Pooja Patel
To reassess and re-examine business strategies is crucial for Indian luxury brands to survive the COVID-19 pandemic.
Stimulus 2020, a webinar organised by The Global Luxury Group, Crosshairs Communications (PR Partner) and WIN (Women Inspiring Network – Content Partner) on April 13 and 14, kick-started its series of panel discussions with the most important topic – ‘Business in the Times of a Pandemic’.
Anjilee Istwal, Television Journalist & Anchor with NDTV moderated the panel which had Manoj Dawane, Founder & CEO of VTION Media Analytics, Rajeev Arora, Founder of CrowdInvest PLC and Rajul Kulshreshtha, CEO of Madison Media Plus as speakers. Below are the key takeaways.
“This lockdown has made us realise that forced change can push countries globally to reassess and reinvent themselves in order to survive,” says Manoj Dawane, Founder & CEO, VTION Media Analytics. He adds that when it comes to understanding the current economic situation of India, it is important to note that the country can come out of the economic crisis by showing resilience and that the government will have to manage the situation well.
Read what other luxury players have to say about business during COVID-19 here.
“It is true that our economy relies on domestic consumption. However, the export industry will face major changes due to COVID-19,” adds Dawane. According to him, the government and entrepreneurs must work together to tide over the crisis. “The creation of new jobs in new segments will help fight the current pay cuts and layoffs across traditional and well-established industries,” he says.
Rajeev Arora, Founder, CrowdInvest PLC, notes that travel, hospitality and the food and beverage industries have been hit the hardest. These sectors will be quite vulnerable during and even post COVID-19. “These sectors will have to come back stronger and wiser and with better strategies to fight this situation. However, I feel this lockdown has also given us, as individuals, time to revisit and rethink what we wish to achieve,” says Arora.
Also read: Some good news for the real estate sector.
Focusing on the positives, Rajul Kulshreshtha, CEO of Madison Media Plus, says, “This lockdown session is for brand building and for reinventing and realigning strategies. It is also the time to mull over the fact that when the lockdown is over and prices are sky-high, will the purchasing power of the Indian consumer be ready to bear the brunt of this global crisis?”
Nevertheless, Kulshreshtha believes that India will emerge out of this crisis sooner as Indians have strong fundamentals. “We are delving deep into the positives of digitalisation and trying to assess its ability to communicate better and create more jobs,” he says.
Read: Gucci donates €2 million to fight COVID-19.
The speaker believes that digitalisation is here to stay, but also, the brands that are actively helping out in the fight against this crisis will be preferred by consumers in the future.
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