Retail
Trent's Zudio crosses 960 stores on tier-II surge
Value format adds 109 outlets in one quarter, forcing mid-market peers to rethink price points and inventory turns before festive rush.
Meera Iyer, Retail correspondent··4 min read
Zudio’s network hit 960-plus stores nationwide by end-FY26, including rapid additions that lifted Trent’s full-year momentum and left the value brand as a billion-dollar engine. Weekly inventory refreshes and sub-₹999 pricing kept sales per square foot elevated even as overall apparel demand slowed.
On the shop floor a kirana-adjacent Zudio till now rings higher frequency tickets from first-time fashion buyers who skip malls; dark-store style stock turns mean less dead inventory and faster cash cycles for franchise partners.
Zudio crossed 960 stores with 109 additions in a single quarter.
The velocity squeezes mid-tier players such as traditional department formats and forces Reliance’s Yousta and Shoppers Stop’s Intune to match price ladders or lose share in the same catchments. V-Mart and others have already adjusted forecasts.
Watch the next 90 days through Navratri-Diwali for whether Zudio maintains the 100-plus quarterly pace and if Trent files updated city counts in the coming quarter.