In the first quarter of the financial year 2025, D2C brands and retail players raised a total of over Rs 740 crore.
IndiaRetailing Insights: Retail store expansion in India in the first quarter (Q1) of the financial year (FY) 2024-2025 surged by 123% with over 478 new stores opening in different parts of the country as per the data compiled by IndiaRetailing Insights, a retail intelligence unit. This is in comparison to the new store additions in the fourth quarter (Q4) of FY 2023-2024, where the country saw the addition of over 215 new stores. There has been an average growth of over 80% quarter on quarter (Q-o-Q).
The newly-opened stores are in cities like Agra, Ahmedabad, Ajmer, Ashok Nagar, Ayodhya, Badaun, Banaswadi, Bareilly, Belgaum, Bengaluru, Bhubaneshwar, Bhiwandi, Bhopal, Calicut, Chandigarh, Chennai, Cochin, Cuddalore, Dehradun, Delhi, Faridabad, Gandhinagar, Gwalior, Gurugram, Guwahati, Haldwani, Hanumangarh, Haridwar, Hisar, Harlur, Howrah, Hyderabad, Indore, Jaipur, Jalandhar, Jammu and Kashmir, Jamshedpur, Jayanagar, Jehanabad, Juhu, Kanpur, Kangra, Karnal, Kashipur, Khan Market, Kharghar, Kolhapur, Kolkata, Kochi, Kottayam, Kurukshetra, Lucknow, Ludhiana, Manali, Mansoorupur, Meerut, Mohali, Mumbai, Muzzaffurpur, Mysore, Nagpur, Nallagandla, Navi Mumbai, New Delhi, Noida, Odisha, Palakkad, Palwal, Panvel, Patna, Pune, Raebareli, Raipur, Ranchi, Rishikesh, Rohtak, Rourkela, Saharanpur, Salem, Secunderabad, Srerampore, Srinagar, Surat, Siliguri, Thane, Thiruvananthapuram, Tiruppur, Trichy, Udaipur, Una, Udupi, Vadodara, Vellore, Vijayawada, Visakhapatnam, Vrindavan, and Vasai.
An in-depth analysis showed that tier 1 cities like Mumbai opened over 45 stores, Delhi – over 40 stores, Hyderabad – over 29 stores, Bengaluru – over 25 stores, Kolkata – over 24 stores, Chennai – over 17 stores, Pune – 16 stores and Ahmedabad – over 6 stores in the first quarter of the this fiscal.
Region-wise
North India had 202 store additions, whereas South India saw 128 stores open, and West and East witnessed 117 and 40 new stores, respectively.
Active brands in Q1 FY 25
Brands that opened new stores in Q1 FY 24-25 include Levi’s, Reid & Taylor, Croma, The New Shop, Purplle, Smartsters, and Wow! Momo with Wow Kulfi, Birkenstock Group, Snitch, Meena Bazaar, LoveChild, Rareism, Hong’s Kitchen, 82°E, Tira, Pret A Manger, Yousta, Sleepyhead, Acer, Intune, TOD’s, The Raymond Shop, Azorte, Hamleys, JadeBlue, Style Up, 7-Eleven, United Colors of Benetton, H&M, Mokobara, Zudio, WestSide, Star Bazaar, Starbucks, Tasva, Superdry, Popeyes, Jiffi, Skechers, Lifestyle, Chanel, Dior, Kisna Diamond, Megamart, Fenesta, Nippon Paint, Kazo, Solitario, Hermès International, The Body Shop, Naturals- Star Secret, Burger King, Armani Exchange, Apple, Manyavar, NewU, Sketchers, Dobaraa, Being Human, Baby Forest Ayurveda, Tim Hortons, Campus, Pantaloons, Samsonite, New Balance, The Souled Store, McDonald’s, Haldiram, Chinese Wok, Miniso, Abcoffee, Wow! China, Barista Diner, The Belgian Waffle Co., Lavie, Ilem, Chilli’s Grill and Bar, Decathlon, Trends Footwear, The London Burgers Co., Pizza Express, GIVA, BlueStone, Inc5, Third Wave Coffee, Avantra, Sabhyata, Arrow, Bikanerwala, V2 Retail, Mothercare, Helvetica, Bugatti, Turtle, Lenscrafters, House of Fett, Market99, Red Chief, Nestatia, Chicago Pizza, Cocoart & Cafe, TimeVallee, Hush Puppies, The Sleep Company, Dayal Opticals, California Burrito, House of Masaba, Curefit, Asics, Rollarappa, Casa Dona, Wendy’s, Beaute & Nutrie, Elementary, Jockey, Swiss Beauty, Peora, Tanishq, Taniera, Fastrack, Helios, Be U Natural Salon, The Kaisang Restaurant, Mr. Diy, Pigeon, New Me, Vedix, Go Pizza India, KFC, Biggies Burger, Geetanjali Saloon, Burgrill, DADU’S, Birla Opus Paints, Tupperware, Tunday Kababi, Rare Rabbit, Just Watches, Go Pizza India, Mr. DIY, Sundays, Le Marche, Baazar Kolkata, AB Coffee, Edrio, Mars Cosmetics, Frameskraft, Celio, Enamour, R&B, Nike, Jaypore, Madame, Homestrap, Samosa Singh, Typsy Beauty, Spykar, Baggit, Keventers, Platear Jewels, Tim Paris, Forever New, Big Hello, Dunkel Braun, EasyBuy, Baskin Robbins, Onitsuka Tiger, Banana Club, Lenskart, Mama Earth, Limelight, Silver Pearl, Cafe Delhi Heights, Cream Stone, Pizza Galleria, Sweet Dreams, Snackify, Meermankaa, Dosa Coffee, Twenty1 Food Court, D’Cot, Miniklub, Caratlane, Fossil, Chaayos, Van