Shoppers Stop: Lower volumes and muted same-store sales dent Q4 performance

On a full-year basis (FY18), cost control initiatives helped the company improve margins to 5.9 per cent, which is 60 basis points higher than FY17

Shoppers Stop reported a muted March quarter (Q4) performance due to lower volumes and same-store sales (SSS) growth. This dragged down the top line by 7 per cent as compared to the year-ago quarter. SSS was down 4.1 per cent given the change in goods and services tax (GST) rates and thus lower price of some items, change in promotional period and mall renovations. 

The management had earlier indicated that its top line could see some pressures on account of ongoing renovations and road construction, which would impact its footfalls for key stores. It is not surprising then that footfalls