Indian retailer Shoppers Stop's revenue surges 5% in FY24

Despite a slight decline in gross margin from 41.8 per cent to 40.8 per cent, the EBITDA for FY24 stood at ₹7.69 billion compared to ₹7.55 billion in the previous year, reflecting a growth of 2 per cent. However, profit before tax (PBT) and profit after tax (PAT) witnessed significant declines, with PBT down by 38 per cent to ₹1 billion and PAT falling by 39 per cent to ₹730 million, the company said in a press release.

Quarterly performance also showed positive trends in sales with Q4 FY24 recording ₹10 billion, up 9 per cent from ₹9.16 billion in Q4 FY23. The company's quarterly gross margin saw a reduction, moving from 43.2 per cent in Q4 FY23 to 40.5 per cent in Q4 FY24. EBITDA for the quarter increased by 11 per cent year-on-year (YoY) to ₹1.99 billion, while PBT grew by 34 per cent to ₹280 million, and PAT rose by 24 per cent to ₹210 million.

The First Citizen loyalty programme continued to be a cornerstone of Shoppers Stop's strategy, contributing 78 per cent to the sales, with 65 per cent from repeat and 13 per cent from new members. The premium Black Card accounted for 12 per cent of the sales. During the quarter, the programme saw an addition of 180,000 members, bringing the total to 9.9 million.

Despite facing challenges in the Private Brands segment, particularly in the Women's Western and Men’s categories, the segment managed sales of ₹1.45 billion.

The company successfully reduced its inventory by ₹560 million, indicating a 25 per cent reduction YoY. The company was also aggressive in its store expansion strategy, opening 22 new stores across different formats. Shoppers Stop has made capital expenditures of ₹840 million in the quarter and ₹2.46 billion throughout FY24.

“Shopper Stop delivered consistent performance despite continued softness in demand. We remain focused on driving operational excellence and our long-term goal is to increase the overall margins. I am happy to say that we have made concerted efforts to further improve and sustain our excellence in customer journey, which is evident with our loyal customers contributing 78 per cent of our total sales,” said Kavindra Mishra, managing director and CEO, Shoppers Stop.

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (DP)