further diversified its offering, with the launch of its <keyword id="480300" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-G">Parle G</keyword> Chakki Atta. The aim was to cash in on the momentum that branded atta consumption has been witnessing, since the <keyword id="43587" type="ORGANIZATION" weightage="20" keywordseo="pandemic">pandemic</keyword>. <div type="image" title="Parle Products Creative 5" msid="84131819" hostid="261"></div> Last year, Parle made headlines when they spoke about a surge in sales of Parle-G biscuits during the <keyword id="91743" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="lockdown">lockdown</keyword>. This demand was a result of people stocking up on biscuits. It also became the most affordable ‘meal’ for thousands of migrant workers, who we saw with distress, walking back to their villages. It makes for an interesting case study, to understand how this brand, that was started 82 years ago, has stood the test of time. Despite being eight years short of a century old, Parle has tried to reinvent itself over the years, while keeping its legacy alive. A lot of the love for the brand comes from nostalgia, and also from the fact that despite entering newer categories, launching premium products, it is still looked at as an aam-aadmi product. How they react during a crisis also says a lot about the ethos of brands. The pandemic and Parle Last year, even before the pandemic hit India in full force and the government announced its first rounds of lockdown, Parle was prepared. Observing how things were in other countries, it had increased its production, just to make sure that the market never ran out of its biscuits. “What happened after the pandemic was something completely unprecedented, but we had been studying what was happening in neighboring countries, or in Europe, and we decided to double down on our production,” shared Mayank Shah, Senior Category Head, Parle Products. They also started shipping the products, keeping the stocks closer to the market, to minimize supply chain disruptions. As a result, when the lockdown was announced, and most brands were caught unprepared, Parle had its products, and especially Parle-G, in shops across the country. Having said that, Parle did meet with its fair share of troubles. With the sudden lockdown and with uncertainty looming large, there was a shortage of labor which the company was able to tackle by prioritizing its production; it stopped producing many of its offerings that were more labor-intensive. “As a result of this prioritizing, we were able to meet maximum demand. If at normal times, the demand is at 100%, during this time we saw between 160-170% demand, firstly because people were pantry-loading and secondly because of speculative buying,” explained Shah. However, this was also the time for the brand to give back to the society. The brand won a lot of love when it donated close to 3 crore biscuit packets to the government and NGOs. “Parle G is a brand that stands for goodness, in all senses, and we are more than just a corporate brand that is only interested in profits. We have always been a brand for the common man. Last year, raw material prices were going up and we could have easily taken a price hike, we never did that. I have been a part of this company for 20 years and I was surprised when my management came and told me we should be helping people. So each and every employee in the company lives by the philosophy of doing something for the greater good. Parle was launched as a Swadeshi brand to take on global biscuit brands, and this was during this last one year that I saw those philosophies come in play,” said Shah. “We saw so many posts on social media talking about us saying they were proud to see a brand go out and service consumers in the time of their need, it was a very moving experience for us,” he added. Entry into newer segments Over the years, we have seen Parle innovate and expand its portfolio to enter premium segments too. But why did the company, which primarily produces biscuits, decide to launch an atta brand? Shah said that the company has been producing atta for years now, but the product was exported to markets like the Middle East, UK and USA. “The packaged atta segment in India is worth around Rs 20,000 crore and only Rs 10,000 crore out of that is for branded packaged atta, which are either national or regional brands. But the overall atta market is much larger, and that is mostly people going out, buying wheat and getting it milled. During the pandemic however, we observed that people wanted to buy products that they thought were safer and we saw many switching to packaged atta. Penetration of packaged atta in the market is still very low and there is a huge opportunity for growth, so we thought this was the ideal time for us to launch it here,” explained Shah. He is not even worried about the more established players as he feels there is a huge, unpenetrated market for the brand to capture where people who used to buy loose atta are now converting to packaged, trusted brands. Parle had launched its premium range Platina three year back and now wants to focus on it to grow its market share, and to build relevance. “There has been a bit of a slowdown in the growth of our premium products in the last 1.5 years, so we will renew our focus on the segment with the opening up of markets,” explained Shah. <keyword id="6354839" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="marketing">Marketing</keyword> during the pandemic During times of crisis, marketing budgets are usually the first to get slashed.While Parle did not cut down majorly on its spends in the last 1.5 years, it did rationalize its spends, shared Shah. “During the pandemic, we did two things, firstly, we increased our digital spends, which helped us a lot, while also continuing to advertise on TV. Secondly, we also tweaked our creatives. Our communication in the last one year has been very different from what we usually do. All our communication has been about what has been happening around us. We paid tribute to the known and unknown frontline workers. That communication also sent a strong signal to our internal stakeholders that its our responsibility to rise to the occasion because so many of them were risking their lives in working during those times, and we wanted to acknowledge that.” Meanwhile, brands like Parle G also gain a lot from nostalgia. The last year has seen people take to social media to talk about their love for the brand, come up with content using the product and also coming up with innovative recipes using the biscuits. “That’s the thing about Parle G asa brand, everybody has their own way of eating the biscuit and they have their own stories. I have my Parle G story too; I stayed in a hostel for about 10 years. For anybody who has stayed in hostels knows how the food is. So we would eat the hostel food at 10 and then get hungry by 12. So we had a routine of having chilled milk from Aarey at 1 pm, we used to add a packet of Parle G to it, mix it and have it as a slurry. That was our lunch for 10 years. It was not just me, I know many people who did it. So we have always had a lot of user-generated content but the pandemic took it to a whole different level. It was heartening to see that kind of response from consumers,” he added. On where the next phase of growth for Parle as a brand will come from, Shah said, “It will come both from our biscuits and non-biscuits portfolios. While the penetration of biscuits is high, the per capita consumption is still lower, compared to Western markets. So I feel there’s still a scope of growth in the <keyword id="11569298" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="biscuits-segment">biscuits segment</keyword>.”

