It is unsurprising that you have seen a hit to your top line but are you seeing any sort of recovery because Q3 included the festive as well as the wedding season, a period which historically has been a strong point for ?
Yes definitely the situation is changing and you can see that from our revenue. We are among the worst affected industries as luggage is dependent on the travel industry which has been badly affected. In the first quarter of the current fiscal year, our sales were only 7% and in the second quarter they were 25%. In Q3, they have reached 54%. So, definitely, it has been more than doubled compared to the second quarter. This trend is continuing and that is a good sign.
It has been a very difficult year but it has been much better than what we anticipated at the beginning because though we made losses of over Rs 100 crore in the nine months, our cash flow has been pretty good and it has been balanced. In fact, we have not had a negative cash flow and that is quite remarkable. It happened because our inventory levels were at its peak on April 1st 2020 since April to June is our largest quarter. In these nine months, that stock has been liquidated to a great extent and we paid off the creditors and cut our expenses quite well. So, the cash flow situation is the same.
What sort of opportunity do you see in a work-from-home situation? People are now only travelling for essential services within the city. Is there any opportunity on that front as well?
Well, so far, we have not really got any marked shift in our demand pattern. Cheaper goods are selling much more and our margins also are lower not only because of that but also because we are selling at a lower price and giving more discounts. All these new aspects would not make too much of a difference in our business per se because we do not have to do much. It is just a change of intention of the user, otherwise the product remains the same.
We have probably one of the largest ranges in the world as a company. So we will adapt to whatever is required. And more than anything else in the first quarter of next year, the April to June quarter. not only will travel increase but there is a marriage season also. I am told that even if people got married earlier in the Covid regime, they might celebrate the weddings in a bigger and better manner. We do hope that the April to June quarter should be much better. It is very difficult to say how high the demand will be, but we are prepared for good sales.
Do you expect to gain more market share at the cost of the unorganised sector?
It is very difficult for us to say that because at the moment many unexpected things have come about. So, if that happens, it happens. We will get to know that more in retrospect rather than anticipate because the unorganised sector being a small sector, they are very agile and nimble and can react quite fast to the situation. But it also depends on the raw material supply. We as an organised player have better access to raw material. We can even import it and that could be a factor in that supply. But I am not very cognisant what is happening to the supplies of the unorganised sector.
