Zudio’s international foray is eagerly watched by many market watchers as the brand has been sort of India’s answer to a lot of global fast fashion retailers
New Delhi: Trent Ltd. is planning to roll out about a dozen Zudio stores in the Middle East in the next year, taking India’s poster boy of fashion to the Indian diaspora and beyond, two people familiar with the development said.
“They are planning 10-12 stores in the Middle East in a year,” said one of the persons with direct knowledge of the matter. “Most of the stores will be in the UAE, followed by some other countries in the region.”
On Monday, Zudio set foot on an international location by opening its first global store in Dubai’s Silicon Central Mall, a prominent shopping centre that is owned by Lulu Group. The 11,000 sq ft store was inaugurated by Noel Tata, MD of Tata International and Vice Chairman of Trent and Trent’s chief executive officer P Venkatesaulu was also present at the launch event.
“Lulu Group operates more than a dozen malls in the Middle East and Zudio is in talks with them to open stores in some of Lulu’s malls in cities like Abu Dhabi, Sharjah and other UAE cities,” the second person said, asking not to be identified.
Trent did not respond to the IndiaRetailing email – that was sent on Monday – seeking comment.
Zudio’s international foray is eagerly watched by many market watchers as to how the brand will fare in an international market. Back home the brand has been sort of India’s answer to a lot of global fast fashion retailers. Zudio – which sells about 90 T-shirts every minute and 20 pairs of jeans every hour – has been a thumping success in its home market and the brand is now seeking to replicate its Indian accomplishments in the Middle East, one of the strongest bastions of the Indian diaspora.
Zudio was born as a private label in Tata’s supermarket chain Star Bazaar. Subsequently, a robust response from consumers encouraged Trent to open some standalone Zudio-branded stores. What started as a private label in Star Bazaar about a decade ago has gone on to become a Rs 7,000 crore plus annual business, becoming one of the biggest value fashion and lifestyle sensations out of India. In the fiscal year 2024, Zudio opened more than 200 stores, generally in the range of about 10,000 sq. ft., with Trent shelling out on average about Rs 3-4 crore per outlet. Currently, Trent operates more than 550 standalone Zudio outlets dotted across more than 160 cities nationwide.
Zudio’s sales stand out also for the fact that the entire business is generated through its brick-and-mortar store network as the brand does not hawk its apparel and other fashion accessories through online channels.
“It is just more complexity… That is the way we think about it. And it is a matter of choice and not like we do not think online is interesting,” chief executive Venkatesaulu had told IndiaRetailing in a May interview.
