Winter of discontent
Yesterday, I made my periodic visit to the Delhi's wholesale and popular retail markets to assess the current trends and mood of the markets. A visit to markets at this point in time is important because this is the time when most of the retailers build inventory for the coming festival & marriage season which usually accounts for almost half of their annual sale. Unlike, previous years, this time I was not expecting any surprises; and I did get none. The mood of traders as well as buyers was despondent. The following is the feedback from my rendezvous with traders in Delhi. (a) This year the trade is marginally slower than the last year. However, many traders are expecting the declining trend of past 3years to bottom out this season. Inventories have reduced materially. Costs rationalization has been mostly achieved. GST has been imbibed completely. Integration with (b) The wholesale trade in grocery items, especially spices &,...