09 May 2022, Mumbai:

The pre-tax profit of Reliance Retail increased by 2.43 percent increase to Rs 3,705 crore during the fourth quarter ended March 2022.

Revenue from operations of the organized retail segment increased 23.09 percent to Rs 50,834 crore during the March quarter from Rs 41,296 crore in the year-ago period.

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Gross revenue surged 23.27 percent to Rs 58,017 crore during the period from Rs 47,064 crore in the corresponding quarter.

Its EBITDA grew 2.4 percent Y-o-Y during the quarter to Rs 3,705 crore. EBITDA before investment income reported a bigger growth of 16.3 percent Y-o-Y to Rs 3,584 crore due to the robust performance in Fashion & Lifestyle and Grocery consumption baskets.

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Reliance Retail also added more stores during the quarter besides investing in network and infrastructure expansion.

It opened 793 new stores besides adding 3.1 million sq ft of warehousing and fulfillment space during the quarter. It currently operates on 41.6 million sq ft space.

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30 April 2022, Mumbai:

Ikea India plans to increase local sourcing of products to make them more affordable and also help the company create more jobs and enhance skills.

The company plans to increase local sourcing through new partnerships to make a positive impact on the economy and society, says SussanePulverer, Chief Sustainability Officer, Ikea India.

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According to Pulverer, this will enable Ikea to lower prices for its customers and help it create more jobs, enhance skills and keep costs low while reducing environmental impact as well.

Pulverer said the hike in transport and raw material costs has also impacted IKEA like everyone else.

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Further, she added, IKEA India plans to make a complete conversion to electric vehicles (EV) for goods delivery by 2025.

This will enable the retailer to reduce carbon emissions.

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28 April 2022, Mumbai:

Departmental store chain Shoppers Stop plans to make a few acquisitions in the direct-to-consumer (D2C) segment, says Venu Nair, Managing Director, and CEO.

The store chain is also onboarding several D2C companies on its digital platform and on the soon-to-be-launched digital app under its beauty format SS Beauty adds Nair. The company will launch its SS Beauty app in August.

ALSO READ Shoppers Stop to open new department stores

Shoppers Stop also plans to launch a few more exclusive brands for its online platforms.

The departmental store’s footfalls have reached pre-COVID levels with the reopening of the economy, which has also been fuelled by events such as marriages and the opening-up of offices.

After a turbulent two years, the retail industry has finally recovered.

RELEVANT NEWS Shoppers Stop posts net profit in Q3 FY22

As per a recent report by *the Retailers' Association of India, sales in February 2022 grew by 6 percent from pre-pandemic sales levels and 10 percent compared to sales levels in the same month last year.

According to CRISIL, after the 40 percent decline last fiscal due to COVID-19, the revenue of brick-and-mortar apparel retailers will grow 20-25 percent on-year this fiscal, driven by a strong recovery in demand despite the third wave of the pandemic.

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CREDITS:  *The Retailers' Association of India & crisil report.

06 May 2022, Mumbai:

Maddy Evans is the new Director of M&S womenswear business with Jill Stanton stepping down from the position.

The retailer, whose operations reported strong recovery in recent months, is promoting Evans from within.

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She joined the brand in 2019 and has been instrumental in reshaping the womenswear business.

Evans was responsible for M&S x Ghost collaboration that made a big impact on the brand.

She also launched a new initiative like The Edit besides helping improve customer views of the firm’s offer in terms of value and style.

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As against the full spread of categories that Stanton was in charge of, Evans will be responsible solely for the brand’s womenswear business.

M&S kidswear business will now be managed by Wes Taylor, Director-Menswear while the Beauty Segment will be managed by Heidi Woodhouse, Director-Home.

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29 April 2022, Mumbai:

India’s retail sales is set to grow in low double digits this fiscal year as footfalls at offline stores surge with the easing of restrictions, says Venu Nair, Managing Director, and CEO, Shoppers Stop.

The future of retail in India will be omni-channel through online will continue to remain important, he adds.

ALSO READ Shoppers Stop to open new department stores

The retailer expects portfolio footfalls into stores as well as online shopping to continue growing in the coming year.

This year, Shoppers Stop plans to open 15 department stores and 20 beauty stores. And another 15 department stores and 20 beauty stores in FY23, notes Nair.

