Local authorities seen ‘harassing’ retailers in small cities & towns

Even though selling of non-essential products including fashion and lifestyle is allowed in most parts of the country, retailers like Big Bazaar, Pantaloons, V Mart, V2 Retail, among others, are facing crackdowns by law enforcement agencies in smaller towns and cities across the country.

As the second wave of Covid-19 spreads to smaller towns and cities, local authorities in several places like Bhopal, Katak, Gaya, Udaipur, Bhagalpur and Siwan are forcing retail outlets either to shut completely or much before curfew hours in order to implement Covid restrictions. “Local authorities are forcing us to shut stores two three hours before the night curfew begins,” said Lalit Agarwal, chairman, V Mart Retail, which focusses on smaller towns and cities.

Value retailer 1 India Family Mart had to pay a penalty as the local administration wanted their stores to be closed much before the stipulated time. “Sometimes local authorities use force on organised retailers to use it as an example for others to comply,” said JP Shukla, chief executive of 1India Family Mart.

“There should be detailed guidelines so as to avoid harassment at hands of the local administration,” said Ram Chander Agarwal, CMD, V2 Retail, adding that some stores managers in tier-II, tier-III cities are shutting stores hours before the curfew “out of fear”.

All this comes at a time when the retailers were expecting smaller towns and cities to outpace the growth of metros and tier-1 cities are experiencing muted demand since the pandemic hit.

Retailers have started witnessing a decrease in footfall and sales in the range of 15% to 30% across the country. Apart from the crackdown at hands of local authorities, local lockdowns and night curfews are also causing a dip in the business. Some states like Madhya Pradesh, Uttar Pradesh, Punjab, Karnataka, Maharashtra have either extended lockdown or imposed night curfews in several districts which is affecting business.

There is a 13% dip in sales compared to the same month in 2019, said Hemant Agarwal, CMD, V Bazaar which operates 80 stores in more than 70 cities. “Weekend lockdowns are also affecting sale especially after Holi when the number of Covid cases saw a surge,” he added.