Heusen, Salt Attire, Citistyle, Homecentre, Klub Fox, Vijetha Supermarkets, Linen Club, W for Women, Aurelia, Wildcraft, Crazy Noodles, Ethnix by Raymond, H&M Home, Vendi by AVR Swarnamahal Jewelry Ltd., The Pant Project, The Loom, Samsonite, Punjab Bhatinda, Blackberry’s, Octave, Mr Blue, Ellementry, Nazeer Foods, Beaute&Nutrie, First Cry, Big Burger Co, The Fusion Pizza, The Obroma Foods, Fitfloop, Steve Madden, Sunglass Hut, Lee Cooper, John Players, Shoppers Stop, Ghoomar Restaurant, SoulTree, NY Cinema, Zoreko Original Gamers, Richa Ahluwalia, American Eagle, Rolls Singh, Woodenstreet Furniture, Looks Prive, Khadim India, IT Luggage, Timex World, Glutton Cafe, Vishal Mega Mart, Heads Up For Tails, Biryani Moshai, Asus, Dominos, Irvasa Fine Jewellery, Hira Sweets, Bewakoof, The Indian Mom Co, Bigguys, Dava India, Zoya, Reebok, Samoh by Trent Ltd., Babyhug, and Himalaya Optical.
IndiaRetailing’s analysis of the data revealed that key players fared well in Q1 of FY 25. This includes brands like 82°E, Pret A Manger,  Westside, Starbucks, Croma, Being Human, Campus, Ab Coffee, and Wow! Momo, Snitch and Mr DIY opened over four or more stores in the last quarter.
Key Developments
In April, there were several notable developments in the retail and technology sectors in India. French luxury brands Chanel and Dior entered Noida, while Bengaluru-based athleisure start-up Agilitas Sports announced plans to open 200 Lotto-branded standalone stores in India, aiming for around Rs 2,000-3,000 crore from the business.
Kozhikode-based Malabar Gold & Diamonds announced plans to open 100 new stores by 2025 and value retail chain V2 Retail announced the opening of 35-40 new stores with an investment of around Rs 90-100 crore.
Other significant developments include food-tech platform Ghost Kitchens acquiring Ahmedabad-based cloud kitchen firm Shy Tiger Brands, and PepsiCo India announcing a plan to invest Rs 1,266 crore to set up a flavour manufacturing facility in Ujjain. Personal care company Honasa Consumer Ltd., the holding company of Mamaearth, announced its latest venture called Staze, a colour cosmetics brand. Leading QSR chain Wow! Momo forayed into the frozen desserts segment with its new brand, Wow Kulfi.
On the shopping centre side, realty major DLF started constructing a new 26-27 lakh sq. ft. shopping mall in Gurugram with an investment of around Rs 2,200 crore. Additionally, DLF revealed building a Khan Market-style plaza in Gurugram, aiming to make it a major retail destination in the NCR region. Asia’s largest fashion brand, Uniqlo, announced its intention to double its store count in India over the next three years.
In the technology sector, Internet major Google proposed an investment in e-commerce giant Flipkart to buy a minority stake during the company’s fresh funding round.
Fund raises
In the first quarter of FY 25, D2C brands, retail players, logistic companies, and service providers raised a total of over Rs 740 crore. This includes companies like Datachamps, Nitro Commerce, Asaya, Go Zero, Wahter, Palette Brands, Sid’s Farm, Zyod, Zepto, Skye Air, Testsigma, Lenskart, Technosport, WHP Jewellers, Libas, Freshleaf, Betel Leaf, Icon, Fresh From Farm, Skippi,  Wow! Momo, Clickpost, Includ, MatchLog Solutions from investors like Windrose Capital, DSG Consumer Partners, Saama, V3 Ventures, angel investor Arjun Purkayastha, Dholakia Ventures, Inflection Point, Ventures, Dholakia, Alumni Ventures, Omnivore and Narotam Sekhsaria Family Office, Alteria Capital, Stride Ventures, Stride One, Trifecta Capital, Avenir, Lightspeed, Avra, Glade Brook, Nexus, StepStone, Goodwater, Lachy Groom and MassMutual Ventures, Z3Partners, Inflexor Ventures partners, Athera Venture Partners, Incubate Fund Asia, Escape Velocity, Abhishek Goyal (co-founder, Tracxn), IIM Indore Alumni Angel Fund, Motion Ventures, July Ventures, Venture Catalysts, Blue Ashva Capital, Capital A.
The Fashion and lifestyle segment accounted for the maximum fundraises with funds accounting for over Rs 500 crore followed by the food and beverages sector with over Rs 86 crore, tech service providers with Rs 15 crore and so on.
The analysis is based on the data compiled by IndiaRetailing reports, company information via press releases and social media and other information shared by retail experts and officials.
