Retailers of branded apparel on strike today

10% excise duty proposed in Budget raises hackles

The Budget presented by Finance Minister Pranab Mukherjee last week has not gone down well with various businesses in the country. The Retailers Association of India (RAI) and the Clothing Manufacturers' Association of India (CMAI) have called for a day's strike to protest against it.

Some retail stores and malls selling branded clothes in the city will be shut today to protest against the 10 per cent excise duty on branded apparel. There are around 50,000 brands across the country.


Strike effect: The retail sector mayy to lose out on business
worth Rs 200 crore across the country today. Representation Pic

Kumar Rajagopalan, CEO, Retailers Association of India, said, "The strike is mostly by apparel retailers as the 10 per cent excise duty will burden us heavily. We have even sent letters to the ministry to make it think about its decision and if possible to take it back."

He added that customers were in no mood to take the hike lightly. "Customers are already dealing with inflationary trends and if clothes prices increase, it will affect our sales," he said.

Retailers feel the strike will help them get their message across and they are hopeful the government might reconsider its decision. A manager from a menswear brand located on MG Road said the hike has not gone down well with customers.

"We hope the government takes decisions that do not affect business," said the manager. Avinash Pratap, marketing head, Pune Central, said, "It's a big decision that has been taken considering the multi-crore losses we will face nationwide. But the motive is that there shouldn't be an addition burden on the end-consumer."

Officials from malls and stores said the loss they would face because of the strike might not be too great considering it is a Monday, when the crowd is usually less, and that examinations are also on. Virendrasingh Thakur, operations manager, Westside, said, "It will be hard to tell how much will be the loss that we are going to face because of the strike. But it's a working day, so the walk-ins are usually low."