Trent stands tall even as growth momentum is fading
Subscribe to enjoy similar stories. When Trent Ltd announced results for the three months ended September, it marked the first time in many quarters that standalone revenue growth fell below 50% year-on-year. That trend has continued in the December quarter (Q3FY25), with revenue at ₹4,535 crore, representing a growth of almost 37%, down from 40% in Q2.
Moderating growth, along with steep valuations, weighed on investor sentiment, pushing the stock down by about 35% from its 52-week high of ₹8,345 apiece seen on 14 October. More recently, investors seem to be jittery about the impact of the launch of the Shein India app By Reliance Retail on 1 February. This marks the return of the online fast fashion retailer Shein to the country after about five years since its ban.
While the exact impact of this development on Trent will be clear over the coming quarters, this does increase competition in the sector. For now, notwithstanding the growth moderation, Trent’s sales performance is still quite robust amid the company’s store consolidation and the general weakness in consumer sentiments. “While the recent results trajectory has been weaker than the past, we expect Trent to continue to outperform its peers," wrote analysts from Kotak Institutional Equities in a report on 7 February.
Also Read: Behind Trent’s trend-defying performance Trent’s fashion concepts clocked high-single-digit like-for-like growth in Q3, softer than the double-digit growth seen in Q2. It operated with a footprint of over 11 million square feet across its fashion brands as on 31 December, which is up 33% over a year ago. Trent opened 12 Westside and 58 Zudio stores (including one in Dubai) on a net basis in Q3.
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