NEW DELHI: Layoffs in the technology sector have had an impact on discretionary spending Ashish Shahco-founder and CEO of Gingerbread. People who work with IT and technology companies tend to be more inclined to shop online and job losses in these sectors have limited their ability to make big purchases, Shah said.
“There were a lot of IPOs happening until December 2021. Then the whole scene around startups, IT and consumer technology slowed down. Customers working in these sectors came online much more often than others. People usually buy houses and furniture with bonuses and not the salaries.. .with layoffs and no pay hikes, bonuses, consumer sentiment has been impacted,” Shah said, adding that the last three to four quarters have been sluggish in terms of discretionary spending across product segments.
Shah, who recently took over as CEO of the company following the untimely demise of the former CEO Ambareesh Murty, expects the holidays to drive some demand. With Diwali just a few weeks away, Shah hopes that demand for segments like living room furniture will come back and even essentials like beds, cupboards and kitchen cabinets will increase.
“A lot of home and furniture purchases are also tied to the way real estate investments are going. Because real estate has done well over the last nine to 12 months, I see this slowdown happening very quickly. People who have been buying new apartments will now also doing.” start buying home and furniture products, white goods, mobile phones,” Shah said.
For omnichannel furniture retailer Pepperfry, which also runs 190 experiential studios across 110 Indian cities, the next two major areas of investment will be international expansion and ramping up its guided buying feature (which helps consumers navigate the furniture purchasing process). The company, which was preparing to go public, has suspended the plan for the time being. Rather, the immediate priority would be to make the company profitable, Shah said.
“We have reduced our costs significantly over the past year – we are well positioned to become profitable soon. The first step towards one IPO It is ensuring that we become profitable and show consistent results for at least two to three quarters before we go down that path again,” Shah said.
“There were a lot of IPOs happening until December 2021. Then the whole scene around startups, IT and consumer technology slowed down. Customers working in these sectors came online much more often than others. People usually buy houses and furniture with bonuses and not the salaries.. .with layoffs and no pay hikes, bonuses, consumer sentiment has been impacted,” Shah said, adding that the last three to four quarters have been sluggish in terms of discretionary spending across product segments.
Shah, who recently took over as CEO of the company following the untimely demise of the former CEO Ambareesh Murty, expects the holidays to drive some demand. With Diwali just a few weeks away, Shah hopes that demand for segments like living room furniture will come back and even essentials like beds, cupboards and kitchen cabinets will increase.
“A lot of home and furniture purchases are also tied to the way real estate investments are going. Because real estate has done well over the last nine to 12 months, I see this slowdown happening very quickly. People who have been buying new apartments will now also doing.” start buying home and furniture products, white goods, mobile phones,” Shah said.
For omnichannel furniture retailer Pepperfry, which also runs 190 experiential studios across 110 Indian cities, the next two major areas of investment will be international expansion and ramping up its guided buying feature (which helps consumers navigate the furniture purchasing process). The company, which was preparing to go public, has suspended the plan for the time being. Rather, the immediate priority would be to make the company profitable, Shah said.
“We have reduced our costs significantly over the past year – we are well positioned to become profitable soon. The first step towards one IPO It is ensuring that we become profitable and show consistent results for at least two to three quarters before we go down that path again,” Shah said.
