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NOTO COO Deepa D'Souza urges brands to start festive planning at least three months ahead
NOTO Chief Operating Officer Deepa D'Souza recommends planning at least three months before the festive period. She says brands should assess logistics, warehousing, manufacturing and working capital first. She also advises stocking in consumers' localities and not relying on discounts to drive sales.
Who and when
Figures from Social Samosa
| Recommended festive planning lead time: | at least three months |
|---|
Why the change matters
Start festive planning at least three months ahead by auditing logistics, warehousing, manufacturing and working capital first, then stock in consumers' localities rather than leaning on discounts to drive sales.
What to watch next
- Brand announcements of festive inventory build-ups or neighbourhood-level stocking ahead of the season
- Reported demand for warehousing space and logistics capacity ahead of the festive peak
- Seasonal working-capital borrowing by consumer brands appearing earlier than usual
- Depth and timing of festive discount campaigns compared with last year
- Reports of stock-outs or delivery delays during the festive peak
The counter-case
The case against this reading — not reported by the source.
This is generic advice from one executive, not evidence of a shift in the market. Three months is a thin lead time for festive planning. Large brands and marketplaces usually lock manufacturing, warehousing and inventory plans well before that, so the advice may only apply to smaller brands that are already late. Stocking close to consumers' localities raises inventory fragmentation, markdown risk and working-capital strain, which are the very constraints she tells brands to assess first. The warning against relying on discounts also ignores that festive demand is heavily shaped by platform sale events and competitor pricing, where a brand that holds back on price can lose share. The piece offers no data, case study or outcome to show that this approach lifts sales or cuts stock-outs.
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