On Monday, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd NSE -16.96 % (ABFRL) said that it will close down all its retail stores across India till 31st March. This comes amid the global health crisis, in order to ensure safety of its employees across all its establishments.

Moreover, the company has also put a halt in its factory operations in Karnataka, Tamil Nadu and Odisha till March 31, 2020, adhering to the local guidelines, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail said in a regulatory filing.

"In order to safeguard the risks to the health of our store employees & customers, as well as in line with the advisories from local, state and central government, the company has decided to shut all its retail stores until March 31, 2020," it said.

"Work from home" policy has already been deployed for all its office employees.

"The business of the company has been significantly affected over the last few weeks and will continue to be materially impacted due to the current crisis. The uncertainty around the situation makes it difficult to ascertain the exact impact at this point of time," the company said.

ABRFL further noted that "it will continue to assess the situation and will consider resumption of its business operations at an appropriate time".
With revenue of Rs 8,118 crore and with a retail space of 7.5 million sq ft (as on March 31, 2019), ABRFL is India's first billion-dollar pure-play fashion gaint. It has a network of 2,714 brand stores across 750 cities in the country.

Down 5.62 per cent over its previous close, Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd’s shares were trading at Rs 176.35, on BSE in the afternoon trade.

A part of USD 48.3 billion Aditya Birla Group, ABRFL has a revenue of Rs 8,118 cr. spanning retail space of 7.5 million sq.ft. (as on March 31, 2019), it is India's first billion-dollar pure-play fashion Godfather. It has an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats.

ABFRL was born of the consolidation of the branded apparel businesses of Aditya Birla Group comprising ABNL's Madura Fashion division and ABNL's subsidiaries — Pantaloons Fashion and Retail (PFRL) and Madura Fashion & Lifestyle (MFL) in May 2015. Post the consolidation, PFRL was renamed Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd.