Retail
Trent pushes Zudio past 1,000 stores as Q2 revenue hits ₹5,788 crore
Value format now dominates the network; merchants watch whether ticket sizes hold as competition thickens in tier-2.
Meera Iyer · 7 October 2026 · 4 min read
Qhaat is India's daily commerce desk covering retail, ecommerce, quick commerce, supply chain, UPI payments, marketplaces and SaaS news from New Delhi.
Latest
Morning bookOpinion · Retail
Value retail’s festive tightrope looks thinner this year
Inflation absorption and quick-commerce frequency are testing the old low-price promise just as footfall peaks.
The Desk · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Ecommerce
Nykaa adds 14 stores to 338, clocks strong Q2 growth ahead of festive
Beauty and fashion both beat estimates; House of Nykaa brands and Nike drops keep the till busy while SuperStore scales.
Ananya Rao · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
Reliance Retail exits 7-Eleven after five years, shuts nearly 60 stores
Convenience format posted ₹90 crore loss on ₹92 crore revenue; kiranas and quick commerce left no room for the middle.
Meera Iyer · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
DMart lifts store count to 518 as Q2 revenue rises 18.4% to ₹19,206 crore
Strong top line failed to calm investors worried about same-store growth and quick-commerce leakage; shares fell over 6%.
Meera Iyer · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Morning briefing
Six items. One opinion. In your inbox before the first rider leaves.
The desk's view
All opinionOpinion · Retail
Value retail’s festive tightrope looks thinner this year
Inflation absorption and quick-commerce frequency are testing the old low-price promise just as footfall peaks.
The Desk · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Opinion · Retail
Value retail’s festive tightrope looks thinner this year
Inflation absorption and quick-commerce frequency are testing the old low-price promise just as footfall peaks.
The Desk · 6 Oct · 4 min read
Opinion · Retail
Do big store bets still pay when dark stores multiply?
Listed retailers are funding aggressive offline expansion even as quick commerce densifies urban delivery. The P&L test arrives this festive season.
The Desk · 5 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
AllOpinion · Retail
Value retail’s festive tightrope looks thinner this year
Inflation absorption and quick-commerce frequency are testing the old low-price promise just as footfall peaks.
The Desk · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
Reliance Retail exits 7-Eleven after five years, shuts nearly 60 stores
Convenience format posted ₹90 crore loss on ₹92 crore revenue; kiranas and quick commerce left no room for the middle.
Meera Iyer · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
DMart lifts store count to 518 as Q2 revenue rises 18.4% to ₹19,206 crore
Strong top line failed to calm investors worried about same-store growth and quick-commerce leakage; shares fell over 6%.
Meera Iyer · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Ecommerce
AllEcommerce
Nykaa adds 14 stores to 338, clocks strong Q2 growth ahead of festive
Beauty and fashion both beat estimates; House of Nykaa brands and Nike drops keep the till busy while SuperStore scales.
Ananya Rao · 7 Oct · 4 min read
Ecommerce
Tommy Hilfiger launches dedicated India D2C website
in.tommy.com goes live to complement 350-plus doors and capture full-price direct demand.
Ananya Rao · 6 Oct · 4 min read
Ecommerce
Nykaa Fashion offers six-month zero commission
Hidden Gems accelerator gives homegrown apparel brands free platform access plus marketing support ahead of festive listings.
Ananya Rao · 5 Oct · 4 min read
Supply Chain
AllSupply Chain
D2C food brands widen offline trade as quick-commerce shelves fill
Dark-store space crunch before festive forces snacks and sweets makers onto B2B marketplaces and kirana-modern trade routes.
Farhan Qureshi · 3 Oct · 4 min read
Supply Chain
Flipkart Ekart adds 14 million cu ft storage and 900 hubs
Warehousing capacity jumps 50 per cent and last-mile reach widens for Big Billion Days and remote same-day.
Farhan Qureshi · 2 Oct · 4 min read
Supply Chain
Flipkart adds 750 PIN codes and 14 million cu ft via Ekart
Logistics arm lifts national storage 50 percent and peak processing over 30 percent ahead of Big Billion Days.
Farhan Qureshi · 1 Oct · 4 min read
Payments
AllPayments
UPI MDR of 0.4% on big tickets starts 15 October
Merchants face fresh cost on payments above ₹2,000, raising the risk of cash shift at kirana and organised tills alike.
Kabir Menon · 19 Sep · 4 min read
Payments
Govt locks 0.4% UPI MDR above ₹2,000 from 15 October
Merchants pay the charge, consumers stay free; small retailers and petrol pumps scramble for exemptions before the festive rush.
Kabir Menon · 17 Sep · 4 min read
Opinion · Payments
The free-UPI era was always borrowed time
Charging merchants was inevitable once volumes turned the rails into critical national infrastructure.
The Desk · 22 Aug · 4 min read
Platforms
AllOpinion · Platforms
Why Tier-2 festive growth now decides marketplace winners
Homegrown labels already clock 60 per cent jumps in smaller towns; the next two weeks will separate platforms that can fulfil from those that only promise.
The Desk · 2 Oct · 4 min read
Opinion · Platforms
Why permanent outlets beat seasonal sales
Bhiwandi’s 365-day model exposes the limits of festive-only discounting for both brands and full-price retailers.
The Desk · 26 Sep · 4 min read
Platforms
Blinkit and Zepto turn iPhone 18 launch into 10-minute marketing play
Quick commerce platforms list scarce units on launch day to own the immediacy conversation.
Rhea Kapoor · 23 Sep · 4 min read
SaaS
AllSaaS
The unsexy stack is the one that actually ships Indian commerce.
OMS, WMS, GST invoices, and a Shopify theme: the mid-market D2C company is a software company whether it likes it or not.
Rhea Kapoor · 18 Aug · 6 min read
Opinion · SaaS
Zoho keeps winning the Indian mid-market by refusing to look like SaaS.
While coastal startups sold seats in dollars, a quietly bundled OS ate GST, inventory, and the inbox of the company that actually ships.
Rhea Kapoor · 11 Aug · 6 min read
SaaS
GST is still the real SaaS monopoly in Indian commerce.
Every store, warehouse, and marketplace payout eventually becomes an invoice. The companies that own that moment own a tax on the economy.
Rhea Kapoor · 7 Aug · 5 min read
The rest of the book
Opinion · Retail
Value retail’s festive tightrope looks thinner this year
Inflation absorption and quick-commerce frequency are testing the old low-price promise just as footfall peaks.
The Desk · 6 Oct · 4 min read
Ecommerce
Tommy Hilfiger launches dedicated India D2C website
in.tommy.com goes live to complement 350-plus doors and capture full-price direct demand.
Ananya Rao · 6 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
Reliance Brands opens first Fabletics store in Delhi
Exclusive tie-up brings RFID fitting rooms and membership model to Indian activewear shoppers.
Meera Iyer · 6 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
DMart adds 15 stores to 518 but shares slide over 6 per cent
Strong top line failed to calm investors worried about same-store growth and quick-commerce leakage.
Meera Iyer · 6 Oct · 4 min read
Retail
Trent pushes Zudio past 1,000 stores as Q2 revenue hits ₹5,788 crore
Value format now dominates the network; merchants watch whether ticket sizes hold as competition thickens in tier-2.
Meera Iyer · 6 Oct · 4 min read
Opinion · Retail
Do big store bets still pay when dark stores multiply?
Listed retailers are funding aggressive offline expansion even as quick commerce densifies urban delivery. The P&L test arrives this festive season.
The Desk · 5 Oct · 4 min read