Trent plans to increase Westside's store openings to as many as 100 a year.
The retailer is looking to expand into new markets while strengthening its presence in major cities.
The company is also investing in AI, faster product launches and e-commerce to support the brand's next growth phase.
Trent Bets on Westside; Plans to Open Up to 100 Stores Annually
The Tata Group retailer plans to significantly accelerate Westside's expansion as it looks to strengthen growth beyond its value fashion chain Zudio
Summary
Advertisement
Tata Group's Trent is preparing for an aggressive expansion of its premium fashion chain Westside, with plans to open as many as 100 stores every year, according to a Bloomberg report.
The move would mark a sharp increase from the current pace of around 10 to 15 new stores annually and is expected to support the retailer's next phase of growth.
Westside ended the last financial year with about 300 stores across India. The brand sells apparel, footwear, beauty products, home décor and accessories, including lab-grown diamonds.
According to Bloomberg, Parti acknowledged that increasing annual store openings from around 10–15 to as many as 100 is a significant leap, but said the company believes it is now prepared to execute that expansion.
Focus Shifts to Westside
The expansion comes at a time when Trent is looking for new growth drivers beyond Zudio, its value-fashion chain.
According to the report, Zudio has been facing slower revenue growth amid cautious consumer spending, intense competition from retailers such as Reliance Industries and the Aditya Birla Group, and limited availability of retail space.
Advertisement
That has increased investor focus on Westside, which analysts see as Trent's next major growth opportunity after improvements in store formats and product offerings.
Parti said the retailer plans to expand into India's northeastern states while also strengthening its presence in cities such as Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad.
AI and Online Expansion
Earlier this year, Trent's board approved raising ₹2,500 crore, with a large part of the proceeds expected to support expansion of its retail network.
Some of the investment will also be directed towards Westside's online business and international operations. The company aims to increase e-commerce's contribution to Westside's revenue to 10%, up from around 6% in the quarter ended March.
The retailer is also expanding the use of artificial intelligence across product design, supply chain management and warehouse operations.
According to Parti, AI tools have significantly improved the productivity of Westside's design team, increasing weekly design output from about 50 to 400-500 designs.
Advertisement
The company is also working to reduce production lead times for trend-led products to around 30 days, allowing it to respond more quickly to changing consumer preferences.
Parti said the retailer has significantly improved the speed of its design and production processes in recent years, but added that further improvements will be needed to support the company's next phase of growth.