How Parle has stood the test of time

<ul><li>While the lockdown has hit businesses across industries, Parle has seen an “unprecedented” rise in sales. </li><li>This was <keyword id="480300" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-G">Parle G</keyword>’s best sales in eight decades. </li><li>As thousands of <keyword id="64595" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="migrant-workers">migrant workers</keyword> walked home in May, one of the affordable things for them was the Parle G biscuit. A pack of Parle G costs ₹5. </li></ul>For Indians, the one biscuit that unites all is the good ol’ Parle G. And while the lockdown has hit businesses across industries, Parle has seen an “unprecedented” rise in sales. “We’ve grown our overall market share by nearly 5%... And 80– 90% of this growth has come from the Parle-G sales. This is unprecedented,” Mayank Shah, category head at Parle Products told the <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/cons-products/fmcg/82-year-old-parle-g-books-best-sales-in-covid-times/articleshow/76275237.cms">Economic Times</a> in an interview. This was Parle G’s best monthly sales in eight decades. <div type="image" title="biscuits." msid="76280326" hostid="261"></div> While it’s true that Parle G’s sales could have come from the fact that it is a staple for most homes (to be had with chai, of course), India’s <keyword id="6425269" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="migrant-labourers">migrant labourers</keyword> walking back home could have also been the reason for bumped up sales. As thousands of migrant workers, broke and starving, walked home in May, one of the most affordable things for them was the Parle G biscuit. The smallest pack of Parle G costs ₹5. Not just that, NGOs and welfare organisations too were distributing Parle G at different centres. With Cyclone Amphan in West Bengal and Odisha, donations included Parle G there too. “During the lockdown, Parle-G became the comfort food for many; and for several others it was the only food they had on them. This is a common man’s biscuit; people who cannot afford bread – buy Parle-G. We had several state governments requisitioning us for biscuits… they were in constant touch with us, asking about our stock positions. Several NGOs bought humongous quantities from us. We were lucky to have restarted production from March 25 onwards,” Shah said in the interview. In March, Parle G had also announced that it would donate one crore biscuits every week – but this practice was scheduled for three weeks. Biscuit manufacturers were exempt from the coronavirus lockdown. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/anand-mahindras-sanjivani-solution-for-cos-think-like-a-startup-and-do-a-marie-kondo-style-clean-up-of-portfolio/articleshow/76275190.cms">Anand Mahindra’s Sanjivani solution for cos – think like a startup and do a Marie Kondo style clean up of portfolio</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/titan-company-profit-revenue-growth-for-fourth-quarter-ended-march-31/articleshow/76266434.cms">Titan tightens cost enough to clock a 21% growth in profit⁠— the best in five quarters</a>

Parle G clocked record sales in May⁠— it may be because broke and starving migrant labourers could barely afford anything else

Shopping for daily-consumption grocery products is set to get more expensive and this will happen all because of higher input costs. 
 
Big players like <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Britannia&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Britannia</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=amul&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Amul</a>, <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Dabur&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Dabur</a> and <a href="http://www.businessinsider.in/searchresult.cms?query=Parle&amp;sortorder=effectivedate">Parle</a> are either looking forward to raising prices or cutting quantities in packaged products after the cost of ingredients such as sugar, milk powder and palm oil increased by 20-80% over the past year on account of fluctuating global commodity prices and lower production cycles. 
 
The move comes in after the hike in consumer goods prices as the industry still nurses the wounds of demonetisation, which crippled demand, and endured at least four quarters of subdued growth as consumers cut back on discretionary spending. 
 Biscuit maker <keyword id="6359432" type="PERSON" weightage="100" keywordseo="Britannia">Britannia</keyword> said prices of its biscuits will go up by up to 7%, while Wipro Consumer Care, the manufacturer of the country’s third-largest soap brand Santoor, said prices will rise about 5%. 
 <keyword id="26280" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="amul">Amul</keyword>, the nation’s top ice-cream maker, said prices are up 5-8% after a two-year gap due to higher sugar and milk powder prices. 
 Others such as Parle and <keyword id="62997" type="CITY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Dabur">Dabur</keyword> are either reducing quantities or clamping down on promotions, which indirectly amount to price increases. 
 
“We will cover up the inflation hit and hike prices 6-7%,” said Varun Berry, managing director of Good Day biscuit maker Britannia. 
 
According to Wipro Consumer Care &amp; Lighting chief executive officer Vineet Agrawal, prices of soap will go up for the first time in three years. 
 
“Cost pressures are definitely more than what they were and it is starting to reflect on retail shelves now. Our focus is always topline growth,” Agrawal told ET. 
 
Industry analysts feel that the demand for palm oil from core importers such as India and China has resulted in stiffening of prices. Palm oil is also a key ingredient for detergents and cosmetics. 
 
Earlier, Religare Capital Markets wrote in a report that the gross margin pressures have been visible with players initiating selective pricing actions. 
 
“Poor demand has weighed on the Indian consumer sector over the last two years. Additional headwinds from demonetisation and GST (goods and services tax) could have a lasting disruptive impact,” Religare wrote in the report. 
 
Parle has also confirmed that it has reduced the weight of its confectionery and snacks category after almost four years. 
 “The price hike is all indirect in the form of weight reduction and translates to anywhere between 8-12% of price hikes,” BK Rao, marketing manager at <keyword id="235733" type="COMPANY" weightage="100" keywordseo="Parle-Products">Parle Products</keyword>, told ET.

Britannia, Amul, Dabur to raise prices or cut quantities in packaged products. Here’s why

With an aim to create a distinctive identity for its premium products, biscuits and confectionery maker Parle has created a new division <keyword id="4498428" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="parle-platina">Parle Platina</keyword>, and is eyeing a quarter of its revenue from this segment over the next two to three years, according to PTI."Brands like Hide &amp; Seek, Milano, Mexitos and Simply Good are more futuristic and aspirational. These brands are very different from the mother brand, Parle."Hence, we wanted to create a distinct identity for these set of brands, and hence Parle <keyword id="125053" type="CITY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Platina">Platina</keyword> came about, which will consolidate our premium brands under one division," <keyword id="235733" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Parle-Products">Parle Products</keyword> Category Head <keyword id="120094" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mayank-Shah">Mayank Shah</keyword> told .The new division will also include the company's gourmet snack offering Parle Mexitos.The premium segment is growing at 15-20 per cent for the company and <keyword id="1858" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Shah">Shah</keyword> said, "there is a huge growth potential for premium products over the next 2-3 years and we see this segment contributing to about a quarter of our revenue."Parle Products enjoys a market share of 15 per cent in the premium biscuit industry and the city-based company is aiming to increase it to 25 per cent in the next two years.The premium biscuit industry stands at Rs 6,500 crore growing at 14-15 per cent, according to Nielsen.The company's mass brands include flagship product Parle G, Parle Marie, KrackJack and <keyword id="3324" type="COUNTRY" weightage="20" keywordseo="monaco">Monaco</keyword>, among others.The biscuit major will invest substantially in Parle Platina and will unveil a new packaging and logo, which will feature prominently for all products under this division. "Going forward, we will be adding new products, new formats and new innovations under the Platina division," Shah said.

