Top Indian retailers raise ₹4,000 crore as store additions hit four-year high
More Retail, Trent and DMart are raising capital for expansion as the top 10 listed retailers added 2,182 net stores in 2025-26. Reliance Retail is also backing dark stores and smaller-town outlets, with more investments planned.
What happened
India’s major retailers are accelerating store additions and raising capital for expansion. Reliance Retail is funding dark stores and smaller-town outlets,
Key facts
- More Retail, Trent and Avenue Supermarts have raised or announced plans to raise over Rs 4,000 crore
- Reliance Retail non-current bank borrowings: Rs 22,521 crore in 2025-26 versus Rs 14,809 crore a year earlier
- Reliance Retail operates more than 700 dark stores
- Top 10 listed retailers added net 2,182 stores in 2025-26, up 25% from 1,745 in the preceding fiscal
- Retailers added 1,865 stores in 2023-24
- More Retail raised over Rs 500 crore in NCDs through two tranches
- Avenue Supermarts approved up to Rs 1,000 crore in NCDs
- Trent secured approval to raise up to Rs 2,500 crore
- Arvind Fashions plans to add 150,000 sq ft in 2026-27 versus 140,000 sq ft added last fiscal
Why this matters
Accelerating rollout by More Retail, Trent, DMart and Reliance heightens the value of acquiring regional capabilities, securing real-estate partnerships and building last-mile or smaller-town distribution advantages.
What to watch
- Quarterly net store additions and same-store sales growth for DMart, Trent, More Retail and other listed chains.
- Capital-raise terms, use-of-proceeds disclosures and pace of deployment versus announced plans.
- Rental escalation, mall occupancy and commercial real-estate supply in expansion markets.
- New dark-store launches, delivery-radius expansion and quick-commerce partnerships from Reliance Retail and competitors.
- EBITDA margin trends, store-level payback commentary and inventory turns as opening costs rise.
- Evidence of kirana displacement or wholesale price pressure in tier-2/3 markets.
- Consumer demand indicators for discretionary categories versus staples, especially if inflation or credit conditions weaken.
- Accelerate smaller-format and franchise-led openings in tier-2/3 cities and suburban clusters.
- Prioritize store clusters around regional distribution centres to lower replenishment and last-mile costs.
- Increase private-label assortment and local sourcing to protect gross margins as competition intensifies.
- Use new stores as pickup, returns and rapid-delivery nodes rather than relying solely on large-box economics.
- Raise or preserve growth capital before lease, construction and fit-out inflation increases expansion costs.
- Rationalize low-productivity legacy locations while shifting capital toward high-velocity formats and catchments.