kolkata better times are gradually returning to the countrys home retail segment among the categories worst affected by the slowdown the segment which saw a decline of 1525 in sales is witnessing a spate of renewed activity handinhand with the returning stability in indias housing marketleading players in this segment like the future group godrej interio welspun retail and homestop are hopeful of the trend picking up further steam with the festive season right around the corner we are seeing a slow recovery in sentiments in the home retail segment said future group ceo kishore biyaniconfirming the trend retailers association of india ceo kumar rajagopalan told et with the housing sector slump home sections of retailers found themselves in big trouble but now that there are signs of a recovery in the housing market home retail is also picking up both hard and soft furnishings have shown an increase in sales of anything between 1015 over the past quarter this segment had seen sales decline by 20godrej boyce which runs 50odd interio furniture stores has been witnessing a revival from may while some home retailers may have been downtrading by giving massive discounts we restricted ourselves to normal promotion even though sales are yet to reach the 3035 growth rate as in the preslowdown days it is still growing at a doubledigit rate said subodh mehta senior gm home business godrej interiowelspun retail which saw sales declining by 15 during december 2008 to april 2009 is also seeing fresh momentum since may the revival came during the summer vacation period and due to a general improvement in consumer confidence with respect to the economy and political stability said welspun retail director dipali goenkahomestop the home concept format owned by shoppers stop expects sales to grow from septemberoctober onwards though we did not experience a steep decline in sales our expectations are that sales will again reach its peak in the fourth quarter said shoppers stop executive director ceo govind shrikhandefuture group one of the largest players in home retail with multiple stores like home town collectioni and furniture bazaar has been reporting a negative same store growth in this segment since the slowdown hit india the group reported a 10 drop in same store sales till march slumping further to 28 in april and may and 34 in june group officials feel the fall in same store sales has bottomed out last month