Parle is now focussing on premium products

<ul><li>Indian staffing <keyword id="9374166" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="company-teamlease-services">company TeamLease Services</keyword> clocked a loss of ₹29.4 crore between January and March 2020, compared to a profit of ₹26 crore the same time last year. </li><li>This was largely due to a ₹49.6 crore one-time charge taken by the company to move to the new tax regime. </li><li>While the revenue has dipped 1% to ₹1,345 crore. </li><li>The announcement was made after market hours. Teamlease’ share price was up by 3.7% before the earnings were out. </li></ul>India's leading staffing company <keyword id="6381892" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="TeamLease-Services">TeamLease Services</keyword> clocked a loss of ₹29.4 crore between January and March 2020, compared to a profit of ₹26 crore the same time last year. This was largely due to a ₹49.6 crore one-time charge taken by the company to move to the new tax regime. Without that, the profit for the quarter would have been ₹20.2 crore. While the revenue has dipped 1% to ₹1,345 crore. <div type="image" title="Teamlease" msid="76287958" hostid="261"></div> “We are currently going through unprecedented times and have thus far managed the situation reasonably well, whether it be in terms of connecting with our clients, employees and other stakeholders. We are optimistic at the prospects of growth reviving and do believe that the formal staffing industry would stand to gain from the economy opening up and simplification of labour laws,” said Ashok Reddy, MD at TeamLease Services. The announcement was made after market hours. Teamlease’ share price was up by 3.7% before the earnings were out. The lockdown impact On March 22, the Indian government announced a nationwide lockdown in the wake of coronavirus and the businesses were required to shift to remote working setup overnight. Its business operations were impacted significantly, as India went into a complete lockdown mode. “The lockdowns and restrictions imposed on various activities due to COVID — 19 pandemic have posed significant challenges to all the businesses of TeamLeese and its Subsidiaries. The Company's operations were impacted substantially from 17" March 2020 till the third week of May 2020, when lockdown was gradually lifted. All offices were shut down during the period,” the company said in a statement earlier. <div type="image" title="Teamlease shares" msid="76287983" hostid="261"></div> The company acquired elearning platform SchoolGuru and regulatory technology solutions company Avantis to capitalise on the possibilities of growth spurred by the global pandemic. “We have utilized the lockdown period to be more efficient, the results of which should flow into the future,” Reddy added. Going forward, the company is connecting with its stakeholders to gauge the impact of the COVID situation. On June 4, TeamLease said that it is in talks with the policy makers so as to recommend mitigation policies. However, “these are very early days but the company expects normalcy to be achieved only after a quarter” or in fact, a couple of quarters. TeamLease added nearly 4,000 employees this financial year, taking the total employee count to 220,000 as on March 31, 2020. Its digital arm for hiring the staffing business contributed to 20% of the total hiring for the quarter, the company announced, adding that the hirings are expected to grow by 40% in the next three quarters. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/careers/news/hiring-activity-dips-61-in-may-in-india-naukri-com/articleshow/76275012.cms">Hiring activity dips 61% in May in India: Naukri job survey</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/parle-g-clocked-record-sales-in-may-it-may-be-because-broke-and-starving-migrant-labourers-could-barely-afford-anything-else/articleshow/76280162.cms">Parle G clocked record sales in May⁠— it may be because broke and starving migrant labourers could barely afford anything else</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/the-top-equity-growth-mutual-funds-with-the-best-returns-in-the-last-3-years/slidelist/76278800.cms">The top equity growth mutual funds with the best returns in the last 3 years</a>

TeamLease, one of India’s top recruiting firms, swings to a loss as it moves to a new tax regime

