Retail industry to see low double-digit growth in FY23: Shoppers Stop’s Venu Nair

The retail industry is likely to witness low double-digit growth this fiscal, as footfalls into offline stores are back on track and are likely to get further momentum amid easing of pandemic-related restrictions, Shoppers Stop managing director and CEO Venu Nair said.

“Overall the footfalls have come back to the pre-COVID levels and are strong since the last 2 months and we expect it to continue. We are expecting the industry to witness lower double-digit growth or high single-digit growth this financial year,” Nair told PTI on the sidelines of Retail Leadership Summit. He further stated that the future of retail is omni channel, while online will continue to be important.

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“Hence, we expect the portfolio footfalls into stores as well as online shopping to continue to grow for the coming year,” he added. Talking about Shoppers Stop’s expansion, Nair said, the company is planning to open 15 department stores and 20 beauty stores in this financial year. “Store expansion is an important strategic pillar to drive our growth. And that’s something which we will continue to focus on. For the coming financial year we have a target of opening 15 department stores and 20 beauty stores in FY23,” he added.

In terms of partnerships, he said, the company always looks out for new brands, especially domestic ones. “We are partnering with a number of international and national brands. And also we have a number of new brands. And a number of the new brands were coming up. And if the fit is right, we will definitely have them in our stores and online.

“And I see that we are growing much faster online, compared to the offline because in the offline space, there is a restriction of physical space but online that restriction doesn’t exist. And, hence, we would onboard a number of brands online first, even if the physical space is not available,” Nair added.