V Mart Retail Ltd — Q4 FY26

V-Mart Retail Ltd Q4 FY2025-26 Earnings Conference Call https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=tGALQuOwFxA Published: 5 days ago

0:01 1 second Ladies and gentlemen, good day and welcome to the VMART Retail Limited Q4 FI26 earnings conference call hosted by Anandraati Shares and Stock Brokers 0:10 10 seconds Limited. As a reminder, all participant lines will be in the listenon mode. 0:14 14 seconds There will be an opportunity for you to ask questions after the presentation concludes. Should you need any assistance, please signal an operator by 0:22 22 seconds pressing star and zero on your touchstone telephones. I now hand the conference over to Miss Wesi Mandana from Anandraati Share and Stock Brokers 0:30 30 seconds Limited. Thank you and over to you ma'am. 0:33 33 seconds Hi, thank you. Good morning everyone. On behalf of Anandati Shares and Stock Brokers, it's our pleasure to host the FQ FI26 earnings conference call of 0:41 41 seconds Emart Retail Limited. From the management side today, we have Mr. Alit Lalit Agarwal, managing director and Mr. 0:48 48 seconds Anand Aaral, CFO. I'll now hand over the call to the management for the opening remarks followed by the Q&A session. Thank you. 0:58 58 seconds Thank you. Good morning everyone. Uh thank you so much for being on the call. 1:03 1 minute, 3 seconds Uh so the story continues. Uh the the uh consumption in India uh for us looks 1:13 1 minute, 13 seconds quite healthy. uh we we have seen a a better quarter uh in the last quarter uh 1:21 1 minute, 21 seconds definitely which is supported by the overall macro uh picture. So the macro 1:27 1 minute, 27 seconds picture that I can see here uh is positive uh we definitely have uh uh 1:35 1 minute, 35 seconds controlled inflation. We definitely have a better per capita income that we are visualizing for the for the customers. 1:42 1 minute, 42 seconds So I think there are there are definitely uh uh positive vibes coming except the last quarter we definitely we 1:50 1 minute, 50 seconds also had this war scenario uh which was erupting which definitely gave a little bit of 1:58 1 minute, 58 seconds I mean it was it was just a uh there was no real life problem but perceptionally there was a a pressure that the consumer 2:06 2 minutes, 6 seconds had perceptionally they were into that fear factor uh people wanted to uh hold their expenses largely in urban urban 2:15 2 minutes, 15 seconds India we saw uh in not not especially in tier 2 tier three towns. So so those those still look good. Our footfalls 2:23 2 minutes, 23 seconds have been growing. Uh there was definitely a little bit of mixed uh weather for uh times because the last 2:31 2 minutes, 31 seconds quarter early part of the quarter we saw winter being very low and then suddenly winter winter came up and then it it it 2:40 2 minutes, 40 seconds sinked very fast. So so so winter was weak but summer came up very early. Uh but our organization prepared very well. 2:48 2 minutes, 48 seconds We we we prepared very well uh for launching the summer then in advance in time which where we took the benefits 2:56 2 minutes, 56 seconds versus the market and those benefits actually approved uh some results to us as well and then post that I we saw some 3:05 3 minutes, 5 seconds geopolitical challenges. We definitely saw some some se cities and some towns where we saw some crisis of oil. uh 3:14 3 minutes, 14 seconds there was one or two or three days of uh some crisis piece which which we saw coming in and then maybe uh that created 3:22 3 minutes, 22 seconds a created a a concern. Uh there there is definitely uh uh big piece on in terms 3:28 3 minutes, 28 seconds of the the whole crude oil price rise which is happening and uh there are directly we don't see fuel costs getting 3:36 3 minutes, 36 seconds risen but but indirectly all the all the raw materials all the products all the services which are all getting affected 3:44 3 minutes, 44 seconds because of the crude oil uh prices going up and uh so so largely our uh our uh 3:52 3 minutes, 52 seconds apparel business or nonappar business we see almost 70% 60 to 70% consumption of 3:59 3 minutes, 59 seconds polyester yarn or or poly based product lines uh which uh have have or will get 4:06 4 minutes, 6 seconds impacted because the earlier orders that we had given was already already being secured for April May deliveries but but 4:16 4 minutes, 16 seconds uh uh for for all those deliveries which are going to come in in June July August so we will see some impact there also we 4:23 4 minutes, 23 seconds have tried to block our block our uh orders well in advance keeping in mind and then keeping the keeping the or 4:30 4 minutes, 30 seconds taking the use of the the existing inventories of yarn and fabric and and then apparel that that that the vendors 4:38 4 minutes, 38 seconds have. So so there's a lot of uh good work that we are trying to do with the vendors in terms of trying to nullify 4:45 4 minutes, 45 seconds the impact of the of the rise in the yam prices or rise in the publisher prices. 4:51 4 minutes, 51 seconds So definitely there is a rise of almost 15 10 to 15% in the yarn prices which effectively converts to almost 5 to 7% 4:59 4 minutes, 59 seconds in the parable prices. Uh um with some negotiation uh in certain products we have to pass on one or two% to the in 5:08 5 minutes, 8 seconds the cost for the future deliveries uh but but uh uh in certain cases we have also passed it on to the consumers uh 5:15 5 minutes, 15 seconds but very very controlled way. So overall overall uh there is there is some disruption we are able to we are seeing 5:23 5 minutes, 23 seconds in terms of both availability of raw material as well as the prices of raw material. So that is one thing which is which is little little difficult to 5:31 5 minutes, 31 seconds consume that certainly will will impact the consumer sentiment or could impact the consumer sentiment as well because 5:39 5 minutes, 39 seconds the inflation uh expected is is has to come up because in the last quarter we did not see uh those things happening. 5:47 5 minutes, 47 seconds uh suddenly in the in the end of the month which is where in the quarter which is the March month we saw some prices going up of oil or some certain 5:55 5 minutes, 55 seconds certain product lines where where the consumers got impacted little bit but but not not too many too many things I 6:03 6 minutes, 3 seconds think uh there's not too many change which has happened we still see footfall uh better footfall we still see 6:10 6 minutes, 10 seconds consumers coming out to buy in open because last month or this month also we we saw uh some some football coming in 6:17 6 minutes, 17 seconds from from the uh for the marriage season. The marriage was there. We also saw summer coming because summer was 6:24 6 minutes, 24 seconds little uh uh late because initially summer was launched in January, February. But once again in the March month we saw a little bit of winter 6:32 6 minutes, 32 seconds chill happening, a little bit of rains coming in that rains also disturbed the the market a little bit in terms of the seasonal lead. So so those seasonal lead 6:41 6 minutes, 41 seconds picked up in in April only. Uh and that is continuing in May. We we have marriage seasons coming in but but yes 6:49 6 minutes, 49 seconds there will be one month of uh uh scale also which will happen because of a mass which comes in uh in in our Hindu 6:57 6 minutes, 57 seconds calendar but but overall I see good news coming in from agricultural side also. Uh there could be some 7:05 7 minutes, 5 seconds futuristic challenges which could come in but as of now we see good good uh uh good agricultural output coming in. 7:12 7 minutes, 12 seconds consumers are are actually or the consumers are actually coming out to spend the money. uh there were few 7:19 7 minutes, 19 seconds instances of rains which actually created some havoc in certain farm area which which is largely in the northern 7:27 7 minutes, 27 seconds belt. uh Tutra Maha we saw some some impact but otherwise most of the most of the areas we saw good good things coming 7:34 7 minutes, 34 seconds up festivals and seasons Eid and and Chhat Eid and Holi were two big festivals in the last quarter we saw 7:43 7 minutes, 43 seconds good traction uh both Eid was very good even even uh Holi was okay not not great 7:52 7 minutes, 52 seconds but okay uh but apart from that post Holi or post Eid we saw a good jump as as well as because of the early launch 8:00 8 minutes problem and early launch of our product lines. So overall I think uh we have strengthened our uh business verticals. 