Croma turns operating-profitable in FY26, plans 40–45 new stores
Tata-owned Infiniti Retail reported FY26 operating profit of ₹159 crore versus a ₹235 crore loss a year earlier. Croma narrowed its net loss, closed 35 unviable outlets and plans 40–45 additions across Croma and Edge by Croma formats this fiscal.
What happened
Tata-owned Croma operator Infiniti Retail turned operationally profitable in FY26, narrowed losses and closed 35 unviable stores. It plans 40-45 new outlets
Key facts
- FY26 operating profit: ₹159 crore, versus ₹235 crore operating loss in FY25
- FY26 net loss: ₹614 crore, versus ₹1,091 crore in FY25
- FY26 total income: ₹21,784 crore, up 13%
- 35 unviable stores closed in FY26
- About 560 stores currently
- 40-45 stores planned this fiscal, split roughly equally between large-format Croma and Edge by Croma
- Smartphone volumes fell more than 10% year-to-date as prices rose 30-40%
Why this matters
Croma’s profitability-led network reset and planned 40–45-store rollout make it a more credible expansion partner and a tougher competitive benchmark in India’s consumer-electronics retail market.
What to watch
- Like-for-like sales growth and sales per square foot after the 35 store closures.
- Operating margin progression and whether net losses continue narrowing after expansion-related depreciation, lease costs and interest.
- Mix of high-margin categories such as accessories, services, extended warranties, appliances and private labels.
- New-store payback periods, closure rates and the proportion of planned additions in Edge by Croma versus full-size Croma stores.
- Inventory days, markdown intensity and vendor-funded promotional income during major festive and product-launch periods.
- Competitive pricing actions and store expansion by Reliance Digital, Vijay Sales, Amazon and Flipkart.
- Consumer demand for smartphones, televisions, appliances and discretionary big-ticket electronics, especially during the festive season.
- Prioritize smaller Edge by Croma and franchise/light-capex formats in tier-2 and tier-3 markets where organized electronics penetration is lower.
- Use FY26 profitability to negotiate better vendor funding, exclusive launches, credit terms and co-funded promotions from handset, appliance and accessory brands.
- Increase private-label accessories, warranties, installation, repair and financing attachment rates to reduce dependence on low-margin hardware sales.
- Rationalize the remaining store base using outlet-level contribution metrics, while integrating closed-store demand into nearby stores and online fulfillment.
- Invest in omnichannel inventory visibility and rapid delivery to defend against marketplaces without matching every online discount.