Shoppers Stop Q1 profit slides 54.26 per cent

Shoppers Stop has reported first-quarter profit decrease by 54.26 per cent from a

year ago because of increasing costs and slowing sales. Net profit, excluding those of its units, fell to Rs 75 lakh in the three months ended 30 June down from Rs 1.64 crore in the year earlier.

Revenue for the K Raheja-owned company, which operates large-format department and speciality stores such as Crossword, Mothercare, M.A.C., and hypermarkets under the HyperCity brand, increased 13.6 per cent to Rs 675.5 crores from Rs 594.8 crores a year-ago.

In the June quarter, Shoppers Stop added two department stores to its network of 69 stores across 32 cities in India. The retailer opened five Crossword stores in Mangalore and Kolkata and Siliguri, three M.A.C stores in Bengaluru and Pune, one Bobbi Brown store in Gurgaon and two Clinique stores in Noida and Kolkata.

Shoppers Stop is stepping up its retail presence by adding eight more stores this fiscal year and six to eight more in FY16. India’s oldest retail chain had reported a 46.60 per cent decline in its standalone net profit at Rs 8.1 crore for the fourth quarter ended March 31, 2014, due to higher expenses.