Retail needs therapy: Future and fortunes of a business after coronavirus

Modern, organised retail is bleeding as the coronavirus pandemic keeps India indoors and shuttered. Arvind Singhal explains what it will take to get this business back on its feet.

India’s economy slowed down in March, but it is projected to have managed a gross domestic product (GDP) growth of about $3,000 billion at the end of FY20. Private consumption accounts for about 58 per cent of GDP (around $1,700 billion). Of such consumption, about 48 per cent (or about $825 billion) is consumer spending on merchandise (the size of India’s retail sector) and the remaining $875 billion is spent on a range of services (and small savings).

Traditional mom & pop retail accounts for the largest share and will continue to do so, despite the Cassandras crying for the last 15 years that large (physical and digital) businesses will decimate them. India has an estimated 17 million independent retailers and their number is likely to increase to 20 million by 2025, despite the growth of modern, organised retail (brick and e-commerce).

India’s economy was expected to grow by about 3 per cent in FY21 and by 4.5 per cent in FY22 before returning to 6 per cent growth from 2023. A sharp fall in growth will have a significant impact on what India consumes in the next six or eight quarters as purchasing power diminishes. Accordingly, this will influence the fortunes of the retail sector across all types of channels and formats.

Food and grocery accounts for about $550 billion of the $825 billion consumer spending on merchandise. This spending is likely to see the least impact, either in terms of volume consumed across different sub-segments, or on retail channels selling food and grocery.

Textile and apparel, at about $65 billion, is the next big category in consumer spending on merchandise, and it may suffer the most from the coronavirus. Just about every textile and clothing manufacturer (including those in exports) is likely to have stocks of raw material and semi-finished or finished goods. With textile and apparel stores shut, their stocks run the risk of becoming slow-moving as summer goes. After the nationwide lockdown to contain the coronavirus ends, it is quite likely that spending on clothing (and accessories) would not be a priority for most consumers in various income strata. Clothing and fashion retailers may face tough times well into 2022.

Sony HT-S20R soundbar first impression: Unabashedly loud on a strict budget

It sets a new low in price for Sony as they enter a flooded sub-Rs 15,000 market.

Technology News : Sony customers can’t seem to do without a good bass on any budget. And Japanese audio engineers say they have done their door-to-door research to come up with a new soundbar, tailor-made for India (read Bollywood). It also sets a new low in price for Sony as they enter a flooded sub-Rs 15,000 market. I spent some time fiddling with it before it hits the market on February 7. Here's my first impression of it for those eager to place their orders. For the rest of you, a detailed review is coming soon.

The HT-S20R is a three-piece ensemble, which consists of a 2kg soundbar (760 x 52 x86), a 6.9kg subwoofer (192 x 387 x 342) and two rear speakers of about half a kg each.

The soundbar has a neat metallic finish. It's a three-channel —or three-speaker — central piece, which is slightly wider than a 32-inch TV. Even if you place it right in front of the TV, it should not interrupt your view.

The subwoofer, though, will require a strategic placement, preferably at a lesser height than the TV. Sony maintains that a built-in woofer will just not cut it for a real 5.1 channel sound in the price range. The two rear speakers add to the stereo experience -- a car racing across the screen or bullets flying in every direction.

You can connect the soundbar via a single HDMI cable to TVs that support ARC (Audio Return Channel). For older models, there's RCA input — the red, yellow, white cables — and optical input — a lesser-known black cable. You can also just connect the soundbar to your phone via Bluetooth for streaming OTT content and for playing music. And if you'd really like to turn back time, there's a front-facing USB slot on the subwoofer for those who still carry a pendrive in their keychain.

I experienced the maximum output of 600W that HT-S20R claims to deliver and it's deafening in a small room and good enough for a modest living room space. House parties? Check. Still, it's a TV-first soundbar. I watched a scene of Denzel Washington-starrer The Book of Eli during the demo. Great film, by the way. And I noticed that the sound is mapped to deliver clarity in dialogues, very good bass for action sequences and a noticeable surround sound for everything else. But it seems to suffer a little bit in high range frequencies and the treble seems to bring along some distortion at high volumes. It's something you won't even notice in a film playing on a TV screen but maybe when you are listening to a wide range of music. I'll have a more definitive answer when I hear some classic rock on it. Not remastered, of course.