"Retail sector update Report"
Pantaloon Retail's revenues grew 24% in Jan; SSS back in the positive
Pantaloon Retail's (PRIL) monthly sales showed some signs of improvement with a 24% growth Y-o-Y against 14.6% in December and 4% in November. Value retail (VR) at INR 4.5 bn comprised 65.6% of total revenues and grew 21%, while lifestyle retail (LR) at INR 1.7 bn grew 22% and accounted for 24% of revenues. Same store sales (SSS) growth improved in the month with VR growing at 4% and LR at 12% after a decline of 4% and 14%, respectively, in December. However, Home retail (HR) stayed negative at 4%. The high SSS in LR is a surprise and in our opinion a result of promotional offers.
PRIL expands further with addition of 0.2 mn sq ft
The company added four Big Bazaars (including Food Bazaars), five KB Fair shops and two E-Zones in January, totaling to 0.2 mn sq ft. At a standalone level, 0.19 mn sq ft space was added this month as against 0.3 mn sq ft in the past three months. The total addition of space till date stands at 1.5 mn sq ft at the consolidated level and 1.2 mn sq ft at the standalone level. This is in line with our expectation of 1.9mn sq ft of addition for the full year).
Funding constraints persist; liquidity management key to survival
All the organised retailers are currently hit by liquidity constraints with equity capital drying up and their debt funding getting difficult to service. We believe in the next twelve to eighteen months retailers who are able to manage their balance sheets most efficiently and ensure sufficient liquidity in the business are best placed to tide over the current consumption slowdown.
With retailers like Subhiksha and Vishal Retail facing cash shortages, we expect expansion to take a back seat, and profitability and capital conservation (through inventory management and downsizing of unprofitable stores) to gain prominence. We expect value retailers with presence across consumption categories (like PRIL) to fare better in such conditions.
Key developments in the sector
n Subhiksha battling for survival; INR 3 bn needed to avoid collapse
n Carrefour talking with Future Group for India entry
n Trent to promote Inditex's Zara stores in India
n Shoppers Stop and Home Retail Group, UK, to wind up their catalogue retail operations under the Hypercity-Argos brand
n Cafe Coffee Day to manage Shoppers Stop's BRIO, Desi Café; MoU signed
n Birla Retail to shut unviable stores even as it continues to expand; recently ~50 unviable stores shut
n FMCG firms cut credit exposure to modern-day retailers
n Book and gift retailers beat slowdown; witness lower dip in revenues than food and grocery retailers.
(The above highlights are based on news articles in leading dailies)
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