‘Tech-driven avenues in sports goods manufacturing unit will increase sale’

Industry & Lockdown

Rajesh Kharbanda, managing director and CEO of Nivia Sports, a leading sports goods company that produces athletic equipment, apparel and accessories for football, cricket, hockey, badminton and basketball, talks about the losses incurred due to the lockdown and opportunities in the coming days in a conversation with Ajay Joshi. Excerpts:

How has the lockdown impacted your sports goods manufacturing unit?

Apart from sportspersons or people inclined towards sports, schools and colleges are our major customers. As all institutions have been lying shut since the Covid-19 outbreak, the demand has sharply declined. We have suffered 16 per cent loss of the total turnover during the lockdown. In addition, it has directly affected 50 to 60 per cent sale this year. The import and export have also vanished drastically.

Though we faced this unexpected loss, we learnt various techniques and technologies that will help us work even in any crisis. We have become more tech-savvy and realised that by cutting down on our travel expenses, we can still increase our sales. — Rajesh Kharbanda, MD, CEO of Nivia Sports

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How will the sports business revive after the lockdown?

Our business will likely to see a turnaround during Diwali. However, it is also uncertain as customers will first stock essential goods. Looking at the downfall in the public job sector and termination of sports events, we cannot expect an immediate surge in the demand. Social gatherings and public events will not take place for some time. So, it was ambiguous to predict a boom in the sector. But as the lockdown has encouraged people towards physical fitness, the demand for individual sports equipment will go up in the coming days. With high hopes, we have also been running #combackstronger campaign on social media.

What are plans to restart operations in your unit?

There is a silver lining to everything. After devising new strategies, we have lately contacted local vendors or manufacturers who can provide a substitute to products that are imported from China. Moreover, we have now learnt about more technology-driven avenues that will help increase the sale and fetch more customers. We have also started our operations marginally since the last week and have now been focusing on the output every day.

How are you dealing with the issue of labourers?

Amid the lockdown, we have now realised that labourers are the backbone of any industry. We should never take our workforce for granted. Once gone, they will not come back soon and it will affect the industry badly. Now onwards, we will work for the welfare of labourers even when they aren’t working.

How have you managed to pay the salaries of workers?

We have around 3,000 labourers, who work in different units. So, we had paid their salaries of March in advance. Now, we are paying their salaries of April on a rotation basis.

Do you consider the current crisis as a challenge or an opportunity?

Though we faced this unexpected loss, we learnt various techniques and technologies that will help us work even in any crisis. We have become more tech-savvy and realised that by cutting down on our travel expenses, we can still increase our sales. During the whole lockdown phase, our staff worked online and engaged our customers virtually. New tech-driven ideas can be used for a longer time. We have also learnt that there is a need to create more such products that could be used by people at home.