<ul><li>Another shocking scoop from Business Standard showed that the Narendra Modi government did not release a report that showed economy in distress.</li><li>India's consumer spending fell for the first time in four decades according to a survey approved for release in June 2019, but is yet to hit the public domain.</li><li>This is the second time a similar allegation has been made against the government; another NSO survey on rising unemployment was held back from release by the government until the elections were over.</li></ul>Another shocking scoop from Business Standard showed may have the Narendra Modi government firefighting. A scoop from Somesh Jha said that the Indian government did not release a report that showed economy in distress. India's consumer spending fell for the first time in four decades according to a survey approved for release in June 2019, but is yet to hit the public domain. According to the report, the money spent by a household in consumption fell from ₹1,501 a month in 2011-12 to ₹1,446 a month in 2017-18. This is the second time a similar allegation has been made against the government; another National Sample Office (NSO) survey on rising unemployment was held back from release by the government until the elections were over. The survey was conducted between July 2017 and June 2018, eight months after demonetisation and during the rollout of the Goods and Services Tax (GST), and it is hardly surprising. The slowdown in the economy has been palpable and spoken of by various economists and market watchers ad nauseam. But the government decided to hold back the report until it was reported in Business Standard today. According to the latest report cited by the daily, money spent on consumption fell 8.8% in rural areas. This fall has been visible in slowing volume of growth of giants like Hindustan Unilever, Marico, Parle G etc. in recent quarters, which make a bulk of their earnings from smaller towns and villages. The falling growth in wages, particularly in rural India, is a big reason why people turned penny wise. 
 
 
 
 <div type="javascript" title="Custom" contenttype="Image"><cdata><![CDATA[
<div class="flourish-embed" data-src="visualisation/932076"></div>
]]></cdata></div>









 While the overall spending in urban areas rose 2% in the said period of 12 month, there was a marked fall in money spent on cereals, sugar, salt, spices, and pulses etc. in both the cities and villages. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/a-hidden-jobs-survey-in-india-casts-doubt-on-data-integrity-under-narendra-modi-government/articleshow/67750383.cms" data-type="tilCustomLink" target="_blank">Modi government has a hidden jobs report — say two independent bureaucrats who just quit</a>

Indian government hid another survey that showed fall in consumer spending for the first time in four decades: Report

