Shiseido Co., Japan's largest cosmetic company, is launching its makeup brand NARS Cosmetics in India in partnership with Shoppers Stop Ltd.'s Global SS Beauty Brands. The company plans to open 14 stores in New Delhi and Mumbai this year, as well as market NARS through Sephora shops. Shiseido aims to tap into the growing consumer market in India and diversify its earnings. The move comes after a previous retreat from the Indian market in 2015. Shiseido plans to introduce more brands to India in the future.

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd. (RRVL) has signed a joint venture with Alia Bhatts clothing brand of kids and maternity wear, Ed-a-Mamma for a 51% majority stake. The partnership will see the brand grow into new areas like personal care and baby furniture. The brand also plans it come up with children's story books and an animated series.

Motilal Oswal recommended Neutral rating on Shoppers Stop with a target price of Rs 750 in its research report dated August 28, 2023.

The success of movies Rocky aur Rani Kii Prem Kahaani, Gadar 2 and OMG 2 has lifted sales in malls in August with retailers reporting a 10-15% increase in footfalls and sales in comparison with last month. Other movies that have brought back people to cinemas include Barbie and Oppenheimer.

The company said that Mishra’s term will be for a duration of three years after Nair’s resignation becomes effective on 31st August.

The company promoted Chief Commercial Officer Kavindra Mishra as its new CEO and executive director. Nair joined Shoppers Stop in the second half of 2020 to lead the company after the pandemic and transform it into an omnichannel retailer.

Venugopal G. Nair, the Managing Director and CEO of Shoppers Stop, has resigned from his position for personal reasons. The company praised Nair for his contributions in strengthening the business during the post-Covid era. Kavindra Mishra, the Chief Commercial Officer and CEO of Homestop, has been promoted as the new Executive Director & CEO of Shoppers Stop.

"Companies like Bhel, which have the spare capacity, which have the technology, which have been more or less pre-qualified for many projects and orders are getting the true benefit of it. So, from a valuation perspective, from near-term prospects and also medium-term prospects, certainly there is a trading opportunity in Bhel and with the kind of momentum that is in the stock, it can easily rally by another 10-15% or so. But I would not like to invest in Bhel in the longer term."

Lifestyle International, part of Dubai-based Landmark Group, operates Lifestyle department store chain, value format Max, and home furnishing store Home Centre. Sales of organised retail segments grew 34% in FY22-23 compared to pre-pandemic (FY20), largely driven by quick service restaurants, sporting goods and electronics, a report by the Retailers Association of India (RAI) said.

Chennai Petroleum Corp: The companys debt-to-equity ratio came down significantly to 0.6 times as of March end, from as high as 3.09 times a year ago. The companys sales grew a sharp 77% in FY23, while the stock has given 25% returns in the last one year.

Bhumika Group, Rajasthans largest mall developer has entered into a joint development agreement to develop a high-street retail project in Faridabad, Uddhav Poddar, Managing Director of Bhumika Group said. The company has tied up with a Faridabad based developer, who owns 5-acre land on the Mathura Road.

The demand situation is posing a challenge, as mentioned by a significant number of companies in their Q1 earnings statement. Businesses have now pinned their hopes on the festive season for a likely spending revival, the report said.

The Bengaluru-based company's consolidated net loss widened to 164.3 million rupees ($1.98 million) for the three-month period ended June 30, from a loss of 5.1 million rupees a year earlier.

Sales of semi-casual or smart casual office wear, including denims, chinos, polos and casual shirts and sneakers are growing at a faster pace than traditional formal wear, according to retailers. The trend reflects an increase in employment in the services, financial and IT sectors, where formal wear has been replaced with “Friday dressing” for everyday use.

Indian buyers spent over ₹5,000 crore on more than 100 million cosmetic products in the last six months, with 40% making purchases online, according to Kantar Worldpanel's initial study on the industry in India. The data suggests working women who buy both online and offline spend 1.6 times what average consumers pay.

The Mumbai bench of the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT) has approved the demerger of K Raheja Groups subsidiary K Raheja Corporate Services following the realty conglomerates application in order to access the capital markets through a listing of the same.

Motilal Oswal recommended Neutral rating on Shoppers Stop with a target price of Rs 760 in its research report dated July 25, 2023.

Companies in India's discretionary consumption sectors, including electronics and retail, have reported a recovery in sales volumes since June on a year-on-year basis, which further improved in July. This could be attributed to eased inflation and a stronger manufacturing industry since April and May.

ICICI Securities is bullish on Shoppers Stop recommended buy rating on the stock with a target price of Rs 885 in its research report dated July 25, 2023.

Shoppers Stop has reported a Q1 growth of 4% YoY to Rs 1,241 crore in sales, with flat margins and non-GAAP EBITDA of Rs 58 crore. While apparel sales have slowed in comparison to Q1 of the last financial year, which saw a surge in consumption following the initial Covid outbreak, Shoppers Stop believes the apparel story will continue to be strong, with non-apparel categories such as beauty, watches and luggage driving growth in this quarter.

Shoppers Stop’s beauty segment grew 14 percent year-on-year to Rs 216 crore. It contributed 16.4 percent to the company’s total revenue.

The demerger of ITC according to Pankaj Pandey, Head Research, is a disappointment, as a vertical split would have been better. He believes that although the new arrangement will see the hotel business contribute over Rs 25, this will not matter much. However, ITC still owns 40% of the demerged business and may require funding going forward.

As per its latest annual report, the company operates 270 retail stores, including 98 departmental stores, 132 speciality beauty stores of MAC, Est e Lauder, Bobbi Brown, Clinique, Jo Malone, Too Faced, SS Beauty, and 23 Airport doors.

The Gurgaon-based firm plans to use these funds for research and development and to grow its product portfolio, which currently has 1,200 stock keeping units (SKUs).

Reliance Brands is reportedly in talks to acquire actress Alia Bhatt's children's wear brand Ed-a-Mamma for INR 300-350 crore. The acquisition is expected to strengthen Reliance's children's wear portfolio and give it a greater toehold in the kidswear market. The eco-friendly brand operates primarily online but is also sold through retail chains such as Shoppers Stop and Lifestyle.

Retailers are offering discounts of up to 75% in an attempt to boost sales during end of season sales (EOSS). However, concerns are rising as business levels are still lower than last year. Brands such as Shoppers Stop, Reliance Trends, Lifestyle, Pantaloons, VMART, Max, and Westside have started their sales earlier this year, with a decline in revenue of 5-15% YoY.

Motilal Oswal recommended Neutral rating on Shoppers Stop with a target price of Rs 800 in its research report dated June 26, 2023.