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EXPERT’S VOICE

The NRAI president says the

second COVID-19 wave may hurt

more in the long term due to

“Low and subdued consumer

sentiments.”

Author’s Bio

Ashwin Bhadri | CEO What’s The Story?
Equinox Labs The National Restaurant Association of India (NRAI) has written to
all notable mall owners, along with an open letter to other landlords,
urging them to take immediate measures in order to stop the ‘instant
death’ of businesses.
As the sector continues to put up a fight for its survival, the
restaurant owners have said that if rentals are not waived, it will
result in job losses, unwanted litigation and will leave behind a trail of
unfulfilled dreams. Per NRAI, a large portion of the industry managed
to pull through the first phase of lockdown and emerge due to collab-
orative efforts of all stakeholders. Now, similar efforts are once again
needed to prevent fresh rounds of job losses and business mortali-
ties in the sector.

The NRAI demanded complete waiver of rentals till the time the unre-
stricted dine-business is shut. 6 months post that, a pure ‘revenue
share’ model will be followed, without minimum guaranteed rents.
These were among the many suggestions given by the NRAI.

NRAI president Anurag Katriar said that with expected restrictions
on operating hours, high fixed overheads, reduced capacity utilisation
and revised social distancing norms, any drop in consumer senti-
ments can prove to be disastrous for the sector. He also emphasized
the importance of moving to a revenue share model with landlords.

An Expert’s Take
Mr Ashwin Bhadri, CEO of Equinox Labs, says, “The Coronavirus
pandemic has impacted all major sectors, but perhaps none has been
more impacted than the restaurant industry. It somehow managed
to stay afloat during the first wave. However, just when things were
looking good, the second wave of coronavirus hit the hospitality
industry harder.”

Equinox Labs is one of India’s Top FSSAI-certified Food, Water,
and Air Testing Laboratory and also the country’s largest Auditing
Agency. It has been providing testing and auditing services for a total
of 15 years now, serving the industry’s top brands.

Ashwin continues, “In a dire situation like this, restaurant owners
need all the support they can get and are entitled to waiver of rentals
for a short period of time.”

www.equinoxlab.com

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