<ul><li>Britannia <keyword id="1457487" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Milk-Bikis">Milk Bikis</keyword> has been relaunched as Milk Bikis 100% Atta biscuit in some key markets across the country to make the product more healthy.</li><li>The brand has roped in actor <keyword id="475128" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Pankaj-Tripathi">Pankaj Tripathi</keyword> as its face.</li><li><keyword id="3384418" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Vinay-Subramanyam">Vinay Subramanyam</keyword>, VP Marketing, <keyword id="146218" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="Britannia-Industries">Britannia Industries</keyword> tells us the thought behind the relaunch, why Tripathi was a perfect fit for the product and the brand's media mix for the new campaign. </li></ul> For years, Britannia’s Milk Bikis has dominated the milk biscuit segment in India. One of the oldest brands from the Britannia portfolio, the product, aimed at children, has been able to stand the test of time. Yesterday, Britannia announced a re-launch of this widely popular product with an atta variant, to make the offering healthier and to appeal to both children and their mothers; to the children because Britannia says it has worked hard to make the product tasty, and to mothers because it takes care of the nutritional values that they hope to give to their children. Britannia recently undertook a nation-wide study amongst mothers of children aged between 4-12, in the latter half of 2020 in collaboration with Momspresso. The data revealed that 79% of Indian Moms feel the wholesomeness of traditional Foods like Parantha, Daliya and Doodh Roti is what they would most want included in their kids’ diets. As a response to these findings, the brand launched the Britannia Milk Bikis 100% Atta product. The brand claims that one pack of the new atta biscuit offers the energy equal to the energy provided by 1 glass of milk and 1 roti. “The thought behind this launch is the fact that a lot of traditional food we used to have as children, are no longer being consumed by today’s kids. They do have regular home-cooked foods but things like doodh roti or daliya. Therefore, we think it's really important to uphold the goodness of the traditions that people grew up with and yet add a modern twist so that children like it too. There aren’t too many biscuits in the market that are made of 100% atta and that’s why we wanted to bring up a healthy alternative to them,” said Vinay Subramanyam, VP Marketing, Britannia Industries. Milk Bikis accounts for close to 50% of the milk biscuits segment, however Subramanyam said that they don’t really track its growth just from that segment because they believe the product can take a share out of other biscuit categories too. On what he thinks are the factors that ensure the brand has been able to stand the test of time, Subramanyam said, “There are a few things that have contributed to this love for the brand. Firstly, you have to give consumers the same quality every time and make sure they know that their favorite biscuit is still exactly the same. It also has to do with a consistency in your messaging. It's a combination of these things that have helped us stay relevant over the years.” The brand has come up with a launch campaign and has roped in actor Pankaj Tripathi. “We thought Pankaj Tripathi was perfect for this communication because he is one of the most credible faces in the industry today. Our brand respects the goodness of traditions and yet wants to do something which is adaptable and progressive in today's context. Pankaj Tripathi embodies that spirit truly as he is very close to his roots and comes across as really genuine. He is extremely progressive. He doesn’t really come across as a brand ambassador but as the friendly neighbor who you look up to, so we thought he was the perfect fit for us,” explained Subramanyam. While we thought the TVC was a direct dig at other glucose biscuits and especially Parle-G, Subramanyam denied it. <div type="Youtube" id="76AWF_tPZkc" title="New Milk Bikis 100% Atta with doodh roti ki shakti Ad starring Pankaj Tripathi (30 sec- Hindi)" thumbUrl="https://i.ytimg.com/vi/76AWF_tPZkc/mqdefault.jpg"></div> He also believes that the consumers and retailers who continue to show their love for the brand and put their trust in it are equally important brand ambassadors. “Our real brand ambassadors are our consumers and retailers. When a shopkeeper recommends our product to consumers, that kind of real word-of-mouth goes a long way,” explained Subramanyam. As a part of the campaign, the brand will also put up boards with not just the picture of the product and Tripathi but also the faces of the dealers too, who Subramanyam said were also its brand ambassadors. Along with the TVC created by <keyword id="274876" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Lowe-Lintas">Lowe Lintas</keyword>, Bangalore, the brand will also focus on a lot of on-ground activations. “TV is going to be an important part of the mix. It's a mass campaign and therefore we will take it everywhere, to small towns, cities and villages. Apart from TV, we will also have on-ground activities which will include a lot of dealer boards, hoardings, wall paintings etc. This is not a one-time media plan, it will be a continuous process. We don't want to simply launch this product and disappear. This is who we are now and we want to keep engaging with our consumers,” concluded Subramanyam.

The real brand ambassadors of our products are our consumers and retailers: Vinay Subramanyam, Britannia Industries

