Mumbai, the maximum city has been the hub of some of the brightest and biggest weddings --- think Ambanis where legendary designers from Manish Malhotra to Abu and Sandeep Khosla or the Padukone/Singh where Sabyasachi Mukherjee, made millions on just the decor, not counting the outfit spend. Now, this luxury is a thing of the past, as COVID-19 has wiped out the events business ---- surprisingly even weddings, which till now were recession-proof. Wedding planners attribute this to supply chain being disrupted so much so, there are no booking till December as most marriages have been either cancelled or postponed.
The big Indian wedding industry was pegged to grow and reach $50 billion, as predicted by KPMG, becoming the biggest after the USA. Interestingly, almost 10 million weddings take place in India, according to a Business Insider report, however, this year, not just destination weddings, which cost anything above Rs 5-6 crores, but also exhibitions and even trade events saw cancellations, leaving many on the brink of desperation.
Designer and leading wedding planner, Varun Bahl, ran his decor company Aurum, which saw a concerted high till last year, as experts predicted this sector was growing at a breakneck speed of 30 per cent, annually. With just a few family members and friends, getting married is becoming simpler, doing away with the need for Varun’s expertise. Mumbai, he admits was his biggest market due to the high concentration of celebrities and business families residing there who prefer destination weddings.
“It is the time to get back to the basics, the word ‘trends’ will disappear and millennials will be worst hit as jobs and opportunities for them will nosedive after this blows over,” he adds. Currently, Varun has two stores, Delhi and Mumbai, paying rentals and supporting staff has been a nightmare, even though DLF Emporio has been a compassionate landlord and has not asked for anything, observing the deteriorating situation. He may be forced to close his Mumbai store seeing the spread of the virus in the city.
Varun believes only the super-rich with no fixed expenses will survive seamlessly. “At least for a year, we won’t see people travelling or desiring anything ostentatious, till we all limp back to normalcy,” he adds. In a country like India, where people spend 20% of their total wealth on weddings, no one thought it would face such trying times. Masks will now be the norm, a part of the total outfit and the greatest problem everyone will face or are facing, he says is getting the labour force back. “Indians are tough we have survived many upheavals, however, I do believe wedding and the related market is down by 90 per cent, especially the events space as social distancing is imposed,” he adds.
Luxury buying online will be the buzzword, and most international orders will resume, even though many people still hesitate to purchase expensive items, they will be left with no option. Wedding exhibitors are also in a pickle, and Dhruv Gurwara the CEO of Bridal Asia, who have been in the events business for 20 years, had to cancel his Delhi exhibition slated for March 14-15, just after a successful showcasing in Mumbai. Delhi reported the first case on March 5 and that is when he decided not to take any chances considering the massive footfalls in his exhibition. “The next one year is going to be an uphill task as there are many things we need to relook, of course, digital is one of them,” says Dhruv.
Even though the world will switch to shopping online, Dhruv believes for lighter prêt and maybe smaller occasions one can feel comfortable, but heavier wedding outfits will be by appointments only. “The process will get streamlined in the near future as the touch and feel factor will always remain as a big concern for a buyer who is spending large amounts of money on their wedding trousseau,” he adds.
Freelancers and vendors are the ones who are seeing the dullest days, and daily wage working who help set up the spaces for exhibitions for events will see a major setback. “Even once we restart, spending capacity will be hampered and the next three months even if many manage to stay afloat. No one will spend on marketing and there will be a decisive slow down,” he adds.
Sanna Vohra, CEO and Founder of the Wedding Brigade, (an end to end wedding service provider for both online/offline platform where users can find content, curated fashion, and vendors) confesses, “The industry is at a complete standstill as no events are taking place right now to prevent the spread of COVID. People are also afraid to commit to future bookings until there is more clarity around when things will get back to normal.”
Though she anticipates no events to happen in the near future, the industry will slowly open up with virtual events (as are already happening), smaller events, and then eventually when the threat has completely passed they may move to larger events. “Right now, there is a certain discomfort that everyone feels. I think once the virus has officially been eradicated and there have been no new cases for a while there will be more ease,” she adds.
If one goes live and streams, she believes, the industry has to find interesting ways to monetize it. “Designers are trying to encourage more digital consultations/appointments so that they can start receiving orders, and then hopefully have in-person fittings post the lock-down,” she concludes.
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