Retail chain Shoppers Stop seems to be embarking on a turnaround journey. The company, which clocked muted revenue growth in the last quarter of FY18, is eyeing a good growth in FY19.

The new MD and CEO Rajiv Suri who took over on July 1 from longtimer Govind Shrikhande expects FY19 to be much better than FY18.

"We should be looking at a double-digit growth on an overall basis and a high single-digit like-to-like growth for FY19," said Suri.

But, Suri clarifies, the first quarter of FY19 may not be as good as the first quarter of FY18 owing to the mega stock clearance sales that shaped up during the transition to GST. "The muted growth in the first quarter is an industry trend. Expect growth to come back in the second quarter of FY19," he said.

To bring back growth and improve margins, Shoppers Stop is focusing on expansion in specific segments. The company plans to double private brands business over the next three years.

Private brands currently make up 11 percent of business for Shoppers Stop. The company is also focussing on the beauty segment, under which it has interesting brands such as MAC, Clinique, Estee Lauder.

A combination of store expansion and increasing assortment is a strategy that the company is working on. The company is yet to finalise its strategy on bookstore Crossword and Home stop but plans to retain these entities.

Shoppers Stop has also been on a debt reduction spree and had carried out several divestments in FY18.

The company is planning to be debt free by this financial year. Amazon had picked up five percent stake in Shoppers Stop last year and the companies are now working on bringing more brands on the microsite.

At this stage, the company is not able to comment on incremental revenues through Amazon. When asked if the company is open to Amazon buying more stake in Shoppers Stop, Suri said, "We would be open to any discussion, but there isn't anything on the table at the moment."

First Published:Jul 6, 2018 9:21 AM IST