Shoppers Stop to add 12 new stores

Leading retailer Shoppers Stop Ltd. has plans to launch 12 new stores in FY ‘23,with focus mainly on Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities.The retailer also plans to continue investing in store renovations.

Currently, the company is operating 88 stores that contribute 86 per cent of its sales.

The revenue of the company, for the financial year ended 31 March 2022, was at Rs. 3,111 crore.

In the annual report, the company said it plans to increase the share of new and refurbished stores to over 50 per cent in FY ‘23. It will also continue to invest in its private labels, including celebrity endorsements.

“We have planned the launch of 12 new stores in FY ‘23, primarily in Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and will continue to invest in store renovations, which have a typical payback of about 3 years,” it said.

Addressing its shareholders, Venu Nair, MD & CEO of the company, said “Our omnichannel transformation has been very well-timed and our aim is to replicate the captivating in-store browsing experience with an array of categories and brands across all the channels.”

The report says that the Project Jarvis, a massive data lake and analytics project, will significantly improve the company’s overall analytical capabilities, enabling it to get ‘closer’ to customers through the use of a propensity model and better mining of behavioural data and preferences.

Shoppers Stop is investing in the new-age technology and is backing its data analytics Project Jarvis to maximise its understanding of customer behaviour and preferences.

The report also adds that the company is enhancing the supply chain function through an automatic inventory replenishment system that can trigger customer-centric product assortments to optimise sales.

The retailer will also continue to invest in its private labels which continue to be a strong focus area. Kashish, Life and Fratini have grown to become power brands and the company will continue investing to market them further, including celebrity endorsements.

Focusing on social responsibility, the company is planning to add persons with disabilities and LGBTQIA+ community in its team, and gradually double it to 2 per cent by the end of FY ‘23, which is currently around 1 per cent.