It plans to partner with a number of international and national brands for its expansion besides adding new brands to its online portfolio.

RELEVANT NEWS Shoppers Stop posts net profit in Q3 FY22

Shoppers Stop holds a multitude of leading international and national brands for apparel, fragrances, accessories, cosmetics, footwear, home décor, and furnishings in its portfolio.

The retailer aims to provide a memorable international shopping experience to customers. It is one of the largest chains of department stores across India.

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28 April 2022, Mumbai:

Future Lifestyle Fashions (FLF) has denied reports of selling a few fashion brands in its portfolio to raise Rs 1,000 crore.

The company has denied *a report published by the Economic Times on April 25, after Reliance Industries (RIL) called off its deal to buy assets of the Kishore Biyani-owned retailer.

The news report had claimed that the company had already finalised its deal to sell Cover Story to FLF for Rs 220 crore and will work with banks as well as existing investors to restructure loans.

ALSO READ Future Lifestyle Fashion revival plan starts after Reliance acquisition deal fizzles

However, FLF said, in the course of its business, the company explores and evaluates various possibilities.

At present, it does not plan to initiate any such action, which if otherwise, could have been announced by the company in terms of the SEBI Regulations, 2015.

RELEVANT NEWS Future of Future Group?

Owner of department store chain Central and discount store format Brand Factory, FLF has nearly a dozen apparel labels comprising Ancestry, Urbana, Cover Story, Indigo Nation, aLL, and Scullers in its portfolio.

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CREDITS: *ET report.

05 May 2022, Mumbai:

Rakesh Biyani, Managing Director, Future Retail has resigned from his position along with Virendra Samani, Company Secretary, and Compliance Officer, and Gagan Singh, independent Director.

Prior to this, Biyani was the joint Managing Director of Future Retail from 2005.

He is also on the board of multiple Future Group companies.

ALSO READ Future of Future Group?

Samani has worked with the company for over 14 years. Besides being the company secretary, he was also the Chief of Legal for Future Retail.

He has over 20 years of experience in legal, secretarial, and compliance areas coupled with international exposure and listing on the Singapore Stock Exchange. He was earlier associated with Damas Jewellery, JSW Group, Aditya Birla Group, and Lockheed Martin Corporation, USA.

With over 35 years of experience, Singh was reappointed as Independent Director for one year effective April 30, 2021. Besides Future Retail, she is also on the board of Timex Group and a consultant to Anuj Puri’s Anarock Property Services.

Sadashiv Nayak, the CEO, of Future Retail, has resigned from his position barely seven months after his appointment. He has been associated with the company for over 18 years ago.

RELEVANT NEWS Future group promoter plans to plot a comeback in retail space

Prior to being the CEO of Future Retail, he was the CEO of Big Bazaar.

Future Retail is facing insolvency cases from the Bank of India over unpaid dues. Its lenders recently disapproved of the possible asset sale to Reliance for over Rs 24,713 crore.

This deal was also opposed by Amazon which had invested in a sister concern of Future Retail in 2019. The companies are tied in multi-legal tussles.

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29 April 2022, Mumbai:

Tata Group firm Trent reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 34.60 crore during the financial year ended March 31, 2022.

Total income grew to Rs 4,673.23 crore during the financial year ended March 2022 as against Rs 2,794.56 crore in the previous year.

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In Q4 ended March 31, 2022, Trent registered a net consolidated loss of Rs 20.87 crore against a net consolidated profit of Rs 17.44 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal.

In Q4 FY22, the company's total income stood at Rs 1,372.97 crore as against Rs 972.99 crore in a similar quarter last year.

The company’s business was impacted by the third wave of the pandemic during the fourth quarter.

Operating profit declined during the quarter and the company saw lower full price participation in the January End Of Season Sale(EOSS) which materially impacted realized margins for the quarter.

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From March, realized margins have since recovered and are broadly consistent with the trends witnessed during Q3.

Established in 1998 as part of the Tata group, Trent operates Westside, a chain of fashion retail stores, Trent Hypermarket, which operates in the competitive food, grocery, and daily needs segment, Landmark Stores and Zudio.

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27 April 2022, Mumbai:

Reliance Retail’s largest and fastest-growing apparel and accessories store chain – Trends launched six new stores across Kerala.

