Shoppers Stop to add 12 stores this year, recruit more from LGBTQIA community
PremiumShoppers Stop is going to add 12 new stores in FY23.
Shoppers Stop has plans to launch 12 new stores in FY23, primarily in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and will continue to invest in store renovations. It plans to increase the share of new and refurbished stores to over 50 per cent in FY23, said the latest annual report of the company. The company will also continue to invest in its private labels, including celebrity endorsements.
Additionally, Shoppers Stop is actively seeking to include workers from varied backgrounds in order to build a more diverse and powerful workforce.
"Currently, around 1% of our team are persons with disabilities and the LGBTQIA community, and we are planning to increase this to 2% by the end of FY23," said Shoppers Stop non-executive chairman B S Nagesh.
Shoppers Stop is putting money into cutting-edge technology and supporting Jarvis, a data analytics project, to better understand consumer behaviour and preferences.
"Project Jarvis, a massive data lake and analytics project, will significantly improve our overall analytical capabilities, enabling us to get 'closer' to our customers through the use of a propensity model and better mining of behavioural data and preferences," the report said.
The result is more client acquisition and stickiness as a result of considerably more effective marketing and product suggestions.
"We are enhancing the supply chain function through an automatic inventory replenishment system that can trigger customer-centric product assortments to optimise sales," it said.
With 88 stores under its management, Shoppers Stop generated ₹3,111 crore in revenue for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2022, accounting for 86% of the company's total sales.
"We have planned the launch of 12 new stores in FY23, primarily in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, and will continue to invest in store renovations, which have a typical payback of about 3 years," it said.
Increased internet sales are strengthening its omni-channel strategy, while expanded coverage is boosting offline sales.
"Our omni-channel transformation has been very well-timed and our aim is to replicate the captivating in-store browsing experience with an array of categories and brands across all the channels," said Shoppers Stop MD & CEO Venu Nair while addressing its shareholders.
Additionally, the K N Raheja group company will keep investing in its private brands, which remain a key area of focus for the business.
"Kashish, Life and Fratini have grown to become power brands and we will continue investing to market them further, including celebrity endorsements," said Shoppers Stop.
Shoppers Stop's 16 private labels were responsible for 14% of revenue in FY22.
"In beauty, we are planning to introduce more products in the make-up, skincare and fragrance categories," said Shoppers Stop, adding: "The growth in private label sales will also see a boost with our expansion in tier-2 and tier-3 cities, which usually witnesses higher sales of private labels due to our strong value proposition."
It is the biggest offline seller of beauty products in India, according to Shoppers Stop.
"We are expanding our omni-channel presence with the launch of standalone SSBeauty stores and SSBeauty online in FY23, catering to a diverse customer base -- from teenagers to women in their late 40s.
(With PTI inputs)