8:08 8 minutes, 8 seconds We have strengthened our unlimited business our unlimited south uh uh stores and the performance in the south 8:15 8 minutes, 15 seconds store looks good. Uh we have now got a good grip over it. So we are firing we are trying to open up more new stores in 8:23 8 minutes, 23 seconds that particular market. Our line road strategy also has been very uh fruitful. 8:27 8 minutes, 27 seconds We have been able to create lot of efficiency, lot of execution discipline, lot of technological changes and 8:34 8 minutes, 34 seconds utilization of AI which really has given us lot of benefit in terms of the the loss prevention because we have almost 8:42 8 minutes, 42 seconds cut down almost 70% of the losses in that business from the last year perspective. So so that that we are very confident on on on on that particular 8:51 8 minutes, 51 seconds side of the business because almost half of the business coming from that area is mostly Omi and OMI is a good piece that we are trying to focus on where the 8:59 8 minutes, 59 seconds consumers who are buying both online and offline we are seeing very promising results from there. Uh uh there there's 9:06 9 minutes, 6 seconds a lot of work happening in the entire product lines uh product development piece uh vendor development piece uh the 9:14 9 minutes, 14 seconds design departments uh uh u trying to bring in lot of analysis bring in lot of 9:22 9 minutes, 22 seconds design elements integrate with or have partnerships with vendors uh trying to uh uh work with meals uh uh explore also 9:30 9 minutes, 30 seconds the international markets so there's lot of lot of work which has happened in uh in the product areas in rationalizing the product in in creating a better 9:39 9 minutes, 39 seconds freshness in the product in in liquidating the entire old merchandise and all of those things. So that has also given lot of benefits in the in the 9:47 9 minutes, 47 seconds in the last quarter. So so overall our strategy remains very clear. We we keep focusing on the similar area of market. 9:56 9 minutes, 56 seconds We keep focusing on giving better fashion uh attracting newer generation consumers. uh definitely making the 10:04 10 minutes, 4 seconds family looks more look more younger uh more more sweeter and more cuter. So that is our our focus area. We will do 10:11 10 minutes, 11 seconds it all of these through definitely lot of intervention of AI. Uh we are focusing as an organization a lot on uh 10:20 10 minutes, 20 seconds these all these language models AI and authentic workflows and stuff. So there's lot of work or there is lot of discussion and lot of debates happening 10:28 10 minutes, 28 seconds and lot of new introduction of certain smaller things are happening. So certainly some of these will yield more results make us more scalable make us 10:38 10 minutes, 38 seconds more efficient and also uh make us more intelligent in terms of serving the consumers. So that those are the areas we are trying to work on both impacting the front end as well as the back end. 10:49 10 minutes, 49 seconds So so so that that some of these things will certainly help us over the market. 10:54 10 minutes, 54 seconds We we we look we we we see we we can we've got a good good grip over the business. We've got good uh uh team now. 11:03 11 minutes, 3 seconds We've recently moved into a new office in the the Google now. So so the team has all come together and so so this 11:10 11 minutes, 10 seconds makes us once again more scalable and more more better in terms of collaboration and so so a huge round of 11:18 11 minutes, 18 seconds applause for our teams and our our stakeholders who've been who've been there been working with us. Uh certainly 11:24 11 minutes, 24 seconds we have seen some uh some uh uh upswing also in the in the competitive space. 11:30 11 minutes, 30 seconds The competition has got good targets where they're trying to open up a lot of stores in the in the coming quarters and coming year or so. So so we will see 11:39 11 minutes, 39 seconds good things coming in but yes we we suddenly have seen the impact of all these competitive activities 11:47 11 minutes, 47 seconds are getting nullified. uh now we are not seeing too much of impact coming in even if the stores are opening because already the market is occupied with with 11:55 11 minutes, 55 seconds many stores one additional store or two additional stores now opening up doesn't give any any more big impact on our on 12:02 12 minutes, 2 seconds our existing source field so so I think that side is becoming more controllable we are definitely able to counter lot of 12:10 12 minutes, 10 seconds these competition we are also able to uh yield the benefit of from the from the little bit of uh I would improper 12:19 12 minutes, 19 seconds execution or improper uh uh presentation of their product in the market from the earlier uh uh uh uh successful retail 12:27 12 minutes, 27 seconds organization. So some of those benefits also we are trying to we trying to achieve because they they they some of those competitions when they opened up 12:35 12 minutes, 35 seconds those stores in the first one or two year they actually peaked up their sales they actually attracted certain consumers. Now the now the customer base 12:43 12 minutes, 43 seconds has become wider the organized customer base has become wider. So we are trying to attract more footfall of those customers who were earlier going out 12:50 12 minutes, 50 seconds those competition stores. So that is our strategy to try and bring in those consumers even if the market looks a little poor weaker in terms of the 13:00 13 minutes demand. So our our strategy will be largely to to increase our own market share from the earlier times. So but but 13:06 13 minutes, 6 seconds but anyway we we'll take the questions next uh ahead I hand it over to Ammon where he will take you detailed into the numbers. Thank you so much. 13:19 13 minutes, 19 seconds Thank you Lalit and good morning everybody. Uh I'll quickly take you through the numbers and some commentary around them and then we can open the 13:26 13 minutes, 26 seconds house for questions. So quarter 4 has been a great uh growth quarter for us uh with actually our highest ever quarterly 13:33 13 minutes, 33 seconds new store editions as well as good like toike same store sales growth leading to a total sales growth of 24%. 13:41 13 minutes, 41 seconds uh we opened 29 new stores and also delivered a LTL of 12% with VMAT at 12 and uh unlimited at 9%. Overall, this 13:50 13 minutes, 50 seconds marks the 10th consecutive quarter of sustained uh like to like uh growth reflecting the continued progress on 13:57 13 minutes, 57 seconds planned merchandising and product upliftment, discipline expansion and automation systematic process improvements across the organization. 14:06 14 minutes, 6 seconds The new stores that we opened are delivering actually better than network throughput which reinforces the confidence in both site selection 14:14 14 minutes, 14 seconds discipline and brand relevance across tier 2 and tier three markets. The south market under unlimited format continued 14:21 14 minutes, 21 seconds its strong momentum delivering a 28% revenue growth and a 63% increase in a supported by strong throughput of new 14:29 14 minutes, 29 seconds stores added and continuous uh operational efficiencies. 14:34 14 minutes, 34 seconds We remain confident in scaling in south markets where results remain encouraging. Uh the sales per store and 14:42 14 minutes, 42 seconds the sales per square foot matrices continue to improve in line with FSC. We also saw apparel ASPS grow 5% this 14:49 14 minutes, 49 seconds quarter uh primarily due to the better festive mix, lower discounting and improved full price sales. 14:56 14 minutes, 56 seconds On the margin front uh gross margins actually for the quarter decreased yearonear by 1%. This was on account of 15:03 15 minutes, 3 seconds provision taken on inventory as per our consistent long-standing policy and also a 12% decline in the lime road 15:10 15 minutes, 10 seconds commission income which actually flows 100% into the gross margin line but now forms a smaller share of the overall revenue. The important highlight 15:20 15 minutes, 20 seconds actually was the improved inventory health that should result in better gross margins going forward which will or should be driven by higher proportion 15:28 15 minutes, 28 seconds of fresher merchandise on shelves. Uh lower discounting intensity or requirement of lower discounting and improved product mix. 15:37 15 minutes, 37 seconds Overall our days of inventory also improved by 3 days uh which is on a five quarter rolling average basis along with 15:44 15 minutes, 44 seconds per store inventory reduction of 13% yearonear. The inventory betterment should continue as as we will further rationalize assortments, display 15:53 15 minutes, 53 seconds densities and gain benefits from improvements from supply chain efficiencies on replenishment cycles and warehouse dispatch optimizations. 