04 March 2023, Mumbai
Shoppers Stop Ltd, the Indian apparel-and-beauty chain, has seen a turnaround in its fortunes. The company already had a new strategy in place in sharpening the focus and ensuring execution. Since then, the company's shares have surged almost 4X in value, outperforming its competitors.
Pivotal to this growth is the experience of visiting the company’s store. The company has been able to attract customers by renovating its outlets every five-six years, instead of its norm of once in nine-10 years, as well as accelerating store expansion. With three-quarters of Shoppers Stop’s revenue coming from the 8.7 million members of its loyalty programme, it cannot have stores looking the worse for wear.
Shoppers Stop's same-store sales also grew 16 per cent in the last quarter of 2022 compared to the same period in 2021, and the company expects to grow year-on-year in the mid-to-high single digits.
Shoppers Stop has added 10 stores since April 2022, with plans to open two more this month, taking the total to around 100. While the company needs to find new catchments to continue its growth, the expansion shows a commitment to that goal.
Analysts have noted that Shoppers Stop has always required strategic interventions, but under its CEO Venu Nair's leadership, it has helped to turn the company around. With the company hitting an all-time high in October 2022, investors are pleased with the new direction.
