Is Aditya Vision the next DMart? Rs 2,260 crore sales and a bold new plan

Indian Express

a day ago

When most people think of India's booming retail sector, they envision luxury malls in metropolitan cities or premium electronics showrooms catering to urban customers.
But in the small towns and semi-urban centres of Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh, Aditya Vision has been building a different kind of success story, one that understands middle India better than anyone else.
In FY25, Aditya Vision crossed Rs 2,260 crore in revenue, growing nearly 30% from last year, while its net profit rose by 37% to Rs 105 crore.
With 175 stores now open and strong demand even in smaller towns, Aditya Vision is proving that growth does not always come from metro cities or premium products. It comes from knowing your customer, offering them what they truly need, and expanding step by step with discipline.
As the company looks to spread further across the Hindi heartland, many are wondering: Can this focused, regional retailer keep its momentum going, and is there still room for investors to ride this wave?
The stock of Aditya Vision delivered impressive returns, rising almost 600% between 2022 and 2024. However, since then, it has corrected by just over 30% as the market digested rapid growth and high valuations.
Even after this pullback, it remains up nearly 350% from 2022 levels, showing that investors continue to believe in its long-term story. To truly understand whether this confidence is justified, one must look deeper into how Aditya Vision operates, what gives it a moat, and what the numbers tell us.
In many ways, Aditya Vision's playbook mirrors the early strategy of DMart, though in a different retail category. The core philosophy of focused execution and disciplined growth is strikingly similar.
Much like DMart focused on serving value-conscious middle-class households in the suburbs and smaller cities rather than competing with luxury grocery stores in urban centres, Aditya Vision chose to focus on Tier-2 and Tier-3 towns across Bihar, Jharkhand, and Uttar Pradesh.
The core idea is simple: offer a wide range of everyday electronics and appliances at competitive prices, backed by fast delivery and reliable service.
By sourcing about 85% of its products directly from original equipment manufacturers (OEMs), it eliminates middlemen, just as DMart negotiated directly with suppliers in its early days to secure better prices. This direct buying approach allows both companies to offer better deals to customers and build lasting trust in regions where affordability drives buying decisions.
Like DMart, Aditya Vision stays away from private labels and focuses on national brands that resonate with local consumers. In smaller cities, customers see branded products as a sign of reliability and value, and they appreciate a retailer that consistently delivers on those promises without unnecessary frills.
A key part of Aditya Vision's strategy is its cluster-based expansion approach. Rather than spreading thin across India to grab headlines, Aditya Vision focuses on saturating one region before moving on.
In the early days, DMart did the same in Maharashtra and Gujarat, building operational strength and brand recall before expanding elsewhere.
Aditya Vision first built dominance in Bihar, then entered Jharkhand, and is now rapidly growing in Uttar Pradesh. By clustering stores within a region, it achieves multiple advantages:
Operational efficiency: Shared logistics and better control over inventory flow, just like DMart's central warehousing model.
Stronger supplier bargaining power: Bulk orders concentrated in one region make it easier to negotiate discounts and better terms.
Brand recall and word-of-mouth: In smaller cities, word-of-mouth can be more powerful than large marketing budgets. Customers trust what their friends and relatives recommend.
In FY25, Aditya Vision reported Rs 2,260 crore in revenue, up nearly 30% from the previous year. Profit after tax also grew by 37% to Rs 105 crore. But beyond these key numbers, the detailed operational data tells us why this growth is meaningful.
Same-store sales growth (SSSG) of 15%: This is a strong indicator that existing stores are getting stronger, not just new stores driving overall sales. In DMart's early growth phase, high SSSG was also a hallmark showing deeper market penetration and rising customer loyalty rather than dependence on store additions alone.
Bill volumes up 27% despite a slight dip in average ticket size: Similar to DMart, which prioritised high footfalls and high transaction volumes over increasing basket size alone, Aditya Vision is seeing more customers walk in and buy, even if they choose slightly lower-priced products. This reflects broad-based consumer traction and trust.