The stores were launched at Kottiyam in Kollam; Nooranad in Alappuzha; Beypore in Kozhikode; and Kuttipuram, Ponnani, and Edavannapara in Malappuram district.

ALSO READ Reliance Retail, Trends: New Stores In Balugoan & Daspalla

The new Trends store offers an exciting range of good quality fashion merchandise for the region’s customers.

Its products are priced affordably and offer great value for money. The storehouses latest Women’s Wear, Men’s Wear, Kids' Wear, and fashion accessories collections at affordable rates.

The Trends store in Kottiyam spans 8.880 sq. ft while that in Nooranad spans 7,150 sq. ft.

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The Beypore store is spread over 5,538 sq. ft while the Kuttipuram store covers 7,180 sq. ft. The size of the Ponnani store is 6,500 sq. ft while that of the Edavannapara store is 6,840 sq. ft.

The stores have launched a special inaugural offer for customers. It is offering them a Rs 199 gift on purchases of Rs.3,499 and above.

Customers will also get coupons worth Rs 3,000 absolutely free on purchases of Rs.2.999.

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04 May 2022, Mumbai:

Future Group plans to sell some of its assets to repay part of the debt it owns as it faces bankruptcy proceedings on the failure of the Rs 25,000-crore Future-Reliance deal.

The group plans to sell the plus-size clothing store chain-All for around Rs 1,000 crore. It also plans to sell the Cover Story brand for Rs 250 crore.

ALSO READ Future of Future Group?

These proceeds will be used to partly pay FLL’s dues, which are pegged at around Rs 2,500 crore.

Of the roughly Rs 29,000 crore debt owed by the group, Rs 18,500 crore is owned by Future Retail while Future Enterprises owes Rs 5,500 crore.

RELEVANT NEWS Future group promoter plans to plot a comeback in retail space

Future Enterprises is a manufacturer and supplier of fashion garments to the group’s outlets under Future Lifestyle, which houses brands such as Central and Brand Factory.

The remaining companies, Future Consumer, which owns brands such as Foodpark, CareMate, and Desi Atta and the group’s logistics arm Future Supply Chain have a combined debt of around Rs 1,700 crore.

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29 April 2022, Mumbai:

The Indian retail industry is set to grow 10 percent and reach approximately $2 trillion by 2032, according to a BCG-RAI report.

In the first 10 years, the Indian retail industry will grow by approx.

$2 trillion as consumption recovers after a two-year COVID pause, says Abheek Singhi, Managing Director, BCC.

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In the next decade, organized retailers will focus on expanding their retail footprint across all formats including offline and online, he adds.

Growing at approximately 12 percent pre-pandemic, India’s retail consumption declined during the pandemic but has now recovered to surpass pre-pandemic growth levels at 17 percent.

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The E-commerce industry in India is expected to grow to $130 billion by 2026, as compared to $45 billion in 2021, as per the report.

An in-depth study of retail players, the report identifies challenges in the current environment and highlights emerging trends and models likely to shape the future of retail.

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27 April 2022, Mumbai:

Future Group has started the revival process for apparel firm Future Lifestyle Fashions (FLF) after Reliance stalled a deal to buy the retailer’s assets.

As a part of this revival process, FLF plans to raise Rs 1000 crore by selling a few fashion brands in its portfolio.

ALSO READ Future of Future Group?

The company has already finalized a deal to sell the fast-fashion brand Cover Story for Rs 200 crore and will work with banks and existing investors to restructure loans.

It plans to monetize assets to continue operating smoothly.

Reliance Industries (RIL) recently stalled a deal to purchase Future Group's assets following the rejection of secured lenders to the proposal.

RELEVANT NEWS Future Group starts revival process for 'Future Lifestyle Fashion'

Announced in 2020, the Rs 24,713-crore acquisition plan resulted in a protracted legal battle between Amazon and Future Group in Supreme Court as well as an arbitration tribunal in Singapore.

With the deal falling off, Shailesh Haribhakti, Chairperson and Independent Director, Future Lifestyle Fashions, resigned on April 22. 2022.

In a letter to FLFL, Haribhakti said, the volatile, complex and unpredictable legal and financial circumstances in the company were reasons behind his quitting the company.

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