The global automotive industry was projected to grow to $9 Trillion by 2030. The pandemic crisis has halted the momentum and has resulted in the pundits revising their forecast downwards. Global sales of passenger cars are forecasted to fall to 59.5 million units in 2020, down from a peak of 79.6 million units in 2017.

The automotive sector contributes to 7.1% of India’s GDP, of which the Auto Components industry contributes 2.3%. The sector generates employment for about 40 million people.

Post COVID19, demand for passenger vehicles is likely to be muted, as this segment is likely to be impacted by market sentiments and lower consumer purchasing power. Disruption in the global supply chain will adversely impact the sourcing of auto components and manufacturers will have to delay any new launches that have been planned.

At Vertebrand, we feel consumers will be wary of using public transport and will actively look for cost-effective alternatives. In the midst of an industry slowdown, we feel, there will be an opportunity for car rental services and sales of pre-owned cars. Import substitution of auto components could become a viable alternative.

Whether you are an auto manufacturer, auto components manufacturer or allied to the industry in any way, Vertebrand can help strengthen your brand and make it more resilient.

In India, the agricultural sector accounts for almost 14% of our GDP. The market size of agricultural input amounts to $28.3 million. Although the economic contribution of agriculture to India’s GDP is steadily declining with the country’s broad-based economic growth, agriculture is demographically the broadest economic sector and plays a significant role in the overall socio-economic fabric of India. Total agricultural exports from India grew at a CAGR of 14.61% over FY10-19. The organic food segment is expected to grow at a CAGR of 10% during 2016-21 with a value of Rs.75,000 crores, by 2025.

At Vertebrand, we believe the impact of COVID19 is likely to be low on both agriculture production and the usage of agri-inputs like seeds, pesticides and fertilizers. The sector may very well grow, next year.

Vertebrand can help you tap into the opportunity early. You can boost your agribusiness by building inclusive and efficient value chains, branding your products and expanding or finding new markets. Our experience of successfully handling businesses related to agri-inputs and agri-production in the country attest to this.

India has 42.5 million small and mid-sized enterprises. 95% of these enterprises possess industrial units and employ 106 million people, making up 40% of India’s industrial workforce. Increased sales & marketing effort backed up by smart technology and logistics will help this workforce change the industrial landscape.

Governments and organizations are working hard to contain COVID-19 and stem the growing economic and healthcare toll. While the pandemic has negatively impacted the B2B industry, in a recent survey 60% of B2B decision-makers stated they are optimistic of a turnaround.

At Vertebrand, we believe specific categories like Consumer durables, Mobile accessories, Apparel, Home furnishing, Construction and Industrial supplies will drive industrial growth.

The growing number of smartphones and increased adoption of various mobile platforms will be the biggest driver of B2B e-commerce, in India. Applications or platforms that provide solutions for customers’ problems and are based on artificial intelligence or machine learning will disrupt the landscape.

Technology is helping manufacturers, by introducing products into the market within a short period compared to the traditional approach.

Demand patterns are changing while consumption cycles are becoming shorter.  While manufacturers follow just-in-time manufacturing practices, there is an increasing need to control the cost of logistics and inventory. Logistics continues to be the biggest determinant of pricing. While credit leverage will continue to drive volume on the supply side, what needs to be ascertained is demand.

A large part of the supply chain of India’s retail sector relies on business-to-business relationships. Interaction within this sector remains largely unorganized. Any change in this scenario will bring significant value to the Indian economy. Although economic growth globally has hit a plateau, Vertebrand strongly believes that India’s consumer retail sector will accelerate the momentum in the economy.

The retail sector in India contributes 10% to the GDP and generates 8% employment (2018-2019). India’s retail sector is the fifth-largest globally and is valued at $950 Billion (2018-2019). The major segments within the retail industry are household and personal care products (50%), healthcare (31%) and Food & Beverages (19%).

