Westside targets 100 new stores a year as Trent steps up growth plans

MUMBAI: Westside is stitching together its biggest expansion yet. The premium fashion retailer owned by Trent plans to accelerate store openings dramatically, targeting as many as 100 new outlets every year as it looks to become the Tata Group company’s next major growth engine.

The aggressive expansion marks a sharp jump from Westside’s current pace of opening around 10 to 15 stores annually. The move comes as Trent seeks to diversify its growth drivers amid moderating momentum at its value fashion chain, Zudio.

“We’ve been opening 10 to 15 stores each year, so to suddenly jump to a hundred stores is ambitious, but we’re ready for it,” Westside chief executive officer Shailina Parti told Bloomberg.

Westside ended the last financial year with around 300 stores and is now preparing to deepen its presence in major metropolitan markets, including Delhi, Bengaluru and Hyderabad, while also expanding into India’s north-eastern states.

The retailer, which sells apparel, beauty products, home décor, footwear and accessories, including lab-grown diamond jewellery, is also broadening its lifestyle proposition to encourage impulse purchases across multiple product categories.

“The whole strategy is: How do we take everything and give it a fashion spin and that desirability of impulsive shopping? So now that that’s happened, we’re ready to go much faster,” Westside chief executive officer Shailina Parti said.

The expansion comes at a crucial time for Trent. While Zudio has been one of India’s fastest-growing fashion retailers, its revenue growth has begun to moderate amid rising competition from rivals such as Reliance Industries and Aditya Birla Group, as well as cautious consumer spending driven by inflationary pressures.

The slowdown has weighed on investor sentiment, with Trent’s shares remaining largely flat this year after falling significantly from their peak two years ago.

Earlier this year, Trent’s board approved a Rs 25 billion capital raise, with a large portion earmarked for expanding its retail footprint. Part of the investment will also support Westside’s digital business and international operations.

Parti said the company aims to increase e-commerce’s contribution to Westside’s revenue to 10 per cent, up from around 6 per cent in the quarter ended 31 March.

Technology is expected to play a central role in that growth strategy.

Westside is expanding its use of artificial intelligence across product design, warehouse management and supply chain operations. According to the company, a new AI-powered design platform has significantly improved productivity for its in-house design team, enabling around 50 designers to create between 400 and 500 designs each week, compared with roughly 50 previously.

The retailer is also working to shorten production lead times for trend-led collections to 30 days, allowing it to respond more quickly to changing consumer preferences.

“We’re much faster than we ever were, but there’s more to go. We’ve got to make it happen,” Shailina Parti said.

As India’s fashion retail market becomes increasingly competitive, Westside is betting that a combination of faster expansion, AI-led product development and a stronger online presence will help it capture the next wave of consumer demand while strengthening Trent’s long-term growth story.