Avenue Supermarts tanks 5% after update on Covid-19 lockdown impact

Shares of Avenue Supermarts, which runs the DMart chain of stores, were locked in the lower circuit band of 5 per cent at Rs 2,288 on the BSE on Monday after the company on Friday said nearly 50 per cent of its outlets were closed due to the lockdown and Covid-19 restrictions imposed by local authorities.

Till 10:22 am, a combined 145,000 shares changed hands on the NSE and BSE. There were pending sell orders for 170,000 shares on both the exchanges. In comparison, the S&P BSE Sensex was down 1.9 per cent at 30,572 points.

In the past ten trading days, the stock of Avenue Supermarts has outperformed the market by surging 33 per cent, as compared to a 17 per cent rise in the benchmark index till Thursday.

Footfalls at stores that were open were lower than usual, the company said, pointing to the impact that retail firms, both organised and unorganised, were feeling due to the lockdown

“The company has commenced e-commerce home delivery and bulk deliveries to large housing complexes across majority of stores during the first week of April. However the sales from these channels are inconsequential. E-commerce and bulk deliveries to societies are initiatives implemented to only manage the current lockdown situation,” Avenue Supermarts said in the business update.