The leading listed retail chain stocks – Trent and Avenue Supermarket (Dmart) are often referred to as the ‘poster boys’ of organised retail in the country for more than two decades. The ongoing selling pressure on Dalal Street has resulted in these two stocks trading close to their 52-week lows – Trent ended 3% higher on Monday at Rs 3,595.5 on Monday, and yet not too far from its 52-week low of Rs 3,428.9 that was reached on 16 March 2026.
Similarly, Avenue Supermarket closed 0.6% lower at Rs 3,812 on Monday, and not too far from its-52-week low of Rs 3,528.7 that was reached on 2 March, 2026.
Investor concerns for Trent and Avenue Supermarket
Investors have been concerned that the war in Middle East could disturb the local economy, in terms of production and employment levels. This in turn could impact consumer spending patterns, going forward.
Of equal concern for investors is the growing importance of quick commerce online, especially online platforms, and its impact on the sales growth of these two leading listed players.
For instance, Meesho, an online platform, while declaring its results for the first time in Q3FY26, pointed out placed orders for Q3FY26 stood at 690 million, up 36% y-o-y. Also, annual transacting users grew 34% y-o-y to 251 million in the quarter under review.
Meesho’s net merchandise value (NMV) of ₹10,995 crore in Q3 FY26, grew 26% y-o-y.
Sky-high valuations
On the Price to earnings valuation metric, the stocks are pricey. Take a look.
| Company | Consolidated P/E |
| Trent | 77.1 |
| Avenue Supermarket | 86.8 |
Trent trades at a consolidated P/E of 77.1 times, according to Screener.in, while Avenue Supermarket trades at a consolidated P/E of 86.8 times.
Over the past 10 years, Trent has traded at a consolidated P/E between 74.8 times and 527.6 times. Meanwhile, Avenue Supermarket over the past decade has traded at a consolidated P/E between 81.4 times and 313.9 times.
The main justification for this sky-high valuation was the rapid growth in organised retail in the country. The above assumption is being increasingly questioned by the rapid growth of quick commerce online platforms, and resulting slower growth at the two leading retail chains.
Q3FY26 – sluggish consumer sentiment and impact of reduced GST on Trent
Performance in the December 2025 quarter
| Consolidated net sales (%) | Net Profit (%) | |
| Trent | 14.8% | 2.8% |
| Avenue Supermarket | 13.3% | 18.3% |
Trent has seen a slowing growth trajectory in its revenue from operations in December 2025 quarter as compared to earlier quarters.
Trent grew its consolidated revenue from operations by 14.8% y-o-y to Rs 5,345 crore in the December 2025 quarter. Its retail network includes Westside, Zudio and Star stores.
A tight check on costs helped Trent’s consolidated operating profit margin grow 200 basis points y-o-y to 20.3% in the December 2025 quarter.
Consolidated net profit of the Tata group retailer grew barely 2.8% y-o-y to Rs 510.1 crore in Q3FY26, and it highlighted a one-time hit of Rs 26.1 crore related to the new labour code.
In the September 2025 quarter, Trent had grown its consolidated revenue from operations by 15.9% y-o-y to Rs 4,817.7 crore. In the June 2025 quarter, this Tata group retailer had grown its consolidated revenue from operations by 19% y-o-y to Rs 4,883.5 crore.
In its result presentation for Q3FY26, the Trent management has highlighted several factors for slowing growth in its revenue from operations.
The retailer has highlighted early festive season this year and that resulted in third quarter revenues (of current financial year) that are not entirely comparable with a year earlier. Also, the retailer saw continued impact following the transition to the new GST regime, with lower prices of most goods adversely affecting sales growth.
It also highlighted that consumer sentiment in the third quarter was relatively muted coupled with certain supply chain related challenges, given continuing geopolitical disturbances.
Store expansion of Trent
Trent ended December 2025 quarter with a store network of over 1,100 “large-box” fashion stores, with a presence across 274 cities. In Q3FY26, the Tata group retailer opened 17 Westside and 48 Zudio stores (including 1 store in the UAE).
Its retail network, as of 31st December 2025, included 278 Westside, 854 Zudio (including 4 stores in the UAE) and 32 stores across its lifestyle concepts. The retail chain operated with a footprint of over 15 million sq ft across its fashion brands.
Avenue Supermarket – GST cuts also impact like-for-like growth
Avenue Supermarket highlighted its like-for-like growth was 5.6% in the December 2025 quarter as against 8.3% a year earlier, for stores that have been operational for at least 24 months at the end of reporting period.
The company in its press release highlighted revenue growth was partially impacted due to deflation in staples – broadly referring to lower prices of most daily use items, given recent GST cuts on most daily items.
In contrast, in the September 2025 quarter, the company had highlighted that it’s like-for- like growth was 6.8% vis-a-vis 5.5% in the September 2024 quarter.
On a consolidated basis, however, the company appears to have posted relatively strong double-digit numbers.
The retailer’s consolidated revenue from operations grew 13.3% y-o-y to Rs 18,101 crore in the December 2025 quarter. A tight check on its costs helped its operating profit margin expand 40 basis points y-o-y to 8.1 per cent in Q3FY26
The company’s consolidated net profit grew 18.3% y-o-y to Rs 855.8 crore in the December 2025 quarter
In terms of footprint, the retailer continues to make progress.
DMart’s retail business area was 18.3 million sq feet at the end of the December 2025 quarter vis-à-vis 16.1 million sq ft a year earlier. The retailer highlighted that it added 10 stores in the third quarter of FY26. Its store network has reached 442 stores on a pan India basis at the end of the quarter under review.
Investors on Dalal Street – Are India’s retail poster boys cheap?
Trent and Avenue Supermarket are trading close to their 52-week lows, yet they trade at very high P/Es.
Investors will need to carefully monitor the expansion of online platforms and their potential impact on the growth prospects of Trent and Avenue Supermarket, going forward.
Investors can put Trent and Avenue Supermarket on their watch list of stocks for 2026 and assess whether the stocks measure up to expectations.
Amriteshwar Mathur is a financial journalist with over 20 years of experience.
The writer and his family have no shareholding in any of the stocks mentioned in the article.
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