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The second wave of the Covid-19 pandemic had a huge impact on India’s recovery and it will take time for operations to normalise, the global chief of Coca-Cola said in its post-earnings call. Sales during April-June 2020 saw a massive decline, but India is one of the markets that exhibited growth as time progressed, he noted. On the other hand, consumer electronics items such as smartphones and laptops saw a surge in demand, going by sales figures for FY 2020-21.

The period between April-June 2020 saw a massive decline in sales of beverages owing to the nationwide lockdown and other safety measures. James Quincey, Chairman of Coca-Cola, said that in this quarter India and Southeast Asia were the sole regions that did not see volume acceleration that was sequential on a two-year basis. He added that the overall recovery was impacted due to the second wave and the challenges it brought. Coca-Cola’s soft drinks grew 14% in Q2 and this was led by the US, India and Brazil. Its mango drink Maaza also contributed to this performance.

Consumer electronics sales

Consumer electronics and smartphone seller Croma saw a 5% jump in its total income along with a drop of 1% in its net losses for the FY 2020-21. The total income for the Tata-owned brand was Rs 5,449 crore, while the net loss stood at Rs 201 crore as per the company’s filings with the regulators. It’s noteworthy to see how even the pandemic, lockdowns and lower operational hours couldn’t slow down the sales.

The surge in demand for smartphones, laptops, and other appliances remained high after Diwali. Top electronic companies like LG, Samsung, HP, RealMe, Apple, etc. had seen their best sales figures during Diwali. Croma saw a 350% rise in online sales as compared to a year before.

Sales of passenger vehicles

India saw the sale of 2,31,633 passenger vehicles in June, which is more than double of the sales of June 2020, which stood at 1,05,617. The automobile industry was battered by the pandemic and the restrictions that followed.

Real estate

According to property consultancy Knight Frank, 99, 416 residential homes were sold in the first half of 2021, which is 67% higher than last year. A higher number of sales were reported in the first three months of 2021, with Mumbai and Pune collectively contributing to about 45% of overall figures. This was largely due to the Maharashtra government’s decision to slash stamp duty for a short period of time. The momentum in sales was impacted by the second wave, but its impact was not that severe on the home market.