India’s multi-brand fashion e-commerce platform- LimeRoad recently launched a financial service called the “Financial Clinic” for its seller partners amidst the taxing situation of coronavirus disease.
The Financial clinic will mainly focus on the small and medium-sized seller partners, especially manufacturers who are hit the hardest by the coronavirus pandemic which resulted in a nationwide lockdown imposed by the Government of India. The lockdown period which accelerated the launch of the financial service, prohibits the sale of nonessential items like clothing and accessories due to which the small and medium-sized retailers are suffering big time.
To protect these retailers, Limeroad is providing assistance in the partner’s current financial plans and helping them build an efficient one for the future. The Financial Clinic will aid the partners in finding solutions to issues like short term credit, inventory, and working capital management, etc. and was launched on April 3, 2020, when a seller partner self-quarantined himself at his warehouse.
“This pandemic will reshape our industry. It will impact consumer behavior, encouraging more and more people to move from offline to online, as was seen post-SARS in China. Globally, all industries will divide up into winners and losers, and it is our belief that our Seller Partners, along with us, will be on the winning side. In a recent briefing, Bain & Co. projected that online fashion is one of the few sectors which will see a huge surge in demand between 3-6m, reflecting pent-up demand, stabilizing at higher levels by 12m, after a deep cut in the first 3 months. The next 3 months will be painful for everyone, and it is our mission to be as helpful as possible to our seller partners through this period,” said Suchi Mukherjee, Founder CEO, LimeRoad.
The seller partners will benefit a lot from the Financial Clinic, as they are going through a lot of hardships in their businesses because of the declined manufacturing and a shift in consumer’s priorities, therefore, an effective financial plan is the need of the hour to protect them from drowning in the current economic distress. “When there is an outside expert working on the financial books of any Company, it helps in getting a different perspective with a clear scope of improvement. We are delighted that LimeRoad is offering us this help,” said the seller partner who availed the services of the Financial Clinic first.
The textile and the apparel sector in India is said to be one of the worst sit sectors due to the prevailing lockdown situation in the country and if the situation worsens, 25-40% of the retail outlets are predicted to consummate their businesses resulting in job losses and salary cuts.
LimeRoad has a chain of over 10,000 seller partners across the country and is currently aiming to roll out its Financial Clinic services to 1,000 sellers in the phase 1 of the initiative.