<ul><li><keyword id="6407732" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="inox">INOX</keyword> believes it has sufficient liquidity to fund the business operations throughout 2020. </li><li>The theatre chain has at least 8 movies lined up for the release this year including Sooryavanshi starring Akshay Kumar and Katrina Kaif. </li><li>INOX posted a loss ₹82 crore in the quarter four of the current fiscal year after coronavirus pandemic forced cinema halls to shut down temporarily for as many as 60 days, leading to zero footfalls. </li></ul>After being shut for more than 60 days, people might finally be able to go to theatres in the next few days. INOX, one of India's largest multinational chains with 636 screens across 68 cities, is confident about bouncing back into business as soon as coronavirus is controlled. The theatre chain has at least 8 movies lined up for the release this year. Expected movie releases this year <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Movie </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Expected release month </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Stars </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Tenet </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">July 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">John David Washington, Robert Pattinson, Elizabeth Debicki, Dimple Kapadia </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Sooryavanshi </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">October 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Akshay Kumar, Katrina Kaif </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Radhe </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">November 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Salman Khan, Disha Patani </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Black Widow </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">November 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Scarlett Johanson and Robert Downey Jr. </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">No Time To Die </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">November 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;"> </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Bhuj — The Pride of India </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">December 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Ajay Devgn </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">83 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">December 2020 </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Deepika Padukone and Ranveer Singh </td></tr></tbody></table>INOX posted a loss of ₹82 crore in the quarter four of the current fiscal year after the coronavirus pandemic forced cinema halls to shut down temporarily for as many as 60 days, leading to zero footfalls. <div type="image" title="XX" msid="76280695" hostid="261"></div> While cinema halls may open, experts are skeptical whether they will be profitable in the near future. INOX is optimistic about growth. “Can operate without revenue for the next six months” Moreover, INOX believes it has sufficient liquidity to fund the business operations throughout 2020. “Our average monthly cash burn during lockdown is ₹15cr to ₹16cr. Based on this average we are comfortably placed for the next 6 months to operate without any revenue. We can liquidate treasury shares ( of ₹125 cr as on 5th Jun’20) at a short notice to infuse additional funds, INOX said. Moreover, the company is exploring a range of other measures to keep up with funds ranging from rights issue, and public issue. It can also raise ₹350 crore through “sale-lease-back’ of 6 cinema properties and its head office. In its latest regulatory filing, INOX said it has cut costs across all functions and departments. It has also increased liquidity by additional lines of funding through short/long term debts. Apart from this, INOX says it has planned out strict measures to ensure social distancing. Some of which involves avoiding use of physical/printed tickets, crossing out the seats in cinema halls, PPE kits for staff among others. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/parle-g-clocked-record-sales-in-may-it-may-be-because-broke-and-starving-migrant-labourers-could-barely-afford-anything-else/articleshow/76280162.cms">Parle G clocked record sales in May⁠— it may be because broke and starving migrant labourers could barely afford anything else</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/alibaba-cloud-to-create-5000-tech-jobs-in-next-10-months/articleshow/76275994.cms">Alibaba Group is set to hire 5,000 technology professionals globally for its cloud business</a>

INOX has 8 movies lined up for release — and it has enough cash to go 6 months without revenue

