Reliance Retail, DMart lead 2,182-store surge in FY26 as demand rebounds

India's top retailers opened 2,182 stores in FY26, a three-year high, with Reliance Retail, DMart, Trent, and V-Mart pushing aggressively into tier-2 and tier-3 towns across value, grocery, and fashion formats on the back of demand recovery and tax cuts.

— FiledThu, 14 May, 2026, 01:34 IST·First seen Thu, 14 May, 2026, 01:25 IST·Source ET Retail

What happened

India's top retailers added 2,182 stores in FY26, a three-year high, led by Reliance Retail, DMart, Trent, and V-Mart. Demand recovery, tax cuts, and organised

Key facts

  • 2,182 stores
  • FY26
  • 3-year high

Why this matters

Aggressive multi-format expansion by the top four chains compresses the window for regional acquisitions in tier-2/3 markets, so corp dev should accelerate targeting of sub-scale grocery and fashion players before footprints get locked in.