Clarks sales in India take Covid-19 hit, expects 20% drop this fiscal

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Apr 17, 2020

British footwear brand Clarks has been badly affected with first-quarter sales coming to a halt in India, due to the coronavirus outbreak in the country.
 

The company has also kept its expansion plans on hold amid the Covid-19 outbreak and is focusing on e-commerce to boost its sales once the lockdown period ends in the country.
 
Clarks expects its sales to drop around 20 percent for the financial year, however, it is optimistic that the markets would recover by June-July.

“Looking at the current scenario, we will do 15% to 20% lower than last year in terms of pairs sold compared to our planned growth of 30%. We are confident that a strong brand like Clarks will only emerge stronger,” N Mohan, executive director and CEO of Clarks Future Footwear, the Indian JV arm of Clarks, told Financial Express.
 
“The first three months of our fiscal year have been a complete washout. The remaining nine months will now be crucial for us and we are looking at various scenarios. Our business solely depends on the brick and mortar model. We have our own 52 stores and also signed up for 16 more, between our own and franchises. It all depends on when we would be able to start functioning,” he added.
 
Clarks had entered the Indian market in 2012. Apart from its retail touchpoints, the company also sells on all leading e-commerce platforms in India.