India Inc’s gift pack turns economical
It’s that time of the year when couriers scurry between offices delivering thousands of corporate gifts. But, the economic slowdown and cost-cutting initiatives have compelled India Inc to tighten their gift budgets this year.
By Writankar Mukherjee, ET Bureau |
KOLKATA: It���s that time of the year when couriers scurry between offices delivering thousands of corporate gifts. But, the economic slowdown and cost-cutting initiatives have compelled India Inc to tighten their gift budgets this year. So much so, leading players in the corporate gifts segment claim business is down by 15-20% as compared to last year.
While the festive mood may be down across the spectrum, companies have started realigning their gifting strategy. ET spoke to a cross-section of companies with several of them admitting to gifting only a select few premium clients and the key stakeholders.
���Several companies have drastically cut their gift budget as part of their overall cost-cutting exercise. The impact is maximum in sectors like IT, ITeS, real estate, banking and financial services,��� claims HR consultant Ma Foi CEO E Balaji.
Landmark, Tata Group���s gift-and-book retail venture, has seen nearly 20% less demand for corporate gift orders. ���There is a sharp decline in demand with maximum pinch felt from the IT/ITeS companies, which usually undertake extensive gifting during Christmas,��� Landmark COO Himanshu Chakrawarti told ET.
Wipro has focused its gifting strategy on ���thought-provoking��� gifts rather than on the gifts��� value. ���In line with our green initiatives, our gifts this year have a similar connect. For instance, we are giving eco paper staplers and devices that save computer power consumption. Instead of paper cards, we have also moved to ecards,��� said Wipro Technologies director (global brands) Rahul K.
The corporate gifting season starts from Diwali and reaches its peak around Christmas-New Year. ���Corporates have started pruning their gift budgets from Diwali, when the slowdown was not even that pronounced as it is today. In fact, corporate gifting business around Diwali was nearly 25% less this year,��� said Big Bazaar CEO Rajan Malhotra.
Gifting company Archies said the corporate business has been mixed bag. ���During Diwali, we did satisfactory business, but since then we are getting mixed signals,��� said Archies joint MD Pramod Arora. Bharti Axa HR director Priya Ranjan admitted several companies have re-drafted their gifting policy.
While the festive mood may be down across the spectrum, companies have started realigning their gifting strategy. ET spoke to a cross-section of companies with several of them admitting to gifting only a select few premium clients and the key stakeholders.
���Several companies have drastically cut their gift budget as part of their overall cost-cutting exercise. The impact is maximum in sectors like IT, ITeS, real estate, banking and financial services,��� claims HR consultant Ma Foi CEO E Balaji.
Landmark, Tata Group���s gift-and-book retail venture, has seen nearly 20% less demand for corporate gift orders. ���There is a sharp decline in demand with maximum pinch felt from the IT/ITeS companies, which usually undertake extensive gifting during Christmas,��� Landmark COO Himanshu Chakrawarti told ET.
Wipro has focused its gifting strategy on ���thought-provoking��� gifts rather than on the gifts��� value. ���In line with our green initiatives, our gifts this year have a similar connect. For instance, we are giving eco paper staplers and devices that save computer power consumption. Instead of paper cards, we have also moved to ecards,��� said Wipro Technologies director (global brands) Rahul K.
The corporate gifting season starts from Diwali and reaches its peak around Christmas-New Year. ���Corporates have started pruning their gift budgets from Diwali, when the slowdown was not even that pronounced as it is today. In fact, corporate gifting business around Diwali was nearly 25% less this year,��� said Big Bazaar CEO Rajan Malhotra.
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Gifting company Archies said the corporate business has been mixed bag. ���During Diwali, we did satisfactory business, but since then we are getting mixed signals,��� said Archies joint MD Pramod Arora. Bharti Axa HR director Priya Ranjan admitted several companies have re-drafted their gifting policy.
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