Shoppers Stop, a department store, reported a quarterly profit after a loss a year ago on Wednesday.
The company benefited from strong demand for beauty products and higher margin private-label clothing, as high-income shoppers splurged on clothes and accessories during the wedding season between January and March, returning to their pre-pandemic lifestyles. Cooling inflation and softening raw-material costs also contributed to the profit.
For the quarter ended 31 March, the company reported a consolidated net profit of Rs 142.6 million, compared to a loss of Rs 158.5 million a year ago. Average selling prices rose by 9 per cent, and revenue stood at Rs 9.24 billion, an increase of nearly 30 per cent from a year ago.
Venu Nair, MD and CEO at Shoppers Stop, expressed his satisfaction with the results, stating, “I am pleased to share that we have continued to deliver robust sales growth this quarter, which is broad based with a healthy balance of price, volume, and mix. This is the highest sales and sales growth with all KPI’s consistently improving over a period of time.”
He added, “All our Strategic Pillars have delivered this quarter, and we continue our sharp focus on robust growth on each one of them.”
Regarding its customers, the company had over 36 million visits across its offline and online channels in this quarter, with an elevated shopping experience. The Average Transaction Value (ATV) and Average Selling Price (ASP) grew by 6 per cent and 9 per cent, respectively.
The company’s private brand sales increased by 35 per cent, and volume grew by 28 per cent and the beauty segment grew by 29 per cent.
For the full year, the company’s private brands and beauty segments grew by 70 per cent and 54 per cent, respectively. It began distributing premium beauty brands from the last quarter, adding 15 brands with exclusive distribution rights and boarding over 10 retailers during the year.
Offline expansion is one of the company’s key strategies. It opened 11 department stores and 12 beauty stores during this fiscal year. For the quarter, it opened 2 departments and 1 beauty store.
In addition, to enhance the customer experience, the company renovated 11 department stores and 5 beauty stores. With this renovation, more than 60 per cent of its stores will have a new, refreshed appearance.
