Indian Business Sectors That Are Making The Best Of The COVID-19 Pandemic
Albert Einstein once said: “In the midst of every crisis, Lies great opportunity”.
The nation has been going through a very rough patch with more than six lakh active COVID-19 cases. Many businesses have faced big-time losses and are fearing bankruptcy. Some business sectors in the country have been able to capitalize on the pandemic and mint profit on a large scale. These business sectors weren’t very famous before the pandemic but now these sectors have become household names and so have their products.
It always needs a marketing genius to understand the demand of the existing market. Some business sectors have emerged during the COVID-19 pandemic while some have revamped their marketing plans and strategy to appease the customer. It must be noted that in a second world country like India self-quarantine is a privilege. Now we shall take a look at the top three business sectors in India that are flourishing amidst the COVID-19 pandemic.
OTT Platforms
The COVID-19 pandemic has been a boon in disguise for the OTT platforms in the country. The theatres and cinema halls being shut down due to the pandemic there has always been a lack of entertainment in our lives. The OTT platforms have left no stone unturned in order to entertain the subscribers with amazing web-series, TV-Series, Movies, and documentaries.
According to a Forbes report, India based OTT platforms like ZEE 5 and ALT Balaji have witnessed a rise of subscribers by 80% and 60 % respectively. ZEE 5 has witnessed a growth of a staggering 200% in the viewership of the original shows and 236% in viewership of movies on a daily basis. ALT Balaji has been increasing the subscriber count by 17,000 on a daily basis. Amazon Prime and Netflix have seen 67% and 65% increase in subscriber count. These online platforms have been releasing long-delayed movies and critically acclaimed movies. Amazon Prime has released movies like Gulabo Sitabo, Penguin, Ponmagal Vandhaal, and so on. The OTT platforms have started acquiring online release rights for various cult classics of the last century. Hotstar has announced a collaboration with Disney in order to stream shows and movies for the kids. These online platforms are cost-effective as well as provide a diverse option for the viewer. The youth of the country are eager to experience cinema from other countries at the comfort of their home.
A release on the OTT platforms has become an alternative to the theatrical release for many long delayed movies, critically acclaimed movies ,movies that couldn’t get the right box office collection in order to reach a larger audience at a global level. The advent of OTT platform is a boon to the modern day screenwriter.
At times it feels that the OTT platforms are becoming a ”re-depository” of average films during the pandemic.
It must be noted that OTT platform release might be a temporary replacement to theatrical release due the COVID-19 pandemic . Not all movies can be released on the OTT platform. In a country like India where stars are worshiped like demigods, the theatrical experience can never be replaced by the OTT release.
Education Technology Sectors
The COVID-19 pandemic has really made us understand that chalk-talk needs to replaced with e-learning technology. The Education Technology which is popularly called as Ed Tech has stood its ground with the education fraternity looking for an unconventional replacement to the standard teaching. Schools and Professional degree colleges have started collaborating with various Ed-Tech companies to enable continuous learning even during the lock-down. The COVID-19 restrictions being imposed, students and many working professionals have gotten the free time that they have been craving, to do certified up-skilling courses. EdTech companies have been providing these courses at a nominal rate and the course material for lifetime access.
On March 11th, 2020, Byju’s had announced free access to their subscribers for courses from class 1 to 12 until the end of April. A few days later, Toppr learning also announced free access to their learning content until the end of March. The domain of EdTech Sector has been seeing a healthy competition amongst various companies.
Companies like Unacademy have announced 20,000+ free live classes for students preparing for various professional examinations like the Banking Exams, Civil Services, IES, IAS, and so on. Lucrative offers have been announced by companies like Coursera, Udemy, and many others for up-skilling courses. These up-skilling courses are quite beneficial for working professionals and students.
The EdTech sectors have been successful enough to bridge the gap between the curious learner and a experience faculty member of a particular domain through a right online interface.
The only domain the companies in this sector need to work on is overcoming the poor internet connectivity in the villages and towns belonging to the tier-2 and tier-3 strata of the Indian democracy.
Hygiene Apparel
With the alarming rise in corona cases in various provinces, there has been a major demand for N95 standard masks. Despite the government wants the citizens to use home-made masks, there has been a suspicious question regarding the ability of the homemade masks to replace the N95 masks. These masks are deemed to be protective Armour against the coronavirus from entering into the throat. This has been a major demand creating factor for new players to venture into this domain of manufacturing hygiene apparel. There has been a major demand for masks that are safe, reusable, and attractive to look at.
Wildcraft has been one of the pioneers in the Indian industry of adventure apparel. According to a Forbes report, the company makes over 300 cr rupees annually through the sale of backpacks. With the increasing demand for masks, the company has ventured into the mask making domain. The mask manufactured by WildCraft has six layers and its washable. These masks are being sold at a price of Rs 200 per piece which is a nominal price for such a high-quality mask. The company has been marketing through television advertisements and setting up sales tents in various parts of the city. The company has expected a sale of 30 million masks at the domestic market in one quarter.
Ramraj is a very famous cotton apparel manufacturing company from South India. They have now ventured into the manufacturing of cotton masks. These masks are manufactured with a three-layered filtration and are washable; being sold at a price of Rs 150 for a pack of 3. This is a quite reasonable replacement for the high-end costly masks being made by established firms. Poomer, one of Ramraj’s competitors has also come up with a three-layer filtration mask priced at Rs 500 for a pack of three. The price of one Poomer mask is almost close to that of a Wildcraft W95 mask. Many of the online companies like Fully Filmy, Bewakoof, Souled Store, and many other companies have come up with graphic masks priced at a range of Rs 149 to Rs 200 in order to cater to the youth.
Conclusion
In order to excel in the domain of business, one must be ready to adapt to the existing market situation and upgrade their venture, otherwise, they might perish.
During the COVID-19 Pandemic ,
Sheer understanding of the market situation and courage to venture into newer emerging domains has been exhibited by few business sectors. Some of the business sectors have been successful in wooing the customers with attractive offers and pricing. Companies have been flourishing with a healthy competition from the competitors .
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