16:02 16 minutes, 2 seconds Uh coming to operating expenses, the total expenses increased by 8%. Largely led by a planned significant drop in 16:10 16 minutes, 10 seconds expenses in the line road vertical, drop in esop expense yearon year and lower offline marketing spends as we continue 16:17 16 minutes, 17 seconds to drive loyalty based traffic to stores through more digital interventions. 16:23 16 minutes, 23 seconds As a result of these sustained operational efficiencies, EITA grew by 56% yearonear to 106 crores with margins expanding by 220 basis points to 10.9%. 16:33 16 minutes, 33 seconds Reflecting better cost absorption and productivity gains. The EIA growth translated into significant growth in adjusted PAT to 10 crores. Uh we have 16:43 16 minutes, 43 seconds actually normalized the PAT numbers for exceptional gains to reflect the real operating profits for better comparison and reflection of year-on-year sustainable business improvements. 16:52 16 minutes, 52 seconds For the quarter we have reassessed and reduced the one-time exceptional charge of 2.1 crores provided for in the last quarter by almost a cr in this quarter. 17:02 17 minutes, 2 seconds So whereby the fullear impact for the labor codeled uh impact is limited now only to 1.2 crores which is related to 17:10 17 minutes, 10 seconds the estimated provision on account of these labor code implementations. 17:15 17 minutes, 15 seconds uh lime road loss marketplace loss uh reduced significantly year on year continuing the sustained improvement in the operating matrix for the online 17:24 17 minutes, 24 seconds marketplace business. The marketplace business remains profitable at CM3 levels in high single digits and has now begun to contribute meaningfully by 17:33 17 minutes, 33 seconds increasing the customer loyalty, higher bill sizes and much higher repeat rates for the growing Omni customer base reflecting validation of the original 17:42 17 minutes, 42 seconds investment thesis in Limebo. As a culmination of all the improvements and efforts on a fullear basis, PAT has 17:48 17 minutes, 48 seconds grown by 6x to 124 crores reflecting consistency rather than quarter specific effects. uh this is our highest ever PAT 17:58 17 minutes, 58 seconds and the PAT percentage at 3.3% is also now almost uh reaching uh the 18:05 18 minutes, 5 seconds similar levels of PAT of around four four and a half% that we used to enjoy repo inventory on the you know moving on to 18:14 18 minutes, 14 seconds cex uh and cash flows capeex for the quarter stood at 37 crores uh 159 crores for the full year primarily towards new 18:23 18 minutes, 23 seconds store additions post refurbishments and technology-led investments. For the next year, the capeex is estimated at roughly 18:30 18 minutes, 30 seconds around 170 180 crores. On a YTD basis, the business generated positive cash flows of 33 crores versus a negative 18:38 18 minutes, 38 seconds cash free cash flow of 33 crores in the last year. There is no long-term debt on the books and we remain comfortable on the cash front with ample working 18:47 18 minutes, 47 seconds capital limits available to leverage future growth which will be financed through internal approvals. 18:52 18 minutes, 52 seconds Coming to store expansions, uh we opened 29 stores this quarter and 92 in the full year with 12 closures. The guidance 19:01 19 minutes, 1 second for the next year remains the same at 13 to 15% area addition every year net of 1 or 2% mistakes that may need closures, 19:08 19 minutes, 8 seconds you know, year on year. Uh with a healthy store pipeline, improving throughput across both mature and new 19:16 19 minutes, 16 seconds stores and disciplined inventory and cost management, we believe the business is well positioned now to maintain momentum into the coming quarters while 19:24 19 minutes, 24 seconds sustaining profitability and cash generation. So that is all from my side and I now request far to open the house for questions. 19:32 19 minutes, 32 seconds Thank you very much sir. Ladies and gentlemen, we will now begin with the question and answer session. Anyone who wishes to ask a question may enter star 19:40 19 minutes, 40 seconds and one on the touchdown telephones. If you wish to remove yourself from the question queue, you may enter star and two. Participants are requested to 19:48 19 minutes, 48 seconds please use only handsets while asking a question. Participants are also requested to please limit your questions to two questions per participant. We 19:57 19 minutes, 57 seconds will wait for a moment while the question queue assembles. 20:02 20 minutes, 2 seconds The first question is from the line of Samir Gupta from India info line. Please go ahead. 20:07 20 minutes, 7 seconds Hi sir, good morning and uh congrats on a good set of numbers and thanks for taking my question. So firstly uh uh uh you did mention in the commentary but uh 20:16 20 minutes, 16 seconds a little bit more clarity on this aspect. So there is a inflationary pressure across the board and it is not 20:23 20 minutes, 23 seconds uh uh particularly in the petrochem based uh uh uh raw materials but yeah yan and cotton also have gone up. So 20:30 20 minutes, 30 seconds just trying to understand the impact on vmart. So if you could give any idea as to how much RM inflation currently we 20:39 20 minutes, 39 seconds are facing or any kind of sensitivity where you know linked to crude if crude goes up like let's say 10% our RM basket 20:48 20 minutes, 48 seconds goes up by how much uh any any sense on that would be great uh really helpful 20:56 20 minutes, 56 seconds yeah so we we've already I've already narrated mostly uh see uh definitely uh there is 21:04 21 minutes, 4 seconds a direct correlation with the crude prices. Uh the the the proportion of fabric or the proportion of yarn that 21:13 21 minutes, 13 seconds that or the cost of yarn uh that gets into the apparel making varies from 33% 21:21 21 minutes, 21 seconds to 50%. uh uh a lower price product would have a higher amount higher percentage of yarn or higher price 21:31 21 minutes, 31 seconds product would have a lower percentage of yarn and then it is just not when you say yarn you mean polyester 21:39 21 minutes, 39 seconds when I say yarn I'm saying polyester or cotton or whatever yarn it is whether it is a visos or it is a polyester or it is 21:46 21 minutes, 46 seconds a poly cotton so ultimately there are yarns which are mixed in nature there are single single yarn in nature. So not 21:54 21 minutes, 54 seconds that every in in a higher price product you would have cotton more and lesser polyester. In a lower price product you 22:01 22 minutes, 1 second would have more polyester and less high lesser cotton. So when when we look at the lesser price product the impact becomes a little more higher. Uh the the 22:10 22 minutes, 10 seconds yarn if the yarn or the crude increases by around 10%. it gets translated to around 5% of increase in the yarn cost 22:19 22 minutes, 19 seconds and in the apparel cost it goes down to maybe one and a half to 2%. So that's how the the metrics flows what is the 22:27 22 minutes, 27 seconds what is the level of because if the overall group prices that we see is grown by almost 35%. uh it has 22:34 22 minutes, 34 seconds translated to a almost a cost of 10 8 or 9% in yarn cost which is resulted into 3 22:41 22 minutes, 41 seconds to 4% of apparel or garment cost and and that is a 100% uh yarn based or polyester yarn based product but if it 22:49 22 minutes, 49 seconds is a mixed product it comes down a little more. So what we are trying to do is how do we accommodate this 3 to 4% either with certain innovation in fabric 22:58 22 minutes, 58 seconds trying to trying to use certain different kind of fabric which could which could actually nullify maybe a little more lightweight fabric which 23:05 23 minutes, 5 seconds could nullify a little more negotiation in terms of the overall make the the make finish of the garment. How we 23:14 23 minutes, 14 seconds trying to manage those costs but still we are seeing one or one and a half% of increase in in the overall price the the 23:21 23 minutes, 21 seconds overall price of the cost of the uh product that we are sourcing which certain part of it we we trying to pass it on uh to the consumer but certain 23:29 23 minutes, 29 seconds part of it we are also trying to retain which could increase the inward margin a little bit but I think effectively we will want to bring it more efficiently 23:37 23 minutes, 37 seconds so that the delivered margins and the outward margins does do not get affected through Got it sir. So uh 23:46 23 minutes, 46 seconds yeah yeah very very clear sir. Thank you so much. Uh uh uh and uh if you could also allude to roughly our fabric mix in 23:54 23 minutes, 54 seconds terms of polyester and cotton and that would complete this puzzle. 