CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION, FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO

The information required under Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 for conservation of energy, technology absorption, foreign exchange earnings and outgo is provided as Annexure - 9 to this Report.

Foreign Exchange Earnings / Outgo:

DIRECTORS’ RESPONSIBILITY STATEMENT

Pursuant to the requirements of Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013 it is hereby confirmed that,

(a)   in the preparation of the annual accounts for the year ended March 31, 2020, the applicable accounting standards had been followed.

(b)   the Directors had selected such accounting policies and applied them consistently and made judgments and estimates that are reasonable and prudent so as to give a true and fair view of the state of affairs of your Company as on 31st March 2020 and of the profits of your Company for the Financial Year ended March 31, 2020;

(c)   the Directors had taken proper and sufficient care for the maintenance of adequate accounting records in accordance with the provisions of the Act for safeguarding the assets of your Company and for preventing and detecting fraud and other irregularities.

(d)   the Directors had prepared the annual accounts for the Financial Year ended March 31, 2020 on a going concern basis.

(e)   the Directors had devised proper systems to ensure compliance with the provisions of all applicable laws and that such systems were adequate and operating effectively.

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION, FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO

The information required under Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 for conservation of energy, technology absorption, foreign exchange earnings and outgo is provided as Annexure - 9 to this Report.

Technology Absorption:

(i)    Efforts made for technology absorption & Benefits derived: The operations of the Company do not involve any technology absorption. The Company has not imported any technology during the previous years and has no technical collaboration with any party.

(ii)   Details of technology imported during the last three years reckoned from the beginning of the financial year: NIL

(iii)  Expenditure incurred on Research & Development: The Company does not have any specific present or future plan of action for research and development. However, it will continue its efforts to implement innovative ways for customer service and delighting the customers.

BUSINESS OPERATIONS

Your Company has been growing for the last 70 years. It is recognized as a leading Specialty Branded Footwear Retailer with strong nationwide presence across premium, affordable and value categories. Your Company continued with its expansion plan and opened 64 new stores including relocation of 7 existing stores. Your Company has opened its first stores in the cities of Solapur and Latur (Maharashtra), Muzaffarpur (Bihar), Aligarh and Barabanki (Uttar Pradesh), Hanumangarh (Rajasthan), Satna (Madhya Pradesh), Thiruvalla (Kerala), Gangtok (Sikkim), Shivamogga (Karnataka) and Rourkela (Odisha). The total number of stores reached 551at the end of the year.

During the year, number of Premium and Affordable fashion stores increased from 345 to 363 contributing sales of Rs. 1,119.53 Crores against sales of Rs. 1,127.50 Crores for the previous year. The number of Value line stores increased from 41 to 49 contributing sales of Rs. 53.45 Crores against sales of Rs. 45.4 Crores for the previous year where as Value line (Shop-in-Shops) decreased from 22 to 21 contributing sales of Rs. 8.87 Crores against sales of Rs. 9.32 Crores for the previous year. The Crocs stores increased from 96 to 118 registering sales of Rs. 185.40 Crores against sales of Rs. 138.10 Crores for the previous year. The E-commerce sales increased to Rs. 33.15 Crores from Rs. 20.69 Crores during the previous year. The Raw material and Footwear components trading division achieved sales of Rs. 9.62 Crores against sales of Rs. 10.88 Crores during the previous year.

The Loyalty club members increased to 76.85 Lakhs (previous year 60.09 Lakhs) with growth of 27.88% for the year.

The footwear sector's performance in the Financial Year 2020-21 has been significantly affected due to the Covid-19 pandemic. With nil revenues during the period of lockdown, given the closure of retail outlets and restriction of delivery of non- essential items in certain areas, the gross sales during the first 3 months of the Financial year 2020-21 has been Rs. 48.24 Crore which is dropped by 86.50% compared to the same period last year, with a larger impact on profitability. The showrooms at Malls have been affected much more compared to High Street showrooms. There are many restrictions imposed by various authorities on number of days of operating the showrooms as well as number of business hours.

CONSERVATION OF ENERGY, TECHNOLOGY ABSORPTION, FOREIGN EXCHANGE EARNINGS AND OUTGO

The information required under Section 134 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with the Companies (Accounts) Rules, 2014 for conservation of energy, technology absorption, foreign exchange earnings and outgo is provided as Annexure - 9 to this Report.

Conservation of Energy:

The Company’s operations involve low energy consumption. Wherever possible, energy conservation measures have already been implemented. The Company has been using energy efficient LED lights in the showrooms which are very effective in power saving. The Company has also started installing energy efficient VRF Inverter based Air-conditioning systems in the Showrooms. These systems are comparatively costly however provide substantial saving in terms of monthly energy costs. The efforts to conserve and optimize the use of energy through improved operational methods and other means will continue.

Installation of rooftop solar system at the Company’s warehouse located at Bhiwandi - Based on our commitment to switch to renewable energy sources than to depend on non-renewable ones. In the month of Dec-19, we decided to install a 110 KW solar power system. The solar power system has since been installed in June 2020. We are expecting substantial savings in our electricity consumption at our Bhiwandi unit on installation of this solar system.