(Reuters) -Shares of Indian fashion retailer Trent slumped as much as 18% on Monday, set for their worst day since March 2020, after the company’s fourth-quarter business update underscored a continuing trajectory of moderating revenue growth.
The retailer’s stock was the top loser on the blue-chip Nifty 50 index, which was down about 4% amid a global sell-off on fears that a trade war would spark a recession. [.BO]
Urban consumption in India is faltering due to subdued wage growth and high cost of living.
While Tata Group-owned Trent’s revenue growth has been slowing since the second quarter of fiscal year 2025, growth of 28% in the latest quarter was the slowest since January-March 2021, when it faced pandemic-induced operational disruptions.
“In our view, after delivering strong double-digit like-for-like growth … the high base effect is beginning to moderate Trent’s growth momentum,” said Abhijeet Kundu, equity analyst at Antique Stockbroking, in a note.
The growth was slightly below the brokerage’s expectation.
Trent’s quarterly revenue grew at a breakneck pace in fiscal years 2023 and 2024 as the retailer tapped into growing appetite of young shoppers, who regularly refresh their wardrobes with affordable but trendy designs.
The stock more than doubled in value in 2023 and again in 2024.
However, with sales momentum faltering, Trent has fallen about 36% in 2025, making it the worst-performing stock on the blue-chip Nifty 50 index.
While Trent did not provide same-store sales growth metrics, analysts at Motilal Oswal suggest it likely moderated from high single-digit percentage in the third quarter.
Meanwhile, Trent’s store additions of its flagship brand Zudio in the fiscal year met or exceeded what several analysts had been estimating.
However, most new stores were added in the fourth quarter, the sales impact of which would become more evident starting from the first quarter of fiscal year 2026, Antique Stockbroking’s Kundu said.
The company’s fiscal year runs April through March.
(Reporting by Ananta Agarwal in Bengaluru; Editing by Savio D’Souza and Mrigank Dhaniwala)
