Tata Group’s fashion retail business arm Trent, which manages Westside and Zudio retail chains is planning expanding into international markets by starting a flagship store in Dubai.
“Trent is considering the possibility of partnering with a global business for its international expansion but has not fixed anything yet, ET Bureau reported quoting sources.
Trent earlier deferred plans for global expansion in favour of consolidating domestic operations.
But now with a solid and profitable business model now firmly in place, the conservative retailer is looking to capitalise on opportunities abroad, particularly by targeting the sizable Indian diaspora.
In fiscal 2023-24, Trent’s net sales surged 50 percent year on year to reach Rs 12,375 crore, while net profit nearly quadrupled to Rs 1,477 crore, while Zudio has also passed the Rs 7,000 revenue mark.
The growth was attributed to strong like-for-like sales, aggressive expansion efforts within Zudio stores, and notable traction in emerging categories such as beauty and personal care, innerwear, and footwear.
Clothing retailer Westside launched 12 stores in the fourth quarter of fiscal 2023-24 and Zudio opened 86 new stores.
Both Westside and Zudio focus on only their own in-house brands, which also but only retail on Tata Group owned ecommerce platforms Tata Neu and Tata Cliq.
“Westside and Zudio are like two siblings playing in the fashion space,” Trent’s CEO P Venkatesalu told the Economic Times.
“They vary on product, design, fabric, etc, but are still relevant at different price points,” Venkatesalu added.
“Moreover, the learnings from Westside helped build a strong Zudio model and the backend integration of the two brands is helping both businesses deliver synergistic growth,” the Trent CEO stated.
