Aditya Vision added 102 stores, with a three-year ramp-up

Aditya Vision added 102 stores from FY24 through FY26, increasing its year-end network from 105 stores in FY23 to 207 in FY26. Management says a new outlet takes about three years to mature, moving from break-even in year one to improving profitability in year two and normalised profitability in year three.

How quickly did Aditya Vision expand its store network?

Aditya Vision added 102 stores in FY24-FY26, nearly matching the 105 stores in its network at the end of FY23 after the preceding 24 years. The company opened 40 stores in FY24, 30 in FY25 and 32 in FY26, bringing the year-end store count to 207.

Aditya Vision reported 214 stores as of September 30, 2026, seven more than at FY26 end. Its footprint overview listed 120 stores in Bihar, 33 in Jharkhand, 56 in Uttar Pradesh and five in Chhattisgarh, which together equal 214 locations.

The network expansion has moved beyond its original Patna base over several years. Aditya Vision began expanding outside Patna in FY14, entered Jharkhand in FY22, started Uttar Pradesh expansion in FY23 and opened 18 Uttar Pradesh outlets in FY24. It also started expanding in western Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh in FY26, while crossing 100 Bihar stores in FY24.

What does an Aditya Vision store require before opening?

An average Aditya Vision store requires Rs 80-90 lakh of capital expenditure and Rs 2.75-3 crore of working capital, according to its unit-economics disclosure. The company gives a six-to-12-month range for store-level break-even and a three-year payback period, distinguishing operating break-even from recovery of the initial investment.

Working capital is larger than the stated capital-expenditure requirement for each location. Aditya Vision says it operates on a cash-and-carry model, with 85% of supplies sourced directly from original equipment manufacturers and 15% from distributors or clearing and forwarding agents. It also reports relationships with more than 100 brands and says it has no private-label products.

The company reported a 13-15% gross-margin range for the network. For FY26, it disclosed employee productivity of Rs 1.11 crore for employees with at least 12 months of service, revenue per square foot of more than Rs 41,000 for stores operating for at least 12 months as of March 31, 2026, and profit before tax of more than Rs 1,900 per square foot.

Those metrics do not use identical measurement bases. Revenue per square foot is based on gross sales, including goods and services tax, from outlets that had completed 12 months of operations, while profit before tax per square foot uses the average retail area for FY26. Newly launched stores therefore may not be represented on the same basis as mature outlets.

When do new Aditya Vision stores become profitable?

New Aditya Vision stores take about three years to mature, management says. In year one, a store is in setup and ramp-up while achieving break-even; year two is described as a growth phase with improving profitability; and year three is the path to maturity, when profitability normalises.

This timetable places the 40 stores opened in FY24, 30 opened in FY25 and 32 opened in FY26 at different ramp-up stages. Aditya Vision identifies the result as a short-term operating-expense impact, rather than saying that a newly opened outlet produces the same profitability as an established store.

The six-to-12-month break-even period is shorter than both the three-year maturity timetable and the three-year payback period. This indicates that Aditya Vision treats store-level operating break-even, normalised profitability and repayment of opening investment as separate milestones. The presentation does not provide store-level sales, profit or cash-flow data by opening cohort.

The physical footprint rose alongside the opening programme. Retail area increased from 5.88 lakh square feet in FY24 to 7.50 lakh square feet in FY25 and 9.14 lakh square feet in FY26, reaching 9.51 lakh square feet in H1FY27. Average store size was 4,445 square feet as of September 30, 2026, compared with a total footprint of about 9.5 lakh square feet.

How did financial results change during the rollout?

Aditya Vision's revenue rose from Rs 1,322 crore in FY23 to Rs 2,672 crore in FY26, while earnings before interest, tax, depreciation and amortisation increased from Rs 133 crore to Rs 228 crore. However, the EBITDA margin was 9.6% in FY23 and 8.5% in FY26, a period that included all 102 openings.

Revenue was Rs 1,779 crore in H1FY27, compared with Rs 1,398 crore in H1FY26, while EBITDA increased to Rs 170 crore from Rs 124 crore. EBITDA margin was 9.6% in H1FY27 versus 8.9% in H1FY26, although these half-year results do not separately disclose performance by new-store cohort.

Profit after tax rose from Rs 64 crore in FY23 to Rs 117 crore in FY26, while its margin moved from 4.9% to 4.4%. In H1FY27, profit after tax was Rs 96 crore and the margin was 5.4%, compared with Rs 68 crore and 4.9% in H1FY26.

Working-capital days increased from 77 in FY24 to 98 in FY26 before declining to 82 in H1FY27. Inventory days followed a similar pattern, rising from 91 in FY24 to 124 in FY26 and then falling to 104 in H1FY27; net debt to EBITDA was 0.3 times in FY26 and 0.4 times in H1FY27.

Conclusion

Aditya Vision's disclosed expansion model combines fast store additions with a delayed profitability profile. The company added 102 outlets in FY24-FY26, close to the 105-store network accumulated through FY23, while each location requires Rs 80-90 lakh of capital expenditure, Rs 2.75-3 crore of working capital and about three years to mature.

The next point to watch is the progress of the FY25 and FY26 cohorts through management's second- and third-year stages, as the network had reached 214 stores by September 30, 2026. Aditya Vision has disclosed expansion in western Uttar Pradesh and Chhattisgarh from FY26, but has not provided a future store-opening target or cohort-level profitability schedule in this presentation.