Trent’s still a buy for Nuvama; government push needed to boost urban demand: Abneesh Roy
Abneesh Roy, ED, Nuvama, says some benefit to boost the lower end of consumption is expected in the Union Budget. Rural consumption is doing quite well after all the stimulus programmes. So, on urban demand, the government needs to do something.
Some brokerages have downgraded retail plays and even Trent to sell and there is mixed opinion out there. What would be the future of retail plays like Trent at Nuvama, which have already seen a fabulous run up? The valuations are still expensive after the current correction as well?
Abneesh Roy: We are positive on Trent. We continue to have a buy and one of our top picks in the apparel space. In the near and medium term, Trent will remain in the top tier in the peer set in terms of growth. We do see a huge headroom for expansion in Zudio, in Westside, even in terms of the emerging categories like BPC, innerwear, footwear, that was around 20% of the business, and that is also growing.
Even StarBazaar is doing quite well. So, we remain positive. We have a buy and it is among our top picks. In the near term, of course, marriage season should definitely help. We did see, for example, Shoppers Stop also report a decent set of numbers. So, we are not negative. We are, in fact, quite positive on that name.
What is your take on staples? It is expected that in the coming Budget, a lot of hopes would be built in and that might give some boost or some leg up when it comes to the consumption basket. What are your thoughts on that because the Q3 updates have been a mixed bag. While
