India’s retail space rises with the launch of 64% more stores in March: India Retailing

India witnessed a rise in its retail space across Tier II and smaller cities in March 2024 with the launch of 64 per cent more stores during the month. Data from India Retailing Insights shows, new store openings remained constant during the month with 76 new stores being launched.

North India led with the opening of 26 new stores in March, showing an 8 per cent increase from the prior month. This was followed by West India with the opening of 23 new stores. However, new store openings in South India dropped by 40 per cent drop with only 16 new stores compared to February. In contrast, East India maintained steady growth with one to five new store launches each month.

The newly opened stores spanned across various cities including Surat, Bengaluru, Aurangabad, Thiruvananthapuram, Vadodara, Gwalior, Gandhinagar, Coimbatore, Ahmedabad, Kochi, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Pune, Chennai, Latur, Satara, Nagpur, Kolar, Patiala, Vanastalipuram, Puducherry, Indore, Lucknow, Malleshwaram, Noida, Maharajganj, Kozhikode, Jaipur, Amritsar, and Mohali.

Tier 1 cities such as Bengaluru, Chennai, Delhi, Kolkata, Mumbai, Ahmedabad, Pune, and Hyderabad witnessed 28 new store openings in March, while Tier II recorded the opening of 48 new stores, constituting 64 per cent of the total launches.

Most of these new store openings were led by key players including Malabar Gold & Diamonds which opened around 10 new stores across the country. The brand aims to reach a total of 350 stores. ABFRL's Tasva opened four new stores while fashion brands like Snitch, Lifestyle, Intune, Gap, Kalyan Jewellers, and Popeyes opened two new stores each.

On the international front, Indian companies expanded their footprint with over seven stores outside India. Tanishq opened a store in Chicago, Hamleys in Rome, and Louis Philippe and Van Heusen in Qatar. Additionally, several global brands entered the Indian market through e-commerce platforms.

Furthermore, Reliance acquired the business of LenCrafters India during the month while Reliance Retail' introduced UK online fashion retailer Asos in India.

In terms of fundraising, several D2C brands and retail players, including Bummer, abCoffee, Subko, The Ayurveda Experience, JustDeliveries, and SuperK, collectively raised over Rs 365 crore in March.