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Thursday, 03 February 2011 |
Making huge profits during the festive season Shoppers Stop has reported a 45 per cent jump
in its quarterly profit. Third-quarter revenue for the K Raheja company, which operates large format department stores and specialty stores such as Crossword, Mothercare, and hypermarkets under HyperCity, increased 20 per cent to Rs 458.75 crores. The steady flow of footfalls during the festival season delivered a robust same-store sales growth of 22 per cent. Net profit climbed to Rs 27.8 crores in the three months that ended December 31 from Rs 19.21 crores in the year-ago quarter. Customer care associate and managing director, Shoppers Stop, Govind Shrikhande says the steady flow of footfalls across cities (during the festival season) has kept the counters buzzing and has delivered a robust same-store sales growth of 22 per cent. Same-store sales is a measure of growth based on sales in stores that have been open for at least a year. The company said on a standalone basis, a year-on-year comparison cannot be made as during the quarter it demerged Crossword into a wholly owned subsidiary called Crossword Bookstores.
Moreover its operating profit increased 13.16 per cent even as expenses increased by 20.7 per cent, mainly on account of reduced depreciation and amortization costs and interests. Consolidated net profit, which includes the yet-to-turn profitable hypermarket chain HyperCity, increased by 21.55 per cent and revenue went up by 65 per cent for the third quarter. Shoppers Stop increased its stake in HyperCity from 19 per cent to 51 per cent spending Rs 125 crores in the first quarter. In the third quarter, the retailer added one Shoppers Stop store, one MAC store, four Crossword outlets, and one HyperCity store. It added 108,000 new members to its First Citizen loyalty program and now has reached 1.9 million members. Contribution of these members to total sales was 73 per cent.
Shoppers Stop was founded in 1991, laying the foundation of the modern retail industry in India. It started operations with the first store in suburban Mumbai and is now a multi-channel retailer with 36 large format department stores and also an online presence. |