23:58 23 minutes, 58 seconds See I mean what what we are looking forward is the is the festive period and the winter period. So in that festive and the winter period what we see the 24:06 24 minutes, 6 seconds the poly mix comes goes up to almost 80% 75 to 80%. But you know during summer it is the the the cotton mix comes up to be 24:15 24 minutes, 15 seconds to be almost around 50%. But you know when you're moving towards the forward season and the the winter season the polyester mix goes up. That is why you 24:23 24 minutes, 23 seconds your polyester mix would be around 70 75% of the total sourcing that you're doing in the forward period. 24:29 24 minutes, 29 seconds Got it sir. This this this is very clear. Second question and uh uh let's just exclude the war and the crude impact uh when we are answering this. 24:39 24 minutes, 39 seconds Now this year excluding lime road uh the company has clocked the 6.6 6 pre-India Sabita margin which is up 120 basis 24:47 24 minutes, 47 seconds points uh uh YI and again in the base I'm excluding line load this is at a 5% LFL and this is despite a relatively 24:55 24 minutes, 55 seconds higher area growth this year now if a mids singledigit LFL were to repeat all else equal and when I say all else equal 25:04 25 minutes, 4 seconds let's just assume there is no crude or inflation impact then logically a 120 basis points margin expansion at least 25:12 25 minutes, 12 seconds should happen in FI27. Uh uh what are the constraining factors here? Uh is there any competitive threat that you 25:19 25 minutes, 19 seconds are looking at? Uh uh uh again uh uh uh we don't know what is going to happen on the war and and stuff on inflation. So 25:26 25 minutes, 26 seconds uh uh if you could just you know uh uh uh highlight the thought process here if it is correct or you know there are any issues in here. 25:34 25 minutes, 34 seconds A please uh talk to Anand and come and help my team so that they can actually project such kind of good numbers. I am 25:42 25 minutes, 42 seconds I'm pretty happy about you about your thing but yes certainly efficiencies bring in benefits it is just not the the 25:51 25 minutes, 51 seconds same stuff but you know how efficiently are you able to sell through your buy or you sell through your inventory. So that 25:58 25 minutes, 58 seconds is also one of the biggest factor which you which gives you margins. So so I think it is more about efficiency generation. Uh it is definitely also 26:06 26 minutes, 6 seconds about mid-digit or or little higher than mid-digit show sales. So I don't see it lot of constraints. I see there are 26:14 26 minutes, 14 seconds constraints in terms of the overall inflation uh overall labor cost also going up because the what happened recently in Hana or NOA and and all of 26:23 26 minutes, 23 seconds these certainly has has led to a little bit of could could lead to a little bit rise in the labor cost that again could 26:31 26 minutes, 31 seconds be uh uh determined but otherwise I don't see any challenge whatever that you are thinking whatever that you are 26:38 26 minutes, 38 seconds predicting we also believe that similar things could be derived if we are able to achieve 57% of like likes for like growth. 26:47 26 minutes, 47 seconds Superb. Sir, that's all from me. I'll come back in the queue. Uh any follows unless Anand wants to add to this. 26:56 26 minutes, 56 seconds No. Uh Samir, I think I'm good with what uh is suggesting. Uh I think we all things remaining equal, we remain 27:04 27 minutes, 4 seconds optimistic and buoyant for you know a similar kind of growth. But as Lis suggested, I think all things currently do not look equal. So let's wait and see 27:13 27 minutes, 13 seconds how well we can leverage and optimize this. Sure Anand and Lalit sir all the best. 27:20 27 minutes, 20 seconds Thank you. Our next question is from the line of data sha from Aventus spark. Please go ahead. 27:26 27 minutes, 26 seconds Uh hi L anend uh thanks for the opportunity and congrats on good set of numbers. Uh Arj you you spoke in detail 27:34 27 minutes, 34 seconds but just wanted to double click on it on demand scenario. uh so a lot of people and and not only your results but if I 27:42 27 minutes, 42 seconds see consumption results in general I would say that after a long time there's some broad-based recovery which is visible um so just wanted to know uh so 27:51 27 minutes, 51 seconds there's one disruption which has come from external environment which is the whole crude related inflation uh looking at your own uh data and in your uh your 28:00 28 minutes field on the ground uh do you believe that we can pass on the inflation to customer without hurting this momentum which we have seen for last let's say 28:08 28 minutes, 8 seconds four or five months or or or for us it was actually much more uh longer um which can actually continue and and the 28:16 28 minutes, 16 seconds uh even if we have to pass on the inflation whatever proportion you just spoke about it won't disrupt the demand momentum 28:25 28 minutes, 25 seconds so this is just not our inflation it is just not our price increase or whatever 28:31 28 minutes, 31 seconds in it is the basket inflation that the consumer spends their earning too. So 28:39 28 minutes, 39 seconds almost what we see almost 60% of consumers basket is need based 50 65% is 28:45 28 minutes, 45 seconds need based and out of that almost 70 75% of their basket could get affected because if I look at the entire piece 28:53 28 minutes, 53 seconds even the agriculture prices the the whole fertilizer the whole pesticides or even the logistic cost or their their 29:00 29 minutes their day-to-day power cost or electricity cost. So what we see the impact would go to all these extent and 29:08 29 minutes, 8 seconds could actually get affected. So so the the consumer may find it difficult to manage their 29:16 29 minutes, 16 seconds the inflation and that could be a reality and that is what we are we are caring about that all of our consumers 29:22 29 minutes, 22 seconds who are largely need based consumers who their income. But one one respite we are able to see is the increase in minimum 29:30 29 minutes, 30 seconds wages or the overall earning capability that is going to increase by the government. So I think some of these things can actually give some benefit 29:37 29 minutes, 37 seconds but otherwise if this continues I mean it may throw a little bit of challenge in terms of the consumer sentiment but 29:45 29 minutes, 45 seconds overall from our side we are being very very sure on we do not want to pass it on blindly. We do not want to pass it on 29:53 29 minutes, 53 seconds like we gave it in 22 23. So we don't want to do that same mistakes again. We may exor some margin, we may change 30:00 30 minutes certain product lines but some of these where we feel the consumer can actually pay and where the design factor is much more larger and and the consumer will be 30:08 30 minutes, 8 seconds will be easier for them to easier to pay that is where we will try to take it up. 30:13 30 minutes, 13 seconds I don't think uh we will see a lot of challenge in terms of the demand but yes overall the demand could get impacted a 30:20 30 minutes, 20 seconds little bit but as I said earlier also the the organized market is also become bigger. So for us it is more a challenge 30:27 30 minutes, 27 seconds where we could pull in how could we pull in more sales from our peers from our competitors so that we are actually able 30:34 30 minutes, 34 seconds to grab and and get the gra that opportunity in spite of a weaker market if at all happens. 30:41 30 minutes, 41 seconds Perfect. very clear and and second on market uh competitive landscape. Uh so usually and and you called out that there is not only pricing issue of raw 30:50 30 minutes, 50 seconds material but availability issue also. So does it mean that the smaller players kind of get uh shafted or cornered in in 30:58 30 minutes, 58 seconds securing raw material uh raw material at right prices versus let's say established player like us and hence it can be a very good opportunity for us to get market share in in this environment. 