On a consolidated basis, Shoppers Stop's net loss stood at Rs 24.10 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with net loss of Rs 127.22 crore in Q4 FY20.
Net sales fell 6.1% to Rs 680.46 crore in Q4 FY21 as against Rs 724.38 crore in Q4 FY20. Pre-tax loss stood at Rs 24.24 crore in Q4 FY21 as against pre-tax loss of Rs 151.80 crore in Q4 FY20.
The business rapidly recovered from the pandemic in Q4. The recovery in footfalls and sales had begun in Q3 vs preceding quarters and it continued in Q4. For the quarter, the firm had 90% of FY20 sales, the strongest recovery in the last 4 quarters. However, with the pandemic in India, taking a severe turn in the second half of March, the year has ended on a sombre note.
As per GAAP, EBITDA grew 40.1% to Rs 116.20 crore in Q4 FY21 compared with Rs 82.90 crore in Q4 FY20. Shoppers Stop reported positive EBITDA for the second consecutive quarter, driven by healthy recovery in demand in January - February months and various initiatives on costs optimization. The savings continues to stand at Rs 43 crore in Q4 FY21 and Rs 433 crore for the full year. The firm is maintaining sufficient cash reserves to deal with any exigencies in coming quarters and continues to remain debt free.
Venu Nair, the managing director (MD) and chief executive officer (CEO) of Shoppers Stop, commented: "Business recovery till Mid-March had been very encouraging. However, with surge in COVID-19 cases, we witnessed a drop-in footfall resulting into drop in revenue. Despite the COVID-19 impact, we had our strong performance in all our strategic pillars. Our Omni channel grew by 188% (3 times), Private Brands volume grew by 38%, Beauty outperforming with the start of make-up from mid-January."
"Specifically, on Omni Channel, our dream run continues. During the quarter, we did the first phase of the upgrade of the home page and continued to add new brands. We also improved our fulfilment parameters by changing the allocation logic which improved the Turnaround Time. We are investing heavily in this channel and have begun the second phase of the upgrade of our App, with a complete redesign of UI/UX, analytics and personalization."
"Our success in transforming and revamping Private Brands continue to yield results. During the quarter, we launched performance wear and athleisure brand, Altlife and Insense in the women's sleepwear category. We have significantly improved our fashion quotient relevant to latest trends, besides upgrading the quality of rnerchandize. We have simplified the price matrix. Our customers are recognising the improvements that have been made offering great fashion, & quality at affordable price points. This resulted in 38% volume growth, overall sales growth of 11.5% and increased share to the business by 250 bps."
"Our First Citizens contributed 72% of our revenue. We have added 1,06,000 loyalty members during the quarter and as of 31 March 2021. As ondate, we have 7.8 million trusted Loyal Members. In our premium Annual Membership Program "Black Card", enrolment grew by 172% this is a subscription service at Rs 4 ,500. We continue to engage with our loyal customers through our personal shoppers' program. During the quarter- personal shopper program contributed 14.7% (+80 bps). Our store expansion was deferred due to the COVID-19 impact in FY21. We commenced our store expansion, and plan to add 20+ stores across large and small formats in FY22," he added.
Shoppers Stop is the nation's leading premier retailer of fashion and beauty brands. Spread across 84 department stores in 44 cities, the company also operates premium home concept stores (11 stores), 127 specialty beauty stores and 23 Airport doors, occupying an area of 4.5 sq. ft.
Shares of Shoppers Stop fell 0.19% to Rs 208.60 on BSE. The scrip hovered in the range of Rs Rs 208.50 to Rs 212.70 so far.
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(This story has not been edited by Business Standard staff and is auto-generated from a syndicated feed.)
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