India's Shoppers Stop posts 60% revenue jump, plans for big festive period

Shoppers Stop

20/10/2022 06:43

BENGALURU, Oct 19 (Reuters) - Shoppers Stop  SHOP.NS 
reported a 60% jump in its second-quarter revenue on rebounding
demand for clothes and shoes even as its move to spend heavily
on fresh stock ahead of the festive season pressured profit.
    The Indian department store operator's shares, which more
than doubled this year, fell nearly 5% to 765 rupees at 0423 GMT
on Thursday.
    "The stock is not cheap anymore as, in the past three to six
months, it has significantly outperformed the market. So there
could be some profit booking," Gaurav Dua, head of capital
market strategy at Sharekhan, said.
    A jump in customer visits and an increase in customer
spending drove Shoppers Stop's second-quarter revenue of 10.08
billion Indian rupees ($121.35 million). 
    The country's affluent urban population has had to refresh
its wardrobe as it ventures out to social events and offices
more.
    Sales at Indian retail businesses climbed 21% above
pre-pandemic levels last month, with Hindu festival Durga Puja
setting a positive tone for the festive season, trade body
Retailers Association of India said.
    Indian retailers bring in a bulk of their sales during the
Hindu festival period from late September to early November, as
people typically splurge on clothes and gifts during Deepavali
season.
    "Customer sentiments remain upbeat," Chief Executive Venu
Nair said on Wednesday.
    To cash in on what is expected to be a busy festive season,
Shoppers Stop doubled its purchase of inventory during the
second quarter, with total expenses climbing 40%.
    Shoppers Stop's net income was 181.4 million rupees,
compared with a loss of 30.3 million rupees a year earlier, even
though the profit came in below the average estimate of four
analysts polled by Refinitiv.
($1 = 83.0670 Indian rupees)
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Shoppers Stop braces for big festive shopping season    https://tmsnrt.rs/3TmlDKn
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 (Reporting by Praveen Paramasivam and Rama Venkat in Bengaluru;
Editing by Janane Venkatraman)
 ((Praveen.Paramasivam@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/PraveenR_P
 ; +91 867-525-3569;))