Trent Ltd., a part of the Tata Group and one of the earliest entrants into organised retail, is not too perturbed about the Walmart-Flipkart deal, according to a top official. “We will concentrate on what we can do well,” said Philip N. Auld, managing director after the inauguration of the company’s flagship store here.
Trent had chalked out aggressive expansion plans under which it would open 30 more stores by March 2019. The company was betting big on India’s growth rate and its demographics.
‘Room for everyone’
“India’s GDP growth rate, its super young population, their global orientation, their income levels all create great potential for retail,” he said.
Asked how Trent would respond to the Walmart-Flipkart deal, he said : “There is room for everybody. The market is growing, we offer great fashion at great price, we offer value.. but we are not being complacent.. in mid-term, there is room for online and offline,” he said.
The Tatas also have online retail presence through Tata Cliq. Trent’s most well-known formats are Westside, Star Bazaar and Landmark. Westside, the mainstay of Trent’s retail business, offers in-house branded fashion apparel, cosmetics, handbags, household furniture and gifts. There are 125 stores, including some in tier II cities. Barring cosmetics, its labels are in-house, Mr. Auld said.
Star Bazaar stores — all in western India — sell mostly groceries while Landmark sells books, fashion stationery, sports merchandise and technology accessories. “Landmark has almost broken even at the store level and is giving good sales,” Mr. Auld said, adding though its sales were good, it comprised only a small proportion of Trent’s overall business.
Trent closed 2017-18 with revenues of ₹2,157 crore against ₹1,833 crore in 2016-17. Profits were ₹87 crore in 2017-18 against ₹85 crore in 2016-17. Pointing out that the company was not giving up on Landmark (earlier only a book and music store), Mr. Auld said : “We are trying to continuously evolve the format.” There are seven stores.
Double-digit growth
Trent’s future growth drivers would be Westside, Star Bazaar and Zudio — its ‘fashion at value’ business. The company sees double-digit growth from all these segments “It is a different kind of store and it runs well .. we are trying to offer breathtaking value,” he quipped.
In a joint report, Abneesh Roy and Alok Shah of Edelweiss Securities said that Trent posted robust fourth quarter numbers with 16.4% jump in revenues and 78% rise in year-on-year profits on standalone basis.
“Trent has focused on a robust business model in each of its retail formats,” they said in the report.
In a separate report , it said rising disposable incomes, attractive demographics and urbanisation will drive the retail sector and omni channel presence was the key success mantra.
