Two Years from Now, Zudio Should be Different From Today

Venkatesalu P, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director at Trent Ltd. on keeping Zudio nimble and the need to innovate for staying relevant

- Rasul Bailay

Value retail chain Zudio sells about 90 T-shirts every minute and 20 pairs of jeans every hour... such is the popularity of the brand in the country, known for its value-consciousness.

Within a short span of a decade, Zudio has grown into a ₹7,000 crore plus annual business, becoming one of the biggest value fashion and lifestyle success stories. In the fiscal year 2024, Zudio opened more than 200 stores sized about 10,000 sq. ft., with Trent Ltd shelling out about ₹3-4 crore per outlet on average.

Venkatesalu P, Chief Executive Officer and Executive Director at Trent Ltd. speaks to IMAGES Retail about keeping Zudio nimble in terms of backend and its expenses; Zudio's constant need to change and innovate to stay relevant and thrive among other things. Edited excerpts:

What is the secret sauce behind Zudio's success? How are you able to keep the price down?

I do not think the prices are what people think they are. The reason is we do not discount. If you think about it, the prices are a bit of a premium over what you get if somebody does the math. The reality is you want to leverage the platform and keep the whole thing efficient, so you do not spend a lot of money. For instance, we do not advertise.

If you look at our annual reports and commentaries, not much has changed in 10 years in terms of commentary. We continue to do the same thing repeatedly. We will not do stuff that adds to the cost thereby keeping ourselves efficient. We keep it simple. And that is baked into the culture of the business. I do 10 things and I have made three mistakes. Learn first, look at those mistakes, understand mistakes happen, and try not to repeat them. That's been the theme. Also, such businesses are not built in one or two years.

Was Westside an inspiration for you to start Zudio?