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Was it the harsh criticism of the government, especially the Prime Minister, in international circles that did the trick, or did the government just muster the courage required to the bite the reform bullet? The answer is unclear and perhaps the real story will be told in the coming weeks and even months.
Pantaloon Retail (India)’s board of directors approved a proposal to raise equity funds of up to Rs 1,500 crore. The board has told the company to restrict equity dilution to a maximum of 15%, and to limit its debt to equity ratio to 1.33 times. Pantaloon has postponed its annual general meeting from 22 October to 10 November, giving it time to seek permission for the equity issue from its shareholders in the AGM itself.
Store One Retail India announced a loss of Rs 8.6 crore for the June quarter (Q1) and appears to have got tired of waiting for its retail business to turn profitable. Its loss comes on the back of a Rs 35 crore loss in 2010-11 and a loss of Rs 51.2 crore in the year before that.
The company operates retail stores in Nagpur and Pune which are multi-brand outlets, selling apparel and accessories. In 2010-11, its turnover was Rs 3.2 crore.
Global coffee retailer Starbucks has been eyeing the growing out of home coffee market in India for years now, but players such as Café Coffee Day, Costa Coffee and Barista have been ahead in the curve. Starbucks has finally decided to take the plunge and announced a joint venture with the Tata Tea subsidiary Tata Coffee.
Shopper’s Stop announced its plants to issue 40 lakh shares through a preferential issue to qualified institutional buyers. The Qualified Institutional Placement route has become a preferred means of raising funds for companies, as it is fast and there seem enough investor appetite for Indian equities. The company has not spelled out why it is raising this money, but it could be used for working capital purposes, reducing debt and funding its ongoing investment programme.
Trent’s sales in the June 2009 quarter fell by 8% over the previous corresponding period to Rs 119 crore (standalone results). The apparel retailer, promoted by the Tata group, had hived off its hypermarket business to a subsidiary effective August 1, 2008. The loss of revenue in its standalone results hit overall growth. The company runs stores under the Westside, Sisley and Fashion Yatra and also owns the Star India Bazaar stores, which are now run by a subsidiary.
Highlights
Indians like to shop with their family. Well, anyone could tell you that, you don’t need McKinsey & Co for this. The consultancy’s recent report on how people shop for clothes in India, Brazil, and China (they have surveyed Russia too, but not in particular for apparel) says just that. Research firms like Technopak have done more in-depth and better studies in this segment.