31:10 31 minutes, 10 seconds So I just don't want to raise my hopes because as of now we are also struggling is also trying to grab onto all of these 31:18 31 minutes, 18 seconds secure that production. It is just not securing the order but also securing the actual inventory for the vendor because the vendor should also have that raw 31:26 31 minutes, 26 seconds material well in his house before he he's able to deliver. So I think we there's a I mean it's just it's not it's 31:33 31 minutes, 33 seconds not over the things are are going to be for us also a tough period because all the vendors and the entire supply chain 31:40 31 minutes, 40 seconds there is so much of difficulty which is getting uh interrupted because even the the whole gas issue also has has 31:48 31 minutes, 48 seconds impacted the the production lines of certain certain vendors in certain processes. So there are challenges the whole election pieces which happened in 31:56 31 minutes, 56 seconds Bengal and Tamil Nadu there also the labor was forced has got reduced there has been a challenge in terms of the availability of the labor. So some some 32:04 32 minutes, 4 seconds challenges have been erupted but I hope those challenges will be met and certainly I mean see obviously people who are little inefficient people who 32:13 32 minutes, 13 seconds have a little lesser brand image or even the payment terms or even the capability to to uh secure the product line will 32:21 32 minutes, 21 seconds face challenges. We know it is an immediate situation. We are dealing it as an emergency situation and we are not leaving anything unturned. So, so we are 32:28 32 minutes, 28 seconds trying to get deeper into it. Wherever we feel there is a challenge here, we are also exploring of know bringing things from China or some other places. 32:37 32 minutes, 37 seconds So, some of these things we are trying to do so that we can integrate our our supply chain very later on. 32:42 32 minutes, 42 seconds Very clear. And last one uh so Anand you kindled our hope by saying that we are kind of moving towards that pre uh 32:50 32 minutes, 50 seconds precoid pack margin uh direction. So with whatever sector is parabus where are we today uh do you think that with 32:58 32 minutes, 58 seconds with the hope with the with the goal that we have of 5 7% SSG can we achieve that number at part margin level this 33:06 33 minutes, 6 seconds year so uh they just I think uh the direction is right our efforts are very genuine 33:15 33 minutes, 15 seconds and sustained and we are seeing results emanating out of these sustained efforts now to set a timeline whether this will 33:22 33 minutes, 22 seconds happen in the next year or the year after that. I can't you know see that or I cannot predict that but definitely our 33:29 33 minutes, 29 seconds uh intentions are obviously towards securing that kind of margins in the medium term. It may happen next year I 33:36 33 minutes, 36 seconds don't know uh there are so many different factors which will influence that but definitely our intention is obviously to get to that level very fast. 33:46 33 minutes, 46 seconds Clear and all the best for that. Thank you. Thank you participants as a a request please limit your questions to only two questions. The next question is 33:55 33 minutes, 55 seconds from the line of Rahan Syad from Trinidadra Asset Managers. Please go ahead. 34:00 34 minutes Oh yeah good morning to your team and thanks for taking my question. Uh so I have just only two questions. First one just want to understanding regarding 34:08 34 minutes, 8 seconds your Aquarial ASP remains uh broadly flat while foot angle sharply. So just 34:16 34 minutes, 16 seconds uh are customers currently preferring lower kit products or is this more because of higher end contribution from entry pass categories? This is my first question. 34:29 34 minutes, 29 seconds Ryan, can you just repeat the last piece? You said that are customers preferring what? 34:34 34 minutes, 34 seconds Uh like I'm just want to understand this customers currently preferring lower ticket products or this is more because 34:41 34 minutes, 41 seconds of higher contribution from entry price categories. No clarification. Yeah. 34:49 34 minutes, 49 seconds What is happening is gradually the the I mean our not only ours but the availability in the market to all the 34:57 34 minutes, 57 seconds organized player value organized player uh is becoming larger and larger. So, so certainly the average spend per piece by 35:05 35 minutes, 5 seconds the consumers which they used to pay earlier, they definitely want more efficiency, more value here, but it is not the fact that they 35:14 35 minutes, 14 seconds are trying to pay uh go for a lower ASP or lower uh uh price product. We we are 35:21 35 minutes, 21 seconds expecting a little bit of mixed change as well as focusing on little bit more on the on the on the on the better 35:30 35 minutes, 30 seconds product because the consumers are are certainly asking for a better quality product asking for better uh uh product 35:38 35 minutes, 38 seconds in general. But yes as if we see inflation coming in there could be some impact that the consumer would face here 35:46 35 minutes, 46 seconds both the things will happen. the the higher consumer which is the brand buyer and then the consumers which buy premium products would move down and could buy a 35:55 35 minutes, 55 seconds little better product from our customer our our offering and there could be certain lowerly customer base where they 36:02 36 minutes, 2 seconds will struggle could either not buy or want to buy a little more entry price kind of product. So I think largely we 36:10 36 minutes, 10 seconds see these products uh the the ASP coming out in the balancing mode. We are not seeing very high growth in the entry 36:18 36 minutes, 18 seconds price point product as well. So we are seeing the similar and even good products uh coming out or the good products are also coming out as good. 36:28 36 minutes, 28 seconds Oh okay. Okay. Thanks for clarification. 36:30 36 minutes, 30 seconds And my second and last question is around your uh geographic mix that we have seen about the southern markets. So that you have seen Uttar Pradesh and 36:38 36 minutes, 38 seconds Bihar together now contribute a very large portion of the store network. So how does the management view the long-term growth opportunity in South 36:47 36 minutes, 47 seconds South India especially after seeing traction in Tamilads? 36:54 36 minutes, 54 seconds No, I think we have been focusing very highly on on on that particular market. 36:59 36 minutes, 59 seconds See the our our our philosophy is also to build a sustainable uh return on capital or or the ROC business from the 37:07 37 minutes, 7 seconds business. We just don't want to go and open out the stores. The property prices in those markets are also little higher. 37:13 37 minutes, 13 seconds So we have to be little more conscious in terms of our expansion. We just want to open stores. We remain profitable for a longer term. So that is how we are 37:21 37 minutes, 21 seconds trying to do. We have created our team team there in South India has been strengthened. they are trying to acquire but but for us every market there is a 37:29 37 minutes, 29 seconds large opportunity markets like Uttar Pradesh or Vihar where we are almost there in all the districts we still see a 50 to 70% 37:39 37 minutes, 39 seconds growth rate which could come in from these market in terms of our number of stores getting expanded in the next five years so I think there is a there's a 37:46 37 minutes, 46 seconds long opportunity which is available in in all of these markets the population rate in the upper upper India or the our 37:54 37 minutes, 54 seconds core markets is very very high. So I think there is an opportunity in entire India and that is how we have divided our organization structure so that every 38:02 38 minutes, 2 seconds every jone or every every uh state uh uh is being given a sufficient time and sufficient energy so that we are able to expand. 38:12 38 minutes, 12 seconds Uh okay thanks for detail also and just last one more question if you just could be allow me. uh so like what is the 38:21 38 minutes, 21 seconds medium-term uh sustainable ROC target once the current expansion phase matures 38:29 38 minutes, 29 seconds I think see we we've been always working towards acquiring around 15 to 18% of RC so this year right now we we are around 38:38 38 minutes, 38 seconds 14 and a half% right we would want to go to 18 and then then maybe 20 about 20% so I think our 38:45 38 minutes, 45 seconds investments that we had done in the last few years was largely in the warehouses or in the in the acquiring line and 38:52 38 minutes, 52 seconds unlimited or even feeding to the losses of line uh actually took away our RO ultimately we we would want to over anything above 202%. 