Tata Trent plans accelerated store expansion once stores resume business

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Jul 10, 2020

Tata Group’s retail business Trent Limited plans to pursue accelerated brick-and-mortar expansion, after its current stores are back to operating fully, following lockdown and remains positive about growth in India. 

 
Confident that India continues to be a strong global retail market, Trent announced in its annual report that it plans to continue to expand in the country at a swift pace after the dust has settled from the nationwide lockdown. The business also plans to refurbish some of its existing stores in India, the Press Trust of India reported.

“We will continue to pursue our store expansion agenda once we have our existing portfolio back in business,” wrote Trent Limited in its 2019- 2020 annual report, accessed by the Press Trust of India.

“Given both internal as well as external challenges, we did not meet our aspiration for store additions in FY20.

"We are committed to resolving the challenges and pursuing accelerated expansion in the future,” wrote Trent. “We also continue to monitor the existing stores and refresh the portfolio through multiple initiatives including absorption/refurbishment of brand diluting stores.”
 
The business also remained positive about its potential for growth in the post-lockdown market, citing its sanitary shopping environment and pricing as reasons why shoppers will continue their patronage of Trent stores. Tata’s Trent runs retail operations in India for fashion brands including Zara and Landmark among others.
 
The business aims to focus on customer experience, its online presence, and differentiated brands moving forward, it said.

“We are very positive on the underlying case for sustained growth of branded retailing in India over the coming years,” wrote Trent. “The intent going forward is to continue scaling up our presence.”