Star Bazaar is the shining Star for TRENT during FY 20-21

TRENT Ltd., the listed arm of Tata Sons operates half a dozen concept such as 174 Westside stores in 90 cities, 133 Audio Stores in 57 cities, 60 Star stores in 7 cities, 21 ZARA fashion stores in 11 cities, 9 Booker / Value Mandi in 3 cities and a dozen stores of Landmark, Massimo Duti and Utsa put together. While the company reported a turnover of Rs. 2,592.96 Cr for FY 20-21, against Rs 3,485.98. for FY 19-20, the turnover for Star – the Grocery and FMCG business shrunk by just 2.3% from 1,235 Cr in the last fiscal to Rs. 1,206 in the previous fiscal.

Star stores, a 50:50 JV with UK’s Tesco operates in 3 formats, namely Star Market, star Hyper and Booker Value format & wholesale stores. The consolidated losses for this vertical fell from Rs. 166 Cr. in FY 19-20 to Rs. 97 Cr in FY 20-21 in the back of sharp pricing, moderation of marketing and other operating expenses. The company works closely with over 800 farmers across India and sources most of its needs for Fruits and Vegetables directly, thereby ensuring quality standards as well as high margins.

Private label other than in Staples, apparel and Fresh products comprised 9.5% amongst participating categories. Across 450 SKUs among Private Labels, these brands ranks 1 or 2 among national and international brands, thanks to their impactful pricing coupled with large displays and visual merchandising.

The company added 7 lakh new customer in the flagship “WestStyle Club”, the loyalty platform which includes formats such as Westside and Utsa which contributed 80% to the retail chains’ turnover during the last fiscal. Average bill value grew to Rs. 2,574 by 9% over last year while the number of items per bill increased 13% over the last year.

While Westside stores – the mass family stores are spread over 18,000 sft, Zudio is focussed more on discerning and aspirational customers with sharp price points and are spread over 6,000 – 7,000 sft, thereby increasing operational efficiency as well as an increased reach due to a lower Capex of Rs. 3 Crores compared with double for Westside stores. Zudio’s revenues for the FY 20-21 reduced by over 40% to Rs. 480 Cr. (from Rs. 507 Cr), Westside sales shrunk

The Annual Report for the company can be accessed here.