39:05 39 minutes, 5 seconds Okay. Okay. Thank you and good luck coming. 39:09 39 minutes, 9 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Rahul Agarwal from Asset. Please go ahead. 39:16 39 minutes, 16 seconds Uh good morning nar and uh three questions. Uh firstly on the macro side uh you know when I look at this value 39:25 39 minutes, 25 seconds fashion segment right uh when we look at growth we analyze you know detailed numbers for each company you know in the 39:32 39 minutes, 32 seconds listed space at least uh clearly fourth quarter VM mod has been an outlier in terms of how SSG has come through uh 39:39 39 minutes, 39 seconds your new additions have also been in sync uh so very good performance uh but incrementally when you look at you know full year fiscal 26 or even last three 39:47 39 minutes, 47 seconds years cumulative you We're looking at a very high discipline on mimart in terms of how balance sheet cost is getting managed which is again very good but 39:56 39 minutes, 56 seconds purely from a market share perspective and given what is happening on value fashion because there's too much growth in hinterland of India lot of expansion 40:04 40 minutes, 4 seconds happening by you know competitors uh does market share actually mean anything uh in this industry and you know for you internally do you guys 40:13 40 minutes, 13 seconds discuss uh you know how are we doing in terms of our own revenue market share you know three year five years one year 40:20 40 minutes, 20 seconds analysis 10 year views. So that's the first question sir you are absolutely bang on and she uh 40:30 40 minutes, 30 seconds definitely mirror is something that we keep watching on but it doesn't uh because the largestness of the Indian 40:37 40 minutes, 37 seconds consumption is is is massive and then you know we actually could could bring in I mean more consumption and the 40:45 40 minutes, 45 seconds consumption is bound to increase so so in spite of all of these new additions in Delhi retail it has been is reing out 40:52 40 minutes, 52 seconds there. So much of so much of consumption left out still still more than 60% of the business is going to the mom and pop 41:00 41 minutes or the the unorganized traditional retail store. So there is still lot of opportunity left. We don't we really 41:09 41 minutes, 9 seconds believe there is certainly a shift which will happen and there will be always some some part of the retailers which will which will have some inefficiencies 41:17 41 minutes, 17 seconds in the business and how do you grab onto those opportunities and that is what we all try to do. We we try to talk about 41:24 41 minutes, 24 seconds it that how do we actually create a strength within the organization which could bring in or give more value to the 41:32 41 minutes, 32 seconds customer create more better perception towards the customer give the customer the best experience and that is what will will bring in the market share or 41:41 41 minutes, 41 seconds or some share from our PL if at all they are acquiring or they are able to acquire in the last few one or two years 41:48 41 minutes, 48 seconds with some store openings. So that is how we we try to play about it. But you're absolutely right with so many number of players coming in and so many number of 41:56 41 minutes, 56 seconds players available the market share piece is not valid and and should not be a big point in our our area that this is not a 42:05 42 minutes, 5 seconds productled business where one or two companies could acquire a very high market share. So this is not those kind 42:12 42 minutes, 12 seconds of businesses which where the such such things can happen. 42:16 42 minutes, 16 seconds Got it largely. And you know there's two more things one for you and one for An uh on you know when when we talk to your vendor right uh on the fabric 42:25 42 minutes, 25 seconds manufacturing side uh there is you know and we've also worked on product freshness in our stores which actually is resulted into shorter cycle sourcing 42:34 42 minutes, 34 seconds for you is what we understand and please correct me if I'm wrong uh with sourcing much more fresh products and hence the sourcing cycles are quicker the 42:42 42 minutes, 42 seconds inventory terms are faster uh unfortunately in current environment because of that maybe when we enter the 42:49 42 minutes, 49 seconds festive season and then the winter maybe 2Q 3 Q of you know the next year it's a fiscal 27 uh you know how are you 42:56 42 minutes, 56 seconds looking at the advanced booking because as you already explained that there is some inflation something will get absorbed something will get passed 43:03 43 minutes, 3 seconds through but what we hear is the advanced booking from VMAT versus you know every uh you know some other value fashion 43:10 43 minutes, 10 seconds retailers two to three of them have they've been better off so will there be a margin hiccup when we get into are seasonally strong seasons. That's one. 43:19 43 minutes, 19 seconds And secondly, just on the capex side, if Anaman can clarify, my sense is refurbishment in new stores 130 140 cr should be enough. Uh when you look at 43:28 43 minutes, 28 seconds this 175 180 cr number, what is that additional spend? If you could just break that down. Thank you so much. 43:34 43 minutes, 34 seconds You know, I think see as I told earlier also we are we definitely have two verticals. one is the the vertical which 43:42 43 minutes, 42 seconds closes the final design and the other is the vertical which tries to close the the fabric pieces. So we work in a longer term mindset to to close our 43:51 43 minutes, 51 seconds fabric needs and fabric requirement and give the perspective so that the the time taken for the fabric development also is taken into account. So there is 43:59 43 minutes, 59 seconds certainly good work that the team has done. They have almost blocked 50 to 60% of our lead or our total demand till 44:07 44 minutes, 7 seconds December. So, so there is already already a a blocking which has happened for the for the forthcoming six seven months a part of which is which is going 44:16 44 minutes, 16 seconds on part of which has been closed. So there's lot of work I don't I don't see a jump in margin there but I would see 44:23 44 minutes, 23 seconds not a negation in the margin I would see a maybe availability of the product I would see a better uh value being 44:31 44 minutes, 31 seconds provided to the consumers uh if if they compare it with other other other part of the market. So I I I still 44:39 44 minutes, 39 seconds feel that the the consumer and our consumers are are very much down to our consumers who who can buy only two or three times of in a year their earning 44:47 44 minutes, 47 seconds capabilities are very low. Their average earning is around 30,000 rupees a month. 44:51 44 minutes, 51 seconds So I think for them creating an impact at this point of time from our side uh shouldn't happen and that is what we are trying to prevent because they should 45:00 45 minutes not that they already are in pain because of inflation and and demart also offers or or helps or or doesn't help them to sustain that pain or doesn't 45:09 45 minutes, 9 seconds help them to give the products at the similar prices actually makes the consumer move away from the from the brand. So I think that is where we want to bring in that loyalty and our loyalty 45:18 45 minutes, 18 seconds is very very important for us because for us almost 72% of our sales comes from our repeat customers and the customers who are already shopping with 45:25 45 minutes, 25 seconds us. So that is the core priority. We we definitely want to offer them a longerterm view and be being with them 45:33 45 minutes, 33 seconds is more important in these difficult times. Yeah. Anand if you want to answer on the capeex please. Yeah, on the cape 45:40 45 minutes, 40 seconds side, Rahul, uh we spend 159 crores this year and my estimate is uh you know because we also do apart from the you 45:48 45 minutes, 48 seconds know the new store expansion as well as the old store refurbishments we are slightly going heavy on the tech side with a lot of you know AIEL uh 45:56 45 minutes, 56 seconds interventions. So the budget that I have put together for next year is probably around 170 plus crores and uh the differential for whatever you mentioned 46:05 46 minutes, 5 seconds in the numbers is more to go towards the tech side. 46:11 46 minutes, 11 seconds Got it. Got it. Thank you so much and wish you all the best for the next year. 46:16 46 minutes, 16 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Alias Shaki from Motila Losal Mutual Fund. Please go ahead. 