SATURDAY, 24 OCTOBER 2026

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.

, Retail correspondent··4 min read

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

Trent Ltd will open up to 100 Westside stores a year, funded by a board-approved ₹2,500 crore raise, as it rebalances after Zudio’s rapid run. The mid-to-premium chain currently runs about 300 outlets in 97 cities and targets 700 long-term. Announcement landed this week amid softer like-for-like at the value format.

Trent has cleared a ₹2,500 crore equity infusion to back Westside’s jump from the old 10-15 store annual pace to as many as 100. Zudio already crossed 1,000 stores, with most recent openings in tier-2 and tier-3 towns.

Shop-floor impact is immediate for mall operators and private-label vendors: a typical Westside needs 20,000 sq ft and higher basket sizes than Zudio’s sub-₹999 racks. One new store can lock in apparel, beauty and home suppliers for the full season.

Westside’s 100-store annual target marks a clear pivot from pure value speed to margin-rich density.

The move squeezes Reliance’s Yousta and Aditya Birla’s Style Up in the same catchments while giving Trent’s own Star Bazaar grocery a chance to share back-end. Zudio’s lower throughput in newer non-metro sites had already cooled growth expectations to 15-17%.

Watch the Q3 store-addition filing and the Diwali-to-Christmas window for first Westside openings under the new plan. Capital deployment details should surface in the next board update.

Filed under Retail·Meera Iyer

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