Why value retail’s store race now collides with margin reality

DMart and Zudio-style chains are still opening doors across smaller cities while same-store trends cool. The festive calendar shift into later months has not fully masked the volume-versus-margin trade-off.

A kirana next to a new Zudio now matches prices on basics but loses the high-margin impulse basket to 10-minute apps. Dark-store pickers fulfil the same order that once walked into a value hypermarket, cutting footfall at the large-format till.

Store additions remain the growth engine even as like-for-like cools under quick-commerce heat.

The squeeze hits mid-tier department stores hardest and helps pure quick-commerce and focused D2C brands that avoid heavy rent. Landlords gain occupancy but face tougher lease talks on renewals.

Watch October-November festive sell-through data and the next round of broker notes after full Q2 results for any cut in store-addition guidance.