A posting at the Reliance Trends’ store near the Kashi Vishwanath temple in Varanasi is a dream job for any salesperson.

After all, the popular pilgrimage site attracted over 30 million visitors in 2024 alone, and such high footfall helps sales staff meet their targets faster.

But for S, a 20-something from a small town in Uttar Pradesh, the experience quickly went from dream to nightmare. The store was struggling to meet its targets, and the manager would take his frustration out on the staff. “He would pick on one person everyday, and insult them publicly,” recalled S. 

Weeks into his new posting, S was laid off in September. Right in the middle of the festival season no less, when sales should have been peaking. A clear sign that something was very wrong.

The truth is, large fashion-retail chains like Reliance over-estimated the demand. After the long dry Covid spell, they expected consumers to go on a revenge-shopping Shopping extravagantly after a period of time when one has been denied the opportunity to shop, like the Covid lockdownspree. Reliance Retail actually went berserk, opening a cumulative 5,800 stores across the country spanning fashion, groceries, and electronics in FY22 and FY23. 

“Retailers expanded ahead of the curve especially in tier 2–4 towns, often without sharpening their value proposition and economic model,” said Namit Puri, managing director and senior partner at Boston Consulting Group (BCG).

Then came the layoffs. When customers didn’t come running, the conglomerate Reliance Industries laid offThe Economic TimesReliance cuts 11 per cent of workforce on retail cool-off 42,000 employees, or 11% of its workforce in FY24. Most impacted was its retail division, which is expected to cut more jobsThe Economic TimesReliance Retail slashing jobs, tightening operations before public debut this fiscal. Similarly, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, the parent of Pantaloons and Biba, closed 200 stores; Arvind Fashion, which owns brands like Tommy Hilfiger and Flying Machine, closed 70; and Shoppers Stop closed nine. All in the last year or soThe Economic TimesWhat’s in store for Reliance Retail, Arvind Fashions, V-Mart & top retailers?