Company Profile
Established in 1998, Trent is one of the largest fashion retailers in India with its flagship format “Westside”. With more than 680 stores as on 30th June, 2023. These include a) fashion retailing through owned formats of Westside, Zudio, Utsa, Zara and Massimo Dutti through alliances/associations with Inditex Group, Spain (with 49% share of Trent), b) family entertainment store, Landmark, which is involved in retailing of toys, gadgets, stationery items and books, c) grocery retailing though Star Stores, via its 50% JV, Trent Hypermarket Private Limited, and d) Booker Wholesale, which operates cash-and-carry stores. It also has a JV with Tesco Plc UK – “Trent Hypermarket Ltd” which runs the hypermarket and supermarket chain under the “Star” banner.
Investment Arguments
Established branded apparel player with wide geographical presence and diversified product offerings
Trent operates more than 680 stores across over 250 cities in India as on 30th June 2023. It has a wide geographical presence in major states of India and offers diverse products across varied segments including apparel, footwear, accessories, groceries, beauty products, among others. Westside, Trent’s flagship format, has a strong brand connect with a loyal customer base, generating more than 55% of its revenues in FY23. Westside witnessed a healthy recovery in revenues FY23, led by pickup in discretionary spending, improving SSGs and retail footprint expansion. Also, Zudio registered a healthy growth in revenues in FY23, led by accelerated expansion of stores and high SSG.
Growth momentum set to sustain in the medium term
Continued traction in LFL (like for like) growth in Westside coupled with aggressive store expansion especially in Zudio drove a further pick-up in revenue growth trajectory for Trent in 4Q. Emerging categories like beauty and personal care, innerwear and footwear witnessed strong traction from customers, with the category now contributing >18% of standalone revenue. Growth momentum in online platform continues, as consumers seek convenience through digital access. The company is investing in resetting technology across the entire value chain to make it commensurate with the growing scale and the growth strategy. We expect growth momentum at Westside to sustain, with deep penetration through accelerated store openings, superior store economics, improved customer experience post modernization of the stores and limited competition in the fast-fashion category beyond metros and tier-1 cities. For Zudio, aggressive store addition plans in tier-2/3 cities offer significant growth opportunities in the value fashion market. Zara – a 49% Associate company, continued to grow at steady pace.
Under its grocery retail business the growth prospects are going well witnessing improved customer traction and growing throughput with a LFL-backed growth of 33% in 1Q. Additionally, the company opened 2 new stores during the quarter to reach a count of 65 stores with continued focus on exclusive brands.
Westside and Zudio to be key growth drivers for Trent’s growth trajectory
Westside and Zudio will continue to be the key drivers for Trent’s growth trajectory over the medium term. We believe strong growth is on account of – higher ASP, strong retail footprint expansion and volume growth. However, during the quarter Q1 FY24 the gross margins contracted by 480bps to 45% in Q1 FY24 due to the retained prices by the company despite facing raw material price inflation, which was putting margin pressure over company. Other key reasons to this are higher discounts and weak format mix in favour of Zudio.
Under emerging categories including beauty and personal care, innerwear and footwear witnessed traction from customers. Emerging categories contributes 18% of standalone revenues. With strong footprint expansion, healthy underlying consumer demand and right product assortment, we expect Westside and Zudio to deliver steady earnings growth going forward.
Increased focus on omni-channel expansion
Growth in online fashion retailing has resulted in a greater emphasis on integrated stores and online presence. The importance of the online marketplace has grown in the after effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. Previously, Westside sold its products exclusively on Tata Cliq, a Tata group marketplace initiative operated by Tata Unistore (Trent owns 10% while Tata Industries holds the remaining 90%). Tata Cliq has a central inventory position with the merchandise range synchronized with its in-store. offers. The company launched a separate e-commerce website westside.com with a better user interface and a wider portfolio which was not possible with Tata Cliq. It plans to leverage store networks and digital technology to drive operating efficiencies of the omni-channel. Trent aims for a 10% (vs. currently ~5%) contribution to sales in the next four-five years from the online portal.
Q1FY24 Financial Performance
The consolidated revenue for the quarter stood at Rs 2628 crores, an increase of 46% on YoY basis. The EBITDA for the quarter stood at Rs 367 crores, an increase of 26% YoY basis. EBITDA margin for the quarter stood at 14%, a decrease of 200 bps on YoY basis. PAT for the quarter stood at Rs 167 crores, increased by 45% on YoY basis.
Key Risks & Concerns
Stiff competition in the Indian retail industry - The Company faces stiff competition owing to the presence of numerous players in the unorganized segment along with competition from various organized players in the brick-and-mortar and online segments.
Revenue susceptible to macro-economic environment - The retail sector also remains susceptible to adverse macroeconomic environment for being discretionary in nature. Moreover, the company remains exposed to various risks associated with carrying high inventory on the books, as inherent in the retail business. The risks of the inventory getting obsolete, damaged, or out of fashion remain.
Outlook & valuation
The retail sector in India is emerging as one of the largest sectors in the economy and Trent Ltd is one of the leading retail apparel players in the market. Favorable factors like the increasing significance of private labels in the retail and e-commerce space along with attractive demographics are benefitting the demand dynamics of the company. Apart from the strong performance of its core business, the company’s emerging businesses which include beauty and personal care, innerwear, and footwear are also gaining traction in the market. We like Trent because of its best in class SSSG and balance sheet. Trent’s industry-leading revenue growth is majorly driven by: a) strong SSSG and productivity, b) strong footprint additions, and c) Zudio’s store expansion. We believe it continues to outperform its peers and offers a huge runway for growth.
At CMP of Rs.1887, the stock is trading at 84x FY25E (EPS- Rs.22.5) and therefore, we recommend to BUY the stock.