Trent store plan: Westside, Zudio targets by 2027

Why Trent’s expansion guidance is back in focus

Trent’s long-term store expansion roadmap has returned to the centre of investor attention after management detailed the pace of additions across its key formats at the company’s 47th annual general meeting (AGM). The stock reaction was immediate, with Trent jumping 4.18% to Rs 3,273 after the strategy was outlined. While Zudio has dominated the growth narrative for much of the last three years, the new emphasis on accelerating Westside openings has prompted brokerages to revisit their assumptions on what drives the next leg of growth.

Bernstein flags Westside as a potential second growth engine

Bernstein said Westside could emerge as Trent’s next growth driver alongside Zudio, and reiterated an ‘Outperform’ rating on the stock. At the same time, the brokerage lowered its target price to ₹3,500 from ₹5,000. That revised target implies an upside of nearly 6% from the previous close of ₹3,315, according to the note referenced.

Bernstein’s view hinges on the idea that Westside’s growth has been underappreciated relative to the market’s expectations from Zudio. The brokerage also said the competitive landscape remains supportive and argued Westside, even at its slower pace pre-FY26, grew faster than peers such as Lifestyle, Shoppers Stop, and Pantaloons.

The key shift: guidance for about 50 Westside stores a year

Analysts said Trent’s story over the past three years has largely revolved around Zudio, but management’s surprise guidance to add around 50 Westside stores per year has shifted investor attention. Bernstein said it believes roughly 50 stores a year is achievable for the next 4 to 5 years. On that basis, it said the chain could reach about 500 to 550 stores over that period.

Management also outlined a larger long-term opportunity set, indicating Westside could grow to around 700 stores from roughly 300 currently. For Zudio, Trent believes the format could eventually support around 5,000 stores across India, compared with nearly 960 stores at present.

Zudio rollout remains aggressive at 200-250 stores annually

Alongside Westside, Trent reiterated that it plans to continue the rapid rollout of 200 to 250 Zudio stores every year. This store-add guidance is central to the company’s positioning in value fashion retail, and it sets a high bar for execution across locations, staffing, sourcing, and inventory replenishment.

Separately, the company said it expects to add 25 to 40 Star stores annually. The mix indicates Trent is pushing growth on multiple fronts, even as brokerages continue to focus most heavily on how the Westside and Zudio trajectory affects overall growth and margins.

What FY26 store additions show about execution

The Westside store-add pace in FY26 provides a recent reference point for management’s guidance. Trent added 52 Westside stores in 2025-26 (FY26). By contrast, additions between 2022-23 and 2024-25 were 14 to 18 per year for the format.

After adding 52 stores in FY26, Westside’s total store count rose to 300 across 97 cities. The FY26 acceleration matters because it shows Trent has already executed at or above the around-50-a-year run rate that is now being communicated as an ongoing target.

Store network targets: current base versus long-term ambition

The company’s medium-term and long-term store count targets were unusually explicit for both formats. Westside is guided to expand from roughly 300 outlets to 700 over time. Zudio is targeted to expand from around 960 stores to nearly 5,000 locations.

Q4FY26 and broker commentary on growth and margins

Trent delivered a strong Q4FY26 performance, with nearly 20% year-on-year revenue growth and a 32.6% jump in net profit, as cited in the brokerage round-up. Bernstein linked optimism to continued strong store additions, and it also pointed to a margin beat driven by Westside-led gross margin expansion of +170 basis points year-on-year.

Another Bernstein note referenced a rebound to 20% revenue growth and steady 11% EBIT margins, alongside a 1:2 bonus issue announcement. Separately, Bernstein framed Trent as a roughly 20% CAGR growth company over a three-year horizon, rather than a 25% growth story, while still maintaining a target price of ₹5,000 for March 2027 in that context.

Valuation debate and the tier II and tier III pivot

Bernstein also described Trent as undergoing a strategic “reset” for Zudio after acknowledging that aggressive expansion in urban micro-markets has reached diminishing returns. The pivot to tier II and tier III cities is positioned as the next phase, but it also raises execution questions because economics and customer profiles can differ materially outside metros.

The brokerage said it continues to apply a 60x price-to-earnings multiple as appropriate, while also warning that failure to deliver 20% plus growth could lead to significant derating. It also noted that cannibalisation risks between Westside, Zudio, and newer brands such as Burnt Toast remain limited because each caters to a distinct consumer segment.

How other brokerages are positioning on Trent

Brokerage commentary in the provided text spans both bullish and cautious stances, with multiple target prices and ratings cited. HSBC Research said the potential numbers for both store formats, especially Zudio at 5,000 stores, are much higher than its own estimate of 1,500, while maintaining its target multiple at 60x price-to-earnings. HSBC was also cited with a ‘buy’ rating and a revised target price of ₹3,460.

Market impact: what the guidance changes for investors

The immediate market impact was a sharp move in the stock following the AGM commentary, reflecting how sensitive expectations are to store-add visibility. For investors, the most material new input is the explicit Westside cadence of around 50 stores annually, especially after several years when Zudio expansion set the tone for headline growth.

The other key factor is how brokerages are linking margin outcomes to like-for-like (LFL) growth recovery. One note said margin expansion would largely depend on a recovery in LFL growth, framing operating leverage as a function of both new stores and same-store performance.

Analysis: why the Westside push matters alongside Zudio

Westside expanding faster than investors expect can change how the market balances reliance on Zudio’s acceleration. Bernstein explicitly said this dynamic can provide a cushion to expectations from Zudio on accelerating store additions and recovering to strong LFL. In practice, that suggests a more diversified growth driver set, with premium fashion and value retail expanding in parallel.

But the scale of Zudio’s long-term ambition, at 5,000 stores, also keeps attention on execution discipline, site selection, and the risk of slower productivity in newer micro-markets. The debate is not only about store counts, but also about sustaining growth rates and protecting margins as the footprint spreads further into smaller cities.

Conclusion

Trent’s AGM guidance has sharpened the investment narrative around two big levers: a sustained run rate of about 50 Westside openings a year and continued Zudio additions of 200 to 250 stores annually. Brokerages remain divided on valuation and target prices, but the common thread is that store expansion visibility is now the central variable in near-term positioning. The next key checkpoints will be how consistently Trent delivers on guided additions and whether LFL growth recovery supports the margin trajectory referenced by analysts.