I have used chatgpt to format this post, I copy pasted my thoughts and asked chatgpt to make them it interesting reading.
Disclaimer: I am an apparel/textile retailer, and what I’m sharing below is purely based on my on-ground experience. This is not a stock recommendation. I understand the business, not stock valuation.
My Ground-Level Observations on
Avenue Supermarts Limited
(DMart)
In February, I had shared insights after meeting multiple suppliers across Ghaziabad, Meerut, Panipat, and Pilkhuwa. Recently, I visited a DMart store myself, and what I saw strongly reinforced—and expanded—my earlier understanding.
Let me walk you through it.
1. Clear Shift in Store Strategy
I visited DMart on a Sunday around 11:30 AM—parking was full, store was packed.
What stood out?
Earlier, DMart treated apparel and lifestyle as secondary categories. Now, they’re giving it prime real estate.
Roughly 75% of the first floor was apparel
Remaining space: luggage, bags, etc.
This is a clear strategic shift—from pure high-turnover FMCG to balanced, higher-margin categories.
2. Premiumisation in Bedsheets (Big Change)
This shocked me the most.
Earlier DMart price range for bedsheets:
- ₹399 → ₹899 (mass value play)
Now I saw:
Supplier: Laxmi Garment (Jaipur) — I personally deal with them
Quality code: Sandstanley
I can confidently say: DMart is making strong margins here
This is not random stocking—this is intentional trading-up strategy.
3. New Category Bet: Sofa Throws
This connects directly to what a vendor told me earlier.
Now understand this:
Sofa throw is still a new concept in India
More common in European markets
Requires some “visual selling”—not typical DMart style
Yet—it’s selling.
This tells me:
That’s a big signal.
4. Aggressive Space Allocation (Massive Insight)
This is where retail understanding really kicks in.
Now compare:
My store:
DMart:
- ~6x my allocation in this category alone
This is not trial.
This is full conviction category build-out.
Also important:
5. Fast Fashion Responsiveness (Men’s Section)
I spotted:
-
Denim cargos
-
Wide/big-bottom jeans
Now this matters.
This trend is relatively new
Seen in Zudio for last ~2 years
DMart catching it early is unexpected
Even more interesting:
- Inventory depth: 100+ pieces in this segment
Even if footfall purchase wasn’t obvious at that moment,
stock depth = demand validation internally
6. Innerwear = Margin Machine
Brands spotted:
-
Amul Macho
-
Rupa
-
Lux
-
Indixie
Here’s the real game:
Meaning: DMart keeps higher margins than many traditional retailers
This is opposite of their old perception.
7. Smart Pricing Psychology (Old Insight Validated)
From vendor + store visit combined:
Customer still feels DMart is cheap
But actual basket margin is much higher
This is very intelligent retail engineering
Final Take
I’ll say this very clearly:
DMart is not abandoning its DNA
It is evolving it
-
Maintaining value perception
-
Increasing category mix
-
Expanding into higher-margin products
-
Testing + scaling new ideas
-
Allocating serious space to lifestyle
From a business perspective:
They are doing a lot of things right
Important Clarification
I am speaking only about the business, not the stock price.
I don’t know:
What I do know:
-
I operate in the same ecosystem
-
I deal with similar vendors
-
I can see changes at ground level
And based on that:
I like what I see in the business
That’s why I have increased my allocation
If you understand retail deeply, you’ll realize—
this shift is not small. It is structural.
This is the sofa throw product that I was discussing earlier. I got image in my mobile, so I was able to upload here.
In price tag, at the top line, in bracket [MHF] is written. This is their vendor name short-code and it is common across all the products.
I personally know this vendor, so I can’t disclose the vendor name.
Location - Dmart, near Vivanta Hotel, Hinjawadi, Hinjavadi, Maharashtra 411057
