AJVC Unfiltered 57: Can DMart Show Indian Retail a Profitable Future?

Founders Unfiltered

Last fortnight, DMart reported ₹11.3K Cr of quarterly revenue, clocking a 25% YoY growth, putting it on track for ~₹40K Cr of annual revenue.

Radhakishan Damani was a stock trader in Dalal Street. In the 80s, he was head-to-head with Harshad Mehta. Mr D lost big with Apollo Tyres - his first encounter with Harshad. But Damani is not a man to accept defeat easily.

Damani learnt the art of trading under Manu Manek - the cobra of D-Street. By the turn of the century, Damani was doing significantly well for himself as a trader.

He had won the battle against Harshad, been a value investor alongside Rakesh Jhunjhunwala, and an early predictor of HDFC Bank's supreme success. Yet, he felt anxious to start a business that brought value to Indian consumers for every rupee they spent.

D-Mart was born, with its first store in Powai. Since then, it took eight years to grow to 10 stores, but only 5 years for the next 50 stores. It IPOed in 2017, and thereafter never touched the offer price again.

With strong unit economics, focus on frugality and high customer satisfaction, will DMart continue being the blue-eyed boy of Dalal Street?

Read full article here: https://ajuniorvc.com/dmart-ipo-story...