46:23 46 minutes, 23 seconds Yeah, thanks a lot for the opportunity and uh hi Li G and Anan congratulation on very good set of numbers. Uh just two questions you already have spoken on 46:32 46 minutes, 32 seconds them. One on the raw material already you have you know elaborated a lot. I just wanted to uh you know quickly understand if you can quantify I mean if 46:40 46 minutes, 40 seconds the crude price remain where they are then what kind of price increase uh do would you need to mitigate it and uh in 46:47 46 minutes, 47 seconds the past you know probably during covid or postcoid you know when these price increase were taken we see saw some you know impact in terms of demand so what 46:56 46 minutes, 56 seconds are your thoughts on that so I think we I've already narrated uh 47:05 47 minutes, 5 seconds uh And then we would not want to increase the same products price too much. On an average if you look at the 47:13 47 minutes, 13 seconds similar life for life product line the price increase may go up to up by one one and a half one and a half%. But there could be certain price increase in 47:22 47 minutes, 22 seconds the ESP that you could see from the mix change because like you know earlier times we used to sell large amount of 47:30 47 minutes, 30 seconds kas in women but now we want to sell more uh korta sets in women. Now when you sell korta sets as a mix that the 47:38 47 minutes, 38 seconds goes up and that is what we trying to do. So that how do we bring in combination which is more in fashion and how do you bring up the consumer 47:46 47 minutes, 46 seconds lifetime value or how do you bring up their uh spend value at our place that is how we are trying to position but you 47:54 47 minutes, 54 seconds would not see too much of price coming in from this perspective. 47:58 47 minutes, 58 seconds Got it. This is very useful. Second question on growth you did elaborate a lot but I just have two clarif uh you know I mean uh questions on the growth 48:06 48 minutes, 6 seconds part. One is SSG while now we have seen you know very strong SSG you know performance for almost backto-back uh 48:14 48 minutes, 14 seconds maybe 10 quarters right so typically we have seen you know the sector goes through a cycle and after maybe 2 three 48:21 48 minutes, 21 seconds years of good SSG you see some softening happening now also you know uh after such strong numbers and store addition 48:29 48 minutes, 29 seconds from the competition is also happening so maybe there will be some probably you know uh competitive factors also plus you are adding a lot of API source. So 48:38 48 minutes, 38 seconds uh is there also a risk of overlap? So just if you can share some thoughts on you know on the SSG trends while you have said that you would want to do and 48:47 48 minutes, 47 seconds continue to do 5 10% but do you see the risk of on SSG because of cyclicality competition plus overlapping of your own stores? 48:57 48 minutes, 57 seconds So I think Alif the worst is over behind us. We have seen enough of that uh pariet as of now. All of the work that 49:06 49 minutes, 6 seconds DeMart has done in the past three four years in trying to uh you know strengthen the organization strengthen the technology parameters strengthen the 49:14 49 minutes, 14 seconds strength brings in the whole uh integrate the whole partnership have that you know designing the capabilities and all of that. I think 49:22 49 minutes, 22 seconds for us we are very confident that we would we should be continuing and we should be growing more and this is the time for where where we need to come 49:30 49 minutes, 30 seconds back and we need to keep continuing on that on that on that growth rate. See the risks are always there. The risk 49:37 49 minutes, 37 seconds will always continue. There will be market disruptions. There will be certain internal disruptions which could happen. There could be some competitive 49:46 49 minutes, 46 seconds challenges which could get thrown away in particular markets or in particular geography or particular towns. So but overall we believe we and we are 49:55 49 minutes, 55 seconds very confident that we should be able to track and continue the the FSC growth rate uh uh which is which is going on we 50:03 50 minutes, 3 seconds very very cautious and we are also very very optimistic on this. 50:07 50 minutes, 7 seconds Got it sir. Thank you so much and very happy to see our confidence in yours growth capability. Thanks. Thanks a lot and wish you all the best. 50:15 50 minutes, 15 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of Lokesh Manik from Valam Capital. Please go ahead. 50:22 50 minutes, 22 seconds Uh yes. Hi, good morning Lu G and Anand team. Uh am I audible? Yes. Yes. 50:29 50 minutes, 29 seconds Great. Great. Uh sir, two questions from my side. One is on the capeex per store which precoid used to which was only 50:38 50 minutes, 38 seconds remark pre-COVID which used to be about 1.2 1.3 crores. Uh then introduction of lime road and it shot up to 2.3 crores 50:45 50 minutes, 45 seconds is this year is at 2 crores. So in the medium term where do you see this settling down? Um maybe Anan would have 50:53 50 minutes, 53 seconds a better idea on that if he can just guide us. 50:59 50 minutes, 59 seconds So Locar Kex per store still remains around 1.3 1.4 crores. Uh for certain 51:06 51 minutes, 6 seconds areas wherever isolated cases where we have to be slightly more a market there can be exceptions but otherwise at a 51:14 51 minutes, 14 seconds overall basis our capex per store still remains at 1.3 1.4 4 crores. So I think the number that you're getting is an average of total capex divided by the 51:22 51 minutes, 22 seconds new store editions. But uh there is also a lot of store refurbishments uh that we do and that takes up a 51:31 51 minutes, 31 seconds significant a good amount of capex that happens after every four to six years depending on the condition of the store and the you know the market intensity or 51:39 51 minutes, 39 seconds the competitive intensity. But that is a very large project that we have undertaken in the last two years. So a good part of our KEX spend goes towards store refurbishments. 51:50 51 minutes, 50 seconds So around tapering off. Yeah. When when do you expect that to taper off? 51:55 51 minutes, 55 seconds I don't see that tapering off because No, I don't see that tapering off because this is a continuous evolution. 52:02 52 minutes, 2 seconds We will continue to keep bettering our stores. So typically every store will go through a refurb cycle between four to 6 52:10 52 minutes, 10 seconds years. Now some may go a bit early at four years, some may go by six years but that is the typical range in which we like to operate and that is the way we 52:19 52 minutes, 19 seconds have you know constructed our business model so that the internal approvals and the store itself and the cash flow generation is itself able to very well 52:27 52 minutes, 27 seconds take care of that refer right great will be some pressure on the capex line as well because of the increase in the 52:36 52 minutes, 36 seconds raw material prices or the crude prices or the market communities is there could be certain pressure which could come here as well but as of now we haven't 52:45 52 minutes, 45 seconds taken too much of pressure we have actually reduced our capex from last year we we we've negotiated more we we've actually that sourcing team has 52:54 52 minutes, 54 seconds done a great job here as well and so so we are trying to work on that as well but but largely if you look at the entire so there are there are the gross 53:02 53 minutes, 2 seconds addition has been 90 store it is not the 75 78 so so the gross edition has been larger there has been little larger 53:09 53 minutes, 9 seconds stores also which gets created. So overall if you look at the the number is per square feet as well as the the other because you need to invest more in the 53:17 53 minutes, 17 seconds back end as well because as as you grow in the front end the back end investment also has to be in line with that. 53:24 53 minutes, 24 seconds Great great uh Raj my second question was on rent expense. So as a percentage of sales uh you know we were at 4.5% 53:32 53 minutes, 32 seconds again earlier and we peaked out at 10% we're at 8% today. uh medium-term what is your target and where do you see this settling down? 53:42 53 minutes, 42 seconds See I think in in today's scenario and as you understand the the the earlier times where virgin period where we we we 53:50 53 minutes, 50 seconds used to walk into the virgin territories people were not so much aware people wanted good good good retailers to come in. So as of now there is definitely lot of 53:58 53 minutes, 58 seconds competition and lot of requirement of those Kanov and the construction cost has gone up land costs have significantly gone up the real estate 54:06 54 minutes, 6 seconds prices have gone up so the cost has has really gone up so I think we should be hovering and then we should be comfortable with around 7 to 7 and a 54:14 54 minutes, 14 seconds half% and 7% is the ballark ballpark figure which we want to come up to 7% is something that we are trying to change and we will we will be there because all 54:22 54 minutes, 22 seconds our most of our new store are being planned at that particular the prices of maybe less than 7%. 