Consumer Demand

Demand trajectory across urban and rural markets in India has shown a "slight improvement" sequentially in the March quarter, although it falls short of a full recover, FMCG major Dabur said. Despite near-term consumption pressure, some "green shoots" are emerging such as moderating inflation, improving consumer confidence and increase in government spending. "While urban markets have returned to positive volume growth, rural markets still remain muted," said Dabur in its latest quarter updates. The company expects a "mid-single digit revenue growth" for the January-March quarter in such a scenario. Its F&B business continues to trend at robust levels and will report strong double-digit growth, while healthcare portfolio is expected to be in a positive growth trajectory, it added. Home & Personal Care (HPC) will report low single-digit revenue growth on account of a slowdown in the personal care categories. "Our brands continued to record gain in market shares in most of the ..

Industry strong enough to withstand another Covid hot for at least two quarters; global recession to have little impact; rural demand remains a concern

Samsung executives will discuss how to navigate mounting challenges from the sluggish global economy, slowing consumer demand, geopolitical tensions and continuing spread of the coronavirus

Urban demand also hit, but not as badly; Overall FMCG sales decline 15.3% MoM and 2.7% YoY

Here is our morning brief of today's top headlines

Gross domestic product may expand by 5.9% in calendar year 2023 from an estimated 6.9% this year

The consumer segment shipped 2.1 million units with online sales helping in picking up momentum at the end of September

Revenue for the quarter was up 39% YoY to Rs 1,230.8 crore

The firm has also committed to spend more than Rs 1,300 crore in business solutions through its 'vGrow' platform

A combination of factors like wider opening, improving labour market and terms of trade for the rural sector will result in rural demand to rebound in India, said Morgan Stanley on Wednesday

They say high commodity prices, geopolitical uncertainty, and uneven consumer demand may have prompted firms to defer capex plans

China's export growth weakened in August and imports shrank as high energy prices, inflation and anti-virus restrictions weighed on global and Chinese consumer demand. Exports rose 7% over a year ago to USD 314.9 billion, barely one-third of July's 18% expansion, customs data showed Wednesday. Imports contracted by 0.2% to USD 235.5 billion, compared with the previous month's already weak 2.3% growth. Demand for Chinese exports has softened as economic activity in Western markets slowed and the Federal Reserve and central banks in Europe and Asia raise interest rates to cool surging inflation. At home, repeated closures of cities to fight virus outbreaks has weighed on consumer spending. The slowdown in China's export sector is adding to headwinds for the Chinese economy, said Rajiv Biswas of S&P Global Market Intelligence in a report. Lack of import growth highlights continued weakness of Chinese domestic demand. Growth in the world's second-largest economy fell to 2.5% in the ...

Prime Minister Narendra Modi on Saturday urged state governments to clear their bills and dues to power distribution firms to help ensure stability in the energy sector

The company may also withdraw some variants of other categories that were launched during the pandemic, said Vineet Agarwal, chief executive officer of Wipro Consumer Care

Today, far too many people earn far too little to support consumption growth of the kind the economy needs, notes T N Ninan

Sales in urban areas in May were down 16 per cent and those in rural parts 16.6 per cent (against April)

While the surprise contraction adds to political headaches for President Joe Biden, it's unlikely to dissuade the Federal Reserve from hiking interest rates aggressively to combat inflation

PwC's Ranen Banerjee on Budget expectations for MSMEs and more

Ranen Banerjee of PwC India shares his views with Business Standard's Krishna Veera Vanamali on what he expects from the upcoming Budget for the MSMEs and what the govt can do to boost demand

Why are SUVs catching the fancy of Indians?

More and more Indians now prefer SUVs -- some of them as bulky as mini trucks -- over hatchbacks and sedans. Let's examine the causes for the dramatic shift in consumer preferences towards SUVs

Driven by electrical appliances makers, the Rs 2 lakh-crore consumer durables sector is set to report a robust 20 per cent revenue growth this fiscal after a flattish run last fiscal, says a report. Revenues of electrical appliances makers are expected to grow twice as fast as white goods makers, forming 65 per cent of the sectoral revenues this fiscal (which traditionally is only 35 per cent of the sectoral revenue), Crisil said in a report on Wednesday. Operating profitability will be a tad lower due to costlier inputs despite price hikes, though, the report said, adding credit profiles will be stable on healthy revenue accruals and low leverage. The Crisil report is based on the analysis of 15 companies which account for 45 per cent of the sectoral revenue. The sector, which clocked Rs 2 lakh crore revenue last fiscal, includes consumer electricals (excluding mobile phones) and white goods. White goods include washing machines, televisions, refrigerators and air conditioners whi