While e-commerce contributed $64 Billion in 2018-19, this channel has seen a significant surge with existing consumers buying more, in the post COVID19 era. This channel has also witnessed new consumer segments – the elderly and rural consumers. Online adoption will continue to accelerate “beyond” the current health crisis.

While essentials like personal care, food and beverage, home care have been less impacted, health and economic concerns have reduced consumer confidence, significantly.  This can be seen in reduced consumer spending in discretionary product categories like apparel,  furniture, consumer electronics and jewellery.

Currently, restrictions are being lifted and retailers are focusing their energies on bouncing back. At Vertebrand, we believe you need to plan for the long road ahead in addition to managing COVID19 related issues.

You will need to focus on transforming your business to succeed in a new business landscape. The twin challenges will be to cater to consumers via their preferred channels and to build business resiliency to operate smoothly during any future crises.

We have several case studies that will show you how we can help you achieve your objective.

India has about 500 million youngsters in the age bracket of 5-24 years, making it the largest population of youngsters in the world. This provides an unparalleled opportunity for the education sector.

The market size of the education sector is $101.1 Billion (2018-2019). The gross enrolment ratio in higher education reached 26.3% in 2018-19. The country has become the second-largest market for e-learning after the US. The e-learning sub-segment is expected to reach $1.96 Billion by 2021 with 9.5 million users.

In a Post COVID19 world, education-tech players are seeing increased adoption by students and institutions. This trend is likely to continue with conventional education being augmented with online learning. The disruption in the delivery of education is pushing policymakers to understand how to drive engagement at scale while ensuring that e-learning solutions are inclusive, by tackling the digital divide.

One of the main issues will be to build a strong brand in this space because this sector will get even more crowded than it is already. Our experience in this area is substantial and can be put to good use.

The apparel & textile sector contributes to 2% of India’s GDP and employs over 45 million people. The development of new Tier 2 & Tier 3 markets combined with the growth of a newly affluent class of consumers have been the key reasons for the expansion of this market in India. The COVID-19 outbreak has put a question mark on the future of the Indian luxury market.

Demand shocks are expected to hurt exports over the next few quarters. The production declined by 10-12% in the Apr-Jun quarter in FY 21 and global luxury sales could drop up to 35% by the end of this financial year.

At Vertebrand, our view is that fashion retail brands will have to break down the internal silos to create Omni-Channels – seamlessly merging offline and online channels. Consumers have become more concerned about social and environmental issues. They will embrace brands that exhibit social responsibility and empathy in the hour of crisis. This is especially relevant in the luxury retail segment.

In Vertebrand’s view, fashion and luxury brands will have to relook their entire value chain, from sourcing to manufacturing, from packaging to product disposal, from branding and marketing to retail. These are areas where we have considerable expertise.

Revenue in the Food & Beverages (F&B) industry is projected to reach $224,815 Billion in 2020. It is projected to further grow at a CAGR of 10.6% (2020-2024), to $336.8 Billion by 2024.

India is expected to become the fifth-largest consumer market in the world by 2025, according to a paper prepared by the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII) and Grant Thornton.

The National Restaurants Association of India (NRAI) however, has predicted an estimated loss of Rupees 80,000 crores for the F&B industry by the end of May 2020, due to the pandemic. The association has also stated that over 7 million people who were dependent on the F&B industry have already lost their jobs.

The F&B industry presents a unique opportunity for the revival of the Indian economy, even though it has been badly impacted. While retail demand has collapsed, the sector can bounce back in a big way by leveraging e-commerce. The ongoing pandemic has also witnessed the demand for essential goods from new customer segments like the elderly and low-income groups.

Vertebrand believes supply chain concerns need to be addressed and this is an area where we have considerable experience.

