The billionaire who built $30 billion worth retail business in India

However, the billionaire always maintains a low profile and rarely makes appearances at public events and avoids speaking to the press.

Damani got into retailing business in 2002 with one store in suburban Mumbai and has grown into a chain selling everything from grocery to apparel to footwear. But apart from this role, he is also an investor who manages his portfolio through his Investment firm, Bright Star Investments Limited.

Avenue Supermarts is one of the largest food and grocery retailers in India. DMart took eight years to start its first ten stores. This wasn’t because of dearth of investment opportunities, but more because Damani believed in validating the business model from both profitability and scalability. Today, DMart is a successful grocery retail chain in India, focusing primarily on the value segment, operating with a mission to be the lowest priced retailer in the area of operation or city.

The company which opened its first store in Mumbai in 2002, has 327 operating stores with Retail Business Area of 13.5 million sq. ft across Maharashtra, Gujarat, Daman, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka, Telangana, Tamil Nadu, Madhya Pradesh, Rajasthan, NCR, Chhattisgarh and Punjab as of 30th June 2023.

However, the current business environment is challenging with a slow pick up in discretionary spends. The gross margins of DMart continue to remain under pressure due to weak product mix. However, the revenue/sqft and revenue/store improved 4 percent and 5 percent year on year in the first quarter of FY24. Street expects the current weakness in business environment to be cyclical and henceforth, a solid Earnings Per Share (EPS) growth is anticipated on improving general merchandise sales.