From Rs 68 to Rs 3,217: Trent delivered 4,600% return under Noel Tata's chairmanship

From a single Westside store on Commercial Street in Bengaluru, Trent has grown into a retail powerhouse with a network of more than 1,200 stores across India. Under the leadership of Chairman Noel N Tata, the company steadily expanded its footprint while building high-growth formats such as Zudio and Star, which now account for a significant share of its retail portfolio.  Noel, who also serves as Chairman of Tata Trusts — the largest shareholder of Tata Sons — is expected to preside over Trent's 74th Annual General Meeting for the last time as chairman, as he turns 70 in November this year. He is associated with Trent under different roles for 27 years.

Since Noel assumed role of Chairman at Trent on March 31, 2014, his latest stint, the stock has jumped to Rs 3,217.25 apiece, up 47.11 times (or 4,611 per cent) from Rs 68.29 per share, with the retailer's market value climbing to Rs 1,71,553.92 crore as on Thursday from a mere Rs 3,403.91 crore. From a loss of Rs 18.73 crore in FY14, Noel's Trent delivered a profit of Rs 129.43 crore in FY15, even as sales fell marginally to Rs 2,236.76 crore. Since then, Trent's sales has gone up by 9 times to Rs 20,074.21 crore and profit by 13.26 times to Rs 1,717.43 crore, data compiled by corporate databae AceEquity suggests.

"Trent has established itself as a key beneficiary of India's growing organised retail market, driven by its value-focused offerings, strong private-label portfolio, and aggressive store expansion strategy," Axis Securities said.

Noel has been associated with the Tata group for over 40 years. Noel Tata officially took charge as Trent's first Managing Director in June 1999 and served in the role for more than 11 years. This followed Lakme's 1998 decision to exit its cosmetics business and focus on apparel retailing, recognising the significant opportunity in a market where most retail categories lacked established brands. Noel Tata later became Chairman of Trent in 2014 following the retirement of F H Kavarana, after having served as Vice Chairman of the company. He was appointed as a non-executive director of the company in August 2010.

Since outlining its ambition in 2023 to deliver 10 times revenue and commensurate profitability growth, Trent remains ahead of the roadmap, achieving over 2.5 times revenue and 3 times profit growth, MOFSL noted.

"The Chairman remains confident of opening 50 Westside stores, 200-250 Zudio stores, and 25-40 Star stores annually, with medium-to-longer term opportunity pegged at 700 Westside stores (vs 300 currently) and 5,000 Zudio stores (vs. 960 currently). LFL growth was impacted by store densification and higher starting throughput of new stores," MOFSL noted.

The brokerage noted that Noel's company will continue to incubate new formats, currently finetuning Samoh and Burnt Toast and look forward to expand emerging categories such as footwear, innerwear, beauty, and lab-grown diamonds. It also intends to meaningfully diversify into international markets through Westside and Zudio over the medium term to achieve
its stated ambitions.

Analysts noted Trent witnessed growth recovery in the March quarter after several quarters of growth deceleration. The sales decline in cannibalised stores has eased, and like-for-like (LFL) recovery was underway, they said.

"Despite supply-side challenges, the company effectively managed costs through its India-focused sourcing strategy. With improving discretionary demand and the expected benefits of recent GST reforms, Trent remains well-positioned for sustained growth," Axis Securities said.

Noel, meanwhile, is also the chairman of the board of directors of Voltas Limited, Tata Investment Corporation Limited, Tata International Limited, Trent Hypermarket Private Limited and Tata International West Asia DMCC, Dubai, UAE. He is the vice-chairman of Tata Steel and Titan Company. He is a Nominee Director of Tata Sons and a director of Smiths Group Plc, Inditex Trent Retail India Private Limited and Retailers Association of India.