India's Shoppers Stop posts Q3 profit rise on festive season demand for premium goods

Shoppers Stop

14/01/2025 13:59

Jan 14 (Reuters) - India's Shoppers Stop Ltd  SHOP.NS 
posted a rise in quarterly profit on Tuesday, after two straight
quarters of loss, driven by strong demand for premium products
such as watches and perfumes during the festive season.
    The department store chain said consolidated net profit rose
nearly 41% to 522.3 million rupees ($6.03 million) for the third
quarter ended Dec. 31 from 368.5 million rupees a year ago.
    The company also posted a profit fall in the first three
quarters of fiscal 2024.
    Spending on beauty and lifestyle products surged during
India's festive season between October and December, which
typically accounts for the bulk of retailers' annual sales.
    Premiumization is holding its ground amid sticky inflation
across various consumer segments, the company said in a
presentation to investors. 
    Shoppers Stop, which retails luxury brands such as Armani
Beauty and Michael Kors, reported an 11% rise in revenue from
operations to 13.79 billion rupees ($159.33 million).
    Premium categories contributed to 64% of overall revenue in
the third quarter, up 9% year-on-year, said the company, with
watches, handbags and fragrance categories outperforming. 
    Shares of the company closed about 2.5% higher ahead of
results. 
    Larger rivals Tata Group-owned Trent  TREN.NS , Arvind
Fashions  ARVF.NS , and Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail
 ADIA.NS  will report their results in February.

 (Reporting by Ashna Teresa Britto and Ananta Agarwal; Editing
by Janane Venkatraman)
 ((AshnaTeresa.Britto@thomsonreuters.com;))