Search the desk

20 stories for “Mall”

Two empty apparel racks side by side—one sparse value, one denser mid-premium—under mixed store lighting

Opinion · Retail

Why Trent’s Westside sprint leaves Zudio exposed

Value fashion’s easy density is over; the capital is moving to higher baskets just as competition floods the same towns.

The Desk · 24 Oct · 4 min read

Folded apparel stacks and price tags on a simple wooden table in a small-town wholesale lane

Platforms

Meesho Mall NMV jumps 93% as branded goods reach tier-3

Festive day-one orders more than triple; small-town buyers trade up, pressuring unbranded wholesalers and local garment units.

Rhea Kapoor · 24 Oct · 4 min read

Open cardboard cartons and packing tape rolls on a warehouse sorting table under yellow lights

Ecommerce

Flipkart Big Billion Days lifts orders 20-22% as tier-2 leads

Nine in ten online shoppers visited; Gen Z and non-metro tickets decide the festive margin for marketplace sellers.

Ananya Rao · 24 Oct · 4 min read

Stacked crates and insulated bags inside a compact urban warehouse aisle under bright LED strips

Ecommerce

Blinkit lifts store target to 3,500 by March 2027 after 308 adds

Eternal’s quick-commerce arm now eyes 5,000 by March 2028; dark-store landlords and private-label packers see faster fill rates.

Ananya Rao · 24 Oct · 4 min read

Empty mid-size apparel floor with hanging rails and soft overhead lights before opening

Retail

Trent bets on 100 Westside stores yearly with ₹2,500 cr raise

Tata retailer shifts from Zudio speed to mid-premium density; landlords and private-label suppliers gain first call on the capital.

Meera Iyer · 24 Oct · 4 min read

Exterior view of a modest warehouse-style building with delivery scooters parked outside at dusk

Opinion · Supply Chain

Why Blinkit’s store sprint changes the rent game

Faster dark-store adds in smaller cities will reprice hyperlocal real estate and force rivals to match density or cede the basket.

The Desk · 23 Oct · 4 min read

Empty apparel racks and hanging garments inside a brightly lit new fashion store

Retail

Virgio opens five new stores across four cities

D2C sustainable fashion brand shifts harder offline with simultaneous launches in Surat, Mumbai, Bengaluru and Ahmedabad.

Rhea Kapoor · 23 Oct · 4 min read

Assorted beauty product bottles and compacts arranged on a clean glass retail shelf

Platforms

Nykaa secures Anand Rathi buy rating target ₹400

Broker sees premium beauty runway and fashion turnaround after the brand hit record $1 billion revenue in FY26.

Ananya Rao · 23 Oct · 4 min read

Smartphone screen glowing with shopping app interface beside festive diyas on a wooden table

Ecommerce

Flipkart Big Billion Days hits record concurrent users

6.3 million users in opening hour and 34 per cent new customers signal small-town festive demand is real this season.

Meera Iyer · 23 Oct · 4 min read

Rows of stocked shelves inside a compact urban dark store under bright overhead lights

Ecommerce

Eternal lifts Blinkit target to 3,500 stores by FY27

Q2 store adds and positive Ebitda give the green light; dark-store landlords and kirana suppliers feel the heat first.

Ananya Rao · 23 Oct · 4 min read

Assorted sealed consumer packs and bottles arranged on plain metal warehouse shelving under cool lights

Opinion · Platforms

Why Blinkit’s no-private-label stance reshapes brand maths

Eternal’s decision to stay clear of own brands on Blinkit keeps the platform open for third-party labels just as festive ad rates climb and store density rises.

The Desk · 22 Oct · 4 min read

Empty glass-fronted convenience store shelves and a darkened interior seen from the pavement at night

Retail

Reliance Retail shuts all 31 7-Eleven stores ends franchise

Japanese parent confirms September closure of Mumbai-Pune outlets after five years, leaving convenience format economics under fresh scrutiny for operators.

Meera Iyer · 22 Oct · 4 min read

Neat rows of folded colourful T-shirts and hangers on simple metal racks in a brightly lit empty store aisle

Retail

Trent’s Zudio crosses 1,000 stores in smaller-city value push

Value-fashion chain hits milestone across 300-plus cities, raising the bar for private-label turns and rentals for competing apparel formats.

Meera Iyer · 22 Oct · 4 min read

Stacked cardboard boxes and delivery crates inside a brightly lit warehouse aisle at dusk

Ecommerce

Eternal raises Blinkit target to 3,500 stores after 92% profit rise

Q2 net profit hits ₹125 crore and network reaches 2,751 as smaller-city economics improve for dark-store operators and brand suppliers.

Ananya Rao · 22 Oct · 4 min read

Quiet roadside market stall with stacked goods under early morning light

Opinion · Retail

Why small-town festive traffic rewrites the merchant P&L

Non-metro demand and value formats now set the pace; everyone else adjusts or loses the till.

The Desk · 21 Oct · 4 min read

Wide empty supermarket aisle with stocked shelves of packaged goods under bright lights

Retail

DMart adds 15 stores to 518 as shares hit 3-year low

Revenue grew 18 per cent and like-for-like hit 9.5 per cent in Q2, yet margin pressure keeps the stock under watch.

Rhea Kapoor · 21 Oct · 4 min read

Stacked cardboard cartons and packing tape on a warehouse floor under warehouse lights

Ecommerce

Flipkart DAUs hit new high as small-town shoppers lead festive open

Non-metros supply 60 per cent of demand and new customers rise 34 per cent in the first days of Big Billion Days.

Ananya Rao · 21 Oct · 4 min read

Neat rows of affordable folded clothes on simple metal racks in a brightly lit store

Retail

Zudio crosses 1,000 stores as Trent Q2 revenue jumps 23%

Value fashion hits scale across 300-plus cities while new non-metro outlets keep productivity under watch.

Meera Iyer · 21 Oct · 4 min read

Empty mid-size apparel floor with neat racks and soft overhead lights before opening

Retail

Trent bets on Westside with 100 stores yearly and ₹2,500 crore

Tata retailer shifts capital to mid-premium format after Zudio scale, raising the bar for private-label margins this festive.

Meera Iyer · 21 Oct · 4 min read

Handwritten discount placards propped on a wooden shop counter at dusk

Opinion · Retail

Why festive discounting still rules the shop floor

From boAt's 80% off push to DMart's margin squeeze, merchants face the same old choice: volume now or pricing power later.

The Desk · 20 Oct · 4 min read