Shoppers Stop: Same-store sales at 9%

The large format store Shoppers Stop’s feels same-store

sales in the current fiscal year will grow between 8 to 9 per cent. Last year, the retail chain owned by the K Raheja Group, registered same-store sales growth of 17 per cent. Same-store sales is a statistic used in retail industry analysis. It compares sales of stores that have been open for a year or more. This statistic allows investors to determine what portion of new sales has come from sales growth and what portion from the opening of new stores. This analysis is important because, although new stores are good, a saturation point -- where future sales growth is determined by same store sales growth -- eventually occurs.

Shoppers Stop plans to open eight to nine stores at an investment of Rs 75 to Rs 80 crores and expects to open three to four Hypercity stores at an investment of Rs 25 crores in the current fiscal. It is also looking at raising prices of private labels by 10 to 12 per cent from July 1 due to pressure from rising raw material costs.