Targeting a $24Bn market opportunity, AgriTech players are working across the value chain, from farm input selection, procurement of produce to creating farm to fork consumer brands to bring Indian agriculture back into focus and provide a much needed impetus to India’s GDP! Where does the future of agriculture lie?
D Mart has always been an outlier in Indian organised retail. While Aditya Birla Group sold More to Amazon, Future Group was almost crushed under its ballooning debts and Vishal Retail went out of business, D Mart cracked the unit-economics game and expanded to 214 stores in a span of 20 years. And it managed to do this profitably, with negligible debt while offering customers the lowest prices in the industry. D Mart made a blockbuster debut on NSE in 2017, listing 102% above its offer price of Rs 299/share and hasn’t looked back since. However, the future looks uncertain for Dalal Street’s darling stock. Damani’s conservative approach, which delivered rich dividends till now, may falter in the face of growing competition from the juggernaut called Reliance Retail and onslaught from Amazon owned More. Online grocers like Bigbasket, and Grofers have also started chipping away at DMart’s traditional stronghold, the F&G segment. However, with pressure on gross margins, rising opex and declining Same Store Sales Growth even before this COVID induced economic turmoil, will DMart be able to continue its stellar performance? Let’s dive in