India is the 4th largest medical device market in Asia. The value of medical tourism is forecasted to reach $9 Billion and generate 40 million jobs by 2020. Health insurance grew at 14.7% year-on-year to $6.06 Billion in FY20. The total healthcare industry is predicted to reach $372 Billion by 2022. The above projections were on track until the COVID-19 pandemic reached Indian shores.

Today 70% of the Indian population lives in rural areas and has limited or no access to healthcare. The pandemic has exposed India’s weak public health infrastructure.

In the healthcare manufacturing segment, raw materials supplies are at an all-time low. The Medical Devices industry is combating problems related to supply chain management, raw materials and manufacturing. The situation is being made worse due to the inverse duty structure that favours finished products (imported in-vitro devices) over raw materials (made-in-India IVDs) which creates an unequal playing field
for domestic producers.

Despite the overall negative sentiment, at Vertebrand, we have a positive outlook for our healthcare industry.

The Government seems keen on investing in the healthcare sector and COVID-19 has provided a unique opportunity. There is a possibility of the world considering India as the primary producer and supplier of APIs, IVDs and generic drugs, provided we are prudent enough to act fast and cash in on the situation. India has the potential to become a key supplier to global drug manufacturers.

In Vertebrand’s view, the medical and pharma industry should resume operations by leveraging technology innovations that enable employee and consumer health safety standards. In addition, the industry must work on design flexibility, cost optimization, consumer engagement, localization of supply chains and reorganization of business models. These are areas where Vertebrand has considerable experience.

Travel and Tourism is the largest service industry in India. The industry also has the distinction of being the third-largest foreign exchange earner for India. According to The World Travel and Tourism Council (WTTC), tourism generated $234 Billion or 9.2% of India’s GDP in 2018 and supported 42.67 million jobs. Industry estimates indicate that the organized hotel segment generates annual revenue of Rs 38,000 crore.

The hospitality industry has faced the brunt of the pandemic, with the entire sector staring at massive financial and employment losses. As the industry navigates through turbulent times, growth in this sector is likely to take a backseat for the next two years.

Any capital that is available today will focus on consolidation by buying operating assets rather than building new ones. The industry will see a steep decline in foreign tourism. Even when the situation returns to normal, this industry is likely to be a laggard. Moreover, the industry faces a problem of perception. The hotel industry is perceived to be a health risk. Hence, cautious customers will take the time to go back to their previous consumption patterns.

At Vertebrand, we believe it is time we focused our resources on attracting domestic tourists. First and foremost, one must ensure customers have a safe and sanitized environment. Trustworthy brands that are creative and innovative in their communication will win the day. Vertebrand has proven expertise in the area of services marketing and communication and can help navigate through these turbulent times.

India has a large broadcasting and distribution industry,that consists of 900 satellite TV channels, 6,000 Multi-system operators, 60,000 local cable operators, 7 DTH operators and a few IPTV service providers. The Indian media & entertainment industry is projected to grow to $4170.6 Billion by 2024 at a CAGR of 13.5%.

The COVID-19 pandemic is changing the way we consume media and entertainment. It is rapidly evolving, as the world adjusts to a new normal.

Social distancing, work from home, virtual meetings are the new norm. Demand for at-home digital media services is expected to grow significantly, driven by habit-formation and ease of access. OTT platforms and digital media have already been attracting new consumers and expanding to new locations and demographics. The virus outbreak will magnify the already apparent shift from TV viewing to Digital Device viewing – providing a significant fillip to broadband internet & fibre-to-home (FTTH) companies.

In a post-COVID-19 world, consumers may exhibit altered consumption patterns and may take time to embrace pre-COVID consumption models again. Consequently, we will probably see a drastic fall in investments by companies, which could constrain supply and the growth of the media and entertainment industry.

Organisations are likely to renew their emphasis on flexibility, as companies look to move to a variable cost model and reduce fixed costs. As this crisis has shown, the ability to remain agile during downturns is a valuable asset. The trend of risk aversion will not just be confined to consumers but also organisations, as we return to ‘normalcy’.