05 December 2022, Mumbai
Shoppers Stop plans to open a value format. The aim is to attract consumers to opt for lower-priced brands. The store size would be between 7000 sqft to 8000 sqft and the first of these stores would open in the next three months.
Shoppers Stop is foraying into the mass-priced segment after three decades of selling premium apparel and lifestyle merchandise.
India’s consumption structure has been skewed in the past over a narrow base of richer consumers accounting for a large chunk of the overall market. However, as the economy is broadening across many more cities and the impact is reaching further down the income ladder, the opportunity for value formats and value brands is expanding.
The value format segment is growing and during Covid consumption increased in Tier II cities. These cities also have grade-A malls now, offering retailers quality space.
Shoppers Stop’s competitors have demonstrated mixed success in the mass segment, and servicing this segment needs merchandising agility to respond to varying customer preferences across markets as well as the financial ability to sustain and scale. In the diversity of India’s market, scale alone isn’t enough to guarantee success.
Shoppers Stop may open the first few of its value-format stores in Tier II cities before taking them to metro cities.