54:29 54 minutes, 29 seconds Great. My last question Li was that uh over a period of time our ASP of apparel uh you know has been more or less constant at bmark level uh and at 54:38 54 minutes, 38 seconds overall level as well. So now do you see that you know with with the inflation coming in and if you're able to crack 54:45 54 minutes, 45 seconds your product mix strategy incrementally you'll see u a lot of people coming to your store versus you know outside who 54:53 54 minutes, 53 seconds would not be able who will not be able to manage inflation and who will have to take a price increase. So do you see that benefit going forward? 55:01 55 minutes, 1 second Yeah I'll narrate it. See we can only work towards it. We will definitely want to attract them more, convert them more, 55:09 55 minutes, 9 seconds make them more happier, uh uh make them more aspirational. We would definitely want to do it. But see, ultimately at 55:17 55 minutes, 17 seconds the end of the day, the amount of work that we are doing, I don't feel that my my my competitors are not doing. So the entire market is getting more 55:24 55 minutes, 24 seconds intelligent. The entire market is trying to work on it. And I give credit to the entire market because most of the value retailers are really working very hard to provide similar kind of experience to 55:32 55 minutes, 32 seconds consumer, similar kind of value delivery to consumer. So, so I don't think there's a large piece. Yes, certainly we have done some extraordinary work. We 55:40 55 minutes, 40 seconds will want to do more because so, so I always feel there is a lot of room more left. We could actually deliver more more benefit to the 55:49 55 minutes, 49 seconds consumer. We will actually be able to yield more better better efficiency from our operations as well. 55:56 55 minutes, 56 seconds Great. Great. That's it from my side sir. Thank you so much. 55:59 55 minutes, 59 seconds Thank you. The next question is from the line of JMS from 3PM. Please go ahead. 56:07 56 minutes, 7 seconds Uh hi L. Hi Anj. Uh thank you for taking my questions. Uh couple of questions. Uh 56:13 56 minutes, 13 seconds uh one is on unlimited. I know uh since acquisition we've uh divested a lot of stores. We've rationalized a lot of 56:21 56 minutes, 21 seconds stores. Just from a sales throughput per square feet uh over the let's say a medium-term do you think uh as new 56:29 56 minutes, 29 seconds stores get added and as you've mentioned that new stores are operating at VMAT level efficiency we see that number 56:36 56 minutes, 36 seconds going up closer to the VMAT levels over the next two or three years would that be an aspiration for us 56:44 56 minutes, 44 seconds I don't think see there is a delta and the delta will remain we may we are not I mean there is a incremental sales close to sales group which We are 56:52 56 minutes, 52 seconds getting better from there but still the delta will be there and delta is right now there. So, so it is it is going to 56:58 56 minutes, 58 seconds be because there is a delta as of now of approximately 140 rupees or 1535 rupees uh and and we could come little closer 57:07 57 minutes, 7 seconds on the delta but still that delta will not go away because VMA has also lines of FMCG which we do the Kirana business 57:16 57 minutes, 16 seconds also contributes to around 10 to 13,000 VMA's business where the sales per square foot is also a little higher. 57:23 57 minutes, 23 seconds VMAT also does a little more of you know value products and then those products but unlimited does a little more of a 57:30 57 minutes, 30 seconds little brand and premiums as also so so that that the difference is there we are covering that but the like for like growth should be higher in unlimited is 57:39 57 minutes, 39 seconds that is what we are trying to uh perceive and that is what we are trying to work towards sure uh thank you sir uh just one more 57:47 57 minutes, 47 seconds question on this and uh you've alluded to this before uh is for FI20 27 specifically given the exact challenges 57:56 57 minutes, 56 seconds uh on the gross margin side are we trying to manage that more via mix and premiumize the customer or loyalty loyal 58:05 58 minutes, 5 seconds customers who are like 72% of our customers to a let's say a higher price product is that or a higher margin 58:12 58 minutes, 12 seconds product is that how we want to protect our margins for FI27 given the whole uh impact on 58:20 58 minutes, 20 seconds no no I think I think we we've work towards that. Certainly, it is more about what does what product are we able 58:26 58 minutes, 26 seconds to create. Yes, there is a there is a there is a finding we do want to uh bring in more aspirational customer also 58:35 58 minutes, 35 seconds in our our floor. There is new set of customer entry entries that we are trying to also do because we also want to acquire better customers. Customers 58:43 58 minutes, 43 seconds who are who were shopping in brand because now the brands are no longer relevant for them. They don't want to uh uh show off their brand. they want to 58:51 58 minutes, 51 seconds really show off the product. So if they want to really use a good product, a fashionable product, we are not leaving any stone unturned for providing them 59:00 59 minutes those kind of products even if the price has to go up. So the whole mix of the of the range could get impacted. We would 59:07 59 minutes, 7 seconds want to attract more uh higher higher product high or better product mix but that doesn't mean that we'll manage our 59:14 59 minutes, 14 seconds margins through that. We will certainly want to manage our margins both largely from our internal efficiency generation 59:22 59 minutes, 22 seconds through our vendors or in our innovation pieces or our in our cost savings that we can do over the over increasing the 59:30 59 minutes, 30 seconds quantum of production because our production rate is also going up. Our average order per color which used to be around 3,000 pieces then moved to 5,000 59:39 59 minutes, 39 seconds pieces now going up to 7 to 8,000 pieces and could go up 10,000 pieces. Now how do we how do we actually bring efficiency in their production lines and 59:47 59 minutes, 47 seconds and in the in the in the production fabric production lines or or garment production lines that is what we are all trying to work where that could be 59:55 59 minutes, 55 seconds transferred to the to the to the to our uh consumers. 1:00:00 1 hour Thank you. Thank you L. Thank you so much and all the best. 1:00:05 1 hour, 5 seconds Thank you ladies and gentlemen. That was the last question. I now hand the floor back to the management for closing comments. 1:00:14 1 hour, 14 seconds Thank you so much for being there. We we really had a good session. Uh uh we are very confident at VMAT. Our team is 1:00:22 1 hour, 22 seconds super excited. Uh we give a lot of credits to all our stakeholders or our teams who really done a great job in the 1:00:29 1 hour, 29 seconds last quarter. We will continue doing all of that. we will also keep innovating and creating newer ideas and newer thought process and adopting the newer 1:00:38 1 hour, 38 seconds set of digitalization which is coming into the market. So that is what we all are here for. Thank you so much and happy happy have a good day. 1:00:47 1 hour, 47 seconds Thank you very much sir. 1:00:49 1 hour, 49 seconds On behalf of anati shares and stock brokers limited that concludes this conference. Thank you for joining and you may now disconnect your lines. Thank you.