Archies Ltd. Chairman Speech

FROM THE CHAIRMAN’S DESK

Dear Friends,

The year gone by was indeed a tough one, where we took a hard look at every corner of the operations of the company.

All marginal areas and those areas not contributing to the financial health of the company were shut.

As retail markets mature, there are a lot of markets and malls that go into decline, which then starts effecting footfalls. There were a few instances like these across the country, where we took the call of shutting shops in those markets.

Our retail footprint is spread far and wide and the cost of servicing an isolated company store in a far flung region is huge. Very often, not worth the effort. Our next step will be to rationalize these operations and try and move isolated regions to a retail or franchising model.

We continue to delight customers and remain their go to destination to fulfill their gifting needs by a continuous flow of a variety of gifts for every pocket and occasion. This is borne out by the fact that established stores in stable markets continue to grow year on year.

The year gone by saw the introduction of GST, in the month of July. This widely awaited event bore out what we had always felt, that it would be good for organized trade. The cash economy would suffer, which in turn would only help organized players like us. With the government committed to rationalizing taxation slabs in GST, we see the economic scenario improving even further.

Our 2016 introduction of the fun concept of Desi Archies, with a view to capture Indian-ness in design has been a great success. We continue to expand the range of fun, quirky products, sourced from the hinterlands of India and have been enthused by customer response to the same. This has resulted in the roll out of Desi Archies products into almost all our stores across the country.

Hoping for a better tomorrow is fine, but without concrete action, that can remain as just hope and nothing else. We are working on a wide range of plans to strengthen our company and take it forward to higher levels and continue to engage with our customer in our endeavor to help them express themselves, to their loved ones.

Yours Truly

Anil Moolchandani

Chairman & Managing Director Archies Limited