Cantabil to shift focus to growth in the e-commerce space, says Deepak Bansal

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Jul 6, 2020

Homegrown apparel brand Cantabil Retail is betting big on e-commerce for growth going forward and feels online is the most effective way to reach customers, plus ensure profitability.
 
Despite the coronavirus pandemic and resultant lockdown, Cantabil managed to post strong numbers for the financial year 2019-20. Cantabil’s net profit rose 31 percent to Rs 16 crore from last year’s Rs 12 crore, while its revenue was up 17 percent to Rs 338 crore, as against Rs 289 crore it had reported in the previous fiscal.
 
Even though Cantabil missed to achieve its target revenue of Rs 400 crore for the fiscal, it remains optimistic about the future with its entry into e-commerce and expects business to be normal once the Covid-19 situation improves.
 
Deepak Bansal, director of Cantabil Retail India Ltd, talks to Fashionnetwork.com on the impact of Covid-19, expansion plans and e-commerce.
 

Fashionnetwork.com: What is the impact of Covid-19 on the company’s revenue for the fiscal? Cantabil was expecting a jump in revenue on the back of its massive retail expansion and eyeing revenue of around Rs 400 crore this fiscal. Has the target been met?
 
Deepak Bansal: With the Covid-19 pandemic ravaging the economy, all business trends and forecasts were derailed. There is no denying the fact that revenue has lowered in this two-month lockdown and affected cash flows of businesses due to high proportion of fixed expense. However, now that the lockdown is being lifted in phases the retail fashion segment is looking at complete restoration. We foresee some pent-up demand and the business coming back to normal, once the Covid-19 situation is in better control.

FNW: Cantabil had earmarked a huge investment for offline expansion in 2020. As uncertainty looms with Covid-19 around, what’s the offline plan for the company?
 
DB: We had planned to invest in the offline business; the idea was to open stores in tier 2 and tier 3 markets. However, given the current situation, our focus has shifted to grow into the e-commerce space. We recently forayed into the e-commerce marketplace, and ventured with Flipkart, Amazon, Snapdeal and Paytm. With a total of over 300 stores across the country, this is the brand’s first among a series of online retail initiatives that would be announced over the next year.
 
In the Covid-19 context, e-commerce has become one of the most effective ways to reach the customer to continue offering the best products and services, while ensuring profitability.
 

FNW: How much do you expect e-commerce to contribute to the growth of Cantabil going forward?
 
DB: The future of e-commerce looks bright and exciting. It’s too soon for us to comment on our e-commerce figures, since we just ventured into the online business. I believe that entering the online business will play a pivotal role post-Covid-19 for the retail sector in maintaining market equilibrium. 
 
FNW: Many Indian brands are advocating the ‘Vocal for Local’ and self-reliant India call by the Prime Minister to revive sales. What’s your view on these campaigns and being a homegrown brand, will we see Cantabil joining the bandwagon?
 
DB: Cantabil is a well-established home grown retail brand and is consistently providing best of the quality, comfort, and style for over 20 years now to its wide base of loyal customers across length and breadth of the country. We appreciate the Prime Minister’s call for Vocal for Local. Our end to end process from design, procuring raw material and manufacturing is done within India and we are also engaged with local supplier and manufacturers.