<ul><li>EIH Hotels which operates the Oberoi, Trident chain as well as one of Delhi’s oldest hotels – Maiden, has seen its stock price battered since late February. </li><li>Chalet Hotels, which runs – Marriot, Hyatt and Novotel in India, saw its profits jump three times in Q4FY20 but even then the market fears saw its share price down by 2% on June 9.</li><li>The hospitality, travel and tourism industry being severely impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic.</li></ul>From Oberoi to <keyword id="2808667" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="OYO">OYO</keyword>, the Indian hospitality industry opened doors for business on June 8, but the market is still skeptical of people booking rooms. The latest trigger for panic selling in the shares of hotel stocks came was the delay in declaration of earnings by EIH, which operates the Oberoi, Trident chain as well as one of Delhi’s oldest hotels – Maiden. <div type="image" title="EIH shares." msid="76281467" hostid="261"></div> However, EIH is not alone. Chalet Hotels, which runs the premier hotels – Marriot, Hyatt and Novotel in India, saw its profits jump three times to ₹42 crore in the quarter ended March 31. However, even then the market fears saw its share price down by 2% on June 9. With the hospitality, travel and tourism industry being severely impacted due to the coronavirus pandemic, almost all of India’s listed hotels have seen their share price tumble since February. “It is well known that the hospitality and tourism industry is the worst affected by the outbreak of COVID19 (coronavirus). This has been reflected in the stock prices of hospitality stocks, which have declined by 62% to 82% from their 52 week highs,” said a report by Nirmal Bang on the hospitality sector dated June 2. <table style="border-width: initial; border-style: none; width: 468pt; table-layout: fixed;"></colgroup><tbody><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Hotels </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Share price change since the beginning of 2020 </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Chalet Hotels </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-53% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">EIH Hotels </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-48.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Indian Hotels Company Limited </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-37.6% </td></tr><tr><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">Lemon Tree Hotels </td><td style="border-left:solid #000000 1pt;border-right:solid #000000 1pt;border-bottom:solid #000000 1pt;border-top:solid #000000 1pt;vertical-align:top;padding:5pt 5pt 5pt 5pt;overflow:hidden;overflow-wrap:break-word;">-60.4% </td></tr></tbody></table> India’s hotels were shut for almost three months due to the coronavirus lockdown, and only some opened up as quarantine centres for international returnees in May. Sanjay Sethi, MD &amp; CEO, Chalet Hotels while announcing initiatives like sanitized stay, deferred hotel construction said they will help in the near mid-term revival. “With the new regulations to open up the economy we are gearing‐up our portfolio for a quick scale up and eagerly waiting to welcome our guests,” said Sanjay Sethi, MD &amp; CEO, Chalet Hotels. However, the optimism of the hotel industry still faces a challenge – whether travel will actually resume anytime soon. With work from home and video conferencing being the new norm, business travel could be impacted. “Leisure demand will likely be the first to bounce back. Domestic corporate travel will depend on the economy,” said a recent report by STR realty. And the economy isn’t looking good. <div type="Article" hostid="261" msid="76274381" title="World Bank projects global economy to shrink by 5.2% in 2020" mstype="2" mssubtype="0"></div> For leisure travel, hoteliers are excluding ‘airline travel’ and are looking at weekend getaway spots or ‘<a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/oyo-mahindra-holidays-emirates-and-boeing-agree-people-wont-fly-for-a-while/articleshow/75731204.cms">driving destinations</a>’ as India opens its state borders. The hope for budget hotels Corporates, who are cutting down costs, could now turn to budget hotels that they consider safe and hygienic. And that’s what budget hotels like Lemon Tree, OYO, <keyword id="2870818" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="FabHotels">FabHotels</keyword> are betting on. OYO Hotels &amp; Homes, FabHotels have all launched a spree of initiatives for sanitized and clean hotels to bring in consumers. “It has been a long wait, but we’re delighted to welcome our guests once again to our select hotels across India. All you need to do is look for a #SanitisedStay tag &amp; we’ll take care of the rest. #AtitiDevoBhava,” wrote OYO founder Ritesh Agarwal on Twitter. OYO’s rival in the budget hotels space – FabHotels too has gone in the similar route advertising “100% Safe Place to Stay” hotels. “From an economic standpoint as hotels and tourism in India have suffered unprecedented financial damage over the last 70 days, losing more than 20% of the annual business already, with a prolonged recovery expected now,” said Vaibhav Aggarwal, Founder &amp; CEO, FabHotels. SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/news/parle-g-clocked-record-sales-in-may-it-may-be-because-broke-and-starving-migrant-labourers-could-barely-afford-anything-else/articleshow/76280162.cms">Parle G clocked record sales in May⁠— it may be because broke and starving migrant labourers could barely afford anything else</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/anand-mahindras-sanjivani-solution-for-cos-think-like-a-startup-and-do-a-marie-kondo-style-clean-up-of-portfolio/articleshow/76275190.cms">Anand Mahindra’s Sanjivani solution for cos – think like a startup and do a Marie Kondo style clean up of portfolio</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/business/corporates/news/titan-company-profit-revenue-growth-for-fourth-quarter-ended-march-31/articleshow/76266434.cms">Titan tightens cost enough to clock a 21% growth in profit⁠— the best in five quarters</a>

You Searched For "parle g growth" and got 11 results

How Parle-G continues to exceed its sales record despite a recession

Karuna Sharma

Small packs are pushing consumers to shop more often, leading to an increase in purchase frequency of FMCG brands: Kantar report

Karuna Sharma

How Parle has stood the test of time

Samarpita Banerjee

Parle G clocked record sales in May⁠— it may be because broke and starving migrant labourers could barely afford anything else

Sanchita Dash

Britannia, Amul, Dabur to raise prices or cut quantities in packaged products. Here’s why

BI India Bureau

Parle is now focussing on premium products

BI India Bureau

TeamLease, one of India’s top recruiting firms, swings to a loss as it moves to a new tax regime

Prerna Sindwani

Indian government hid another survey that showed fall in consumer spending for the first time in four decades: Report

Sriram Iyer

The real brand ambassadors of our products are our consumers and retailers: Vinay Subramanyam, Britannia Industries

Samarpita Banerjee

INOX has 8 movies lined up for release — and it has enough cash to go 6 months without revenue

Preeti Soni

The owner of Oberoi and Trident defers results triggering a sell-off in India's hotel stocks

Sanchita Dash

Popular Keywords

Buying Guides