Value Retail Roundup: Q2 Scorecard, Festive Calendar Shift, and Who's Expanding

The big picture: festive shopping moved into Q3

This year Navratri began on 11 October, compared with 22 September last year, and Durga Puja runs from about 17 to 21 October. Diwali falls on 8 November. That moved most festive shopping out of the July–September quarter and into October–December. For value retailers, who rely heavily on festive and Puja buying, Q2 comparisons look weak on paper. Revenue still grew at most chains because they kept opening stores.

Q2 FY27 scorecard

All figures are provisional business updates and haven't been audited yet.

Zudio reaches 1,000 stores

Zudio opened its 1,000th store during the quarter. Trent added 17 Zudio stores and 10 Westside stores, net, in Q2. Its revenue growth sped up to 23%, from 18.5% in Q1. Zudio is the clear leader in value fashion, and management sees medium- to long-term room for about 5,000 Zudio stores.

V-Mart: underlying demand holds up

Adjusted for the festive shift, V-Mart's same-store sales grew 11%. Its South India format, Unlimited, did a little better at 12%. The chain opened 23 stores and closed one, seven of the openings in Uttar Pradesh, and now has 613 stores. First-half revenue rose 21% to ₹2,042 crore.

V2 Retail: fastest expansion, and the market reacted

V2 Retail opened 49 stores in the quarter, and 106 in the first half, taking it to 427 stores. Revenue rose 28%. Same-store sales growth was nearly flat, at 0.5%, even after adjusting for the festive shift, and the shares fell about 19% on 5 October. V2 launched its own online store, V2Kart, in Delhi NCR and Lucknow in September, and it plans selective price increases of 4–5% in Q3.

Style Baazar: the Durga Puja effect

Kolkata-based Baazar Style Retail depends heavily on Bengal, so it felt the Puja shift more than anyone. Q2 revenue fell 10% and same-store sales fell 25%. First-half revenue was still up 6%, at ₹965 crore, and the store count rose 13% from a year ago to 283. With Durga Puja now in October, Q3 is the quarter to watch for Style Baazar and the other Bengal value chains.

Vishal Mega Mart: the scale player

Vishal Mega Mart ended FY26 with 795 stores in 535 cities, after opening 105 stores during the year. FY26 revenue rose 20% to ₹12,906 crore, and net profit rose 33% to ₹839 crore. Apparel was 28.5% of revenue, and 401 of its stores are in Tier-3 towns. FY27 started strongly: Q1 revenue rose 18.7% to ₹3,727 crore, with same-store sales growth of 10% and profit up 25.6% to ₹258.8 crore. Its Q2 results are expected in November.

Srijan Style: 32 stores in about seven months

Srijan Style, the value fashion chain launched this year by Kolkata's Srijan Group, is the fastest new entrant in Eastern India. It opened its 32nd store, in Purnia (Bihar), on 15 October, the day after its 31st in Dhanbad. That's up from 23 stores across West Bengal, Bihar and Odisha in mid-September, so it has opened nine stores in under a month. The recent openings include Barakar, Dhupguri, Basirhat, Canning, Siliguri and Belpahar. The chain is targeting 50 stores by March 2027.

Max Fashion moves toward "democratised fashion"

Max Fashion (Landmark Group) has 530+ stores in 220+ cities. Its festive 2026 collection, curated by Kalki Koechlin under a new "Max Project New" banner, is priced from ₹599 to ₹1,999. A second drop is due in October. The brand plans 40–50 new stores in a new store format.

Intune presses pause to fix productivity

Shoppers Stop's value format Intune ended FY26 with nearly 90 stores and ₹282 crore in sales, after 14 openings during the year. Management has now paused rapid expansion to focus on sales per sq ft and supply chain efficiency, and says expansion will restart once these improve. Shoppers Stop reports Q2 results today, 16 October.

Style Union enters new cities

Style Union, run by Nexon Omniverse Limited, entered Pondicherry with its first store there on 9 October. On 12 October it opened its first store in Anand (Vidyanagar) and another in Mota Varachha, Surat. Earlier openings included Inorbit Mall Vashi in Mumbai, Pacific Mall Jasola in Delhi and Kondhwa in Pune. The brand says it adds 150+ new styles a week. It is reported to be raising ₹400–500 crore to reach 250 stores.

Puja season: Baazar Kolkata goes big on marketing

With Durga Puja under way, Baazar Kolkata's festive campaign features its brand ambassador Kartik Aaryan. At Calcutta Times Fashion Week 2026, the chain put Kolkata's first humanoid robot fashion showstopper on the runway. It followed up on 13 October with a festive fashion show using an aerial LED screen and drones over the Kolkata skyline.

New store openings this month

• V2 Retail: Bardhaman, West Bengal (13 October) and Adoor, Kerala (3 October). V2 says it now has 430+ stores in 355+ cities, with fashion from ₹99.

• Style Baazar: Raniganj, West Bengal (11 October). A store in Danapur, Patna is opening next.

• Style Union: Pondicherry (9 October), Anand and Surat (12 October).

• Srijan Style: Belpahar and Dhanbad (11 October), Purnia (15 October).

Citykart wins for its Rakhi campaign

Citykart won Retail Media Campaign of the Year at the AdAura Awards 2026 for its Raksha Bandhan campaign, a "Mega Rakhi" installation at Lucknow's 1090 Chauraha.

Citykart reaches 200 stores

Citykart opened its 200th store, in Bhilai (Chhattisgarh), on 5 September. It took seven years to reach 100 stores and less than three to add the next 100. Around 135 of the 200 stores are in Uttar Pradesh and Bihar, and private labels make up nearly 90% of what it sells.

What to watch in Q3: October–December now holds all of the festive demand. Results for that quarter will show whether value retail demand is really holding up, especially in Bengal, Bihar and Uttar Pradesh.

Sources: Storyboard18: Trent · Apparel Resources: V-Mart · Apparel Resources: V2 Retail · Business Today: V2 Retail shares · Loktej: Baazar Style Retail · Apparel Resources: Vishal Mega Mart · Images BoF: Max Fashion · Business Vibes of India: Intune · IFAB: Style Union · Apparel Resources: Citykart · Company LinkedIn pages: V2 Retail · Baazar Style Retail · Srijan STYLE · Style Union · Baazar Retail · Vishal Mega Mart · Citykart