Margins holding steady: Gross margins around 16% and operating margin at 9%, despite rapid expansion, show disciplined cost control and strong operational grip. DMart, too, focused on keeping costs low and passing value to customers, resulting in similar margin stability during its early rollout phase.
Aditya Vision keeps its stores lean and efficient, typically around 4,200 sq ft. Each store requires approximately Rs 70-80 lakh in setup costs and Rs 2.75-3 crore in initial inventory investment.
Most importantly, stores reach EBITDA breakeven within 7-9 months, and investment payback happens within about three years. This quick turnaround closely resembles DMart's early years, where stores were designed to turn profitable quickly and add to network profitability rather than become financial burdens.
In FY25, Aditya Vision maintained a gross margin of around 16%, steady compared to last year. This stability demonstrates disciplined pricing and strong supplier relationships, even with promotional campaigns in new regions.
EBITDA margin stood at 9%, a slight dip from 9.6% in FY24, driven by operating expenses from new stores opening ahead of their full revenue ramp-up. However, this remains comfortably within the guided 8-10% range. Like DMart, the company prefers stable, modest margins to chase volume growth rather than quick price hikes.
At the net level, the PAT margin improved to 4.7%, up from 4.4% in FY24. Lower finance costs and a disciplined approach to expenses helped lift net profitability despite rapid expansion. Key ratios such as staff cost (about 3% of sales) and rent (about 2% of sales) stayed consistent, reflecting strong cost control.
A big differentiator for Aditya Vision, echoing DMart's approach, is its focus on a clean balance sheet and lean working capital cycle.
Receivables: The company operates on a strict cash-and-carry model, resulting in negligible trade receivables and near-zero debtor days. Customers pay at the time of purchase, either directly or through third-party EMI schemes. This means immediate cash inflow and no collection risk, a rare strength in Indian retail.
Payables: Trade payable days stood at about 18 days in FY25, up slightly from 13 days last year. While this suggests the company negotiated slightly longer payment terms (likely to match the inventory build-up), it still pays suppliers quickly to secure better pricing, again, a DMart-like discipline to avoid dependency on vendor credit.
Inventory: Inventory days increased in 2025. This rise was intentional; the company stocked up on cooling products like ACs and refrigerators ahead of the summer season to avoid stock-outs. Management expects these to sell through in early FY26. While higher inventory ties up cash temporarily, Aditya Vision has shown an ability to normalise inventory levels quickly, which is critical for avoiding forced discounting.
Despite the increase in inventory, the overall working capital cycle remains healthy. Aditya Vision uses a mix of internal accruals and short-term borrowings to fund this temporary build-up, avoiding long-term debt.
By March 2025, it had about Rs 278 crore in short-term borrowings (up from Rs 125 crore), but with Rs 121 crore in cash, the net debt position remained moderate.
Most importantly, Aditya Vision remains net debt-free on a long-term basis, reflecting its conservative financing mindset.
Having saturated Bihar and established a strong presence in Jharkhand, Aditya Vision focused heavily on Uttar Pradesh in FY25.
By March 2025, it had 34 stores in Uttar Pradesh, up from 18 the year before. Management has hinted that the next wave of expansion could include Madhya Pradesh, Chhattisgarh, and parts of Rajasthan or Odisha.
The guiding principle remains the same: cluster-based expansion, where stores are opened in tight geographic pockets. This strategy builds brand recall, makes logistics simpler, and drives supplier efficiencies. DMart followed a similar approach, first consolidating strong clusters before stepping into new territories.
After delivering nearly 600% returns between 2022 and 2024, and still sitting at around 350% gains from 2022 even after recent corrections, Aditya Vision now trades at a premium valuation, with a price-to-earnings (P/E) multiple of about 45 times trailing earnings.
This is a high multiple, even by retail sector standards, though not unheard of (for example, DMart has historically traded at even higher P/Es given its strong cash flows and brand strength). The premium reflects the market's confidence that Aditya Vision will continue to deliver strong revenue growth, maintain margins, and scale successfully into new regions.
The premium valuation signals that investors believe Aditya Vision can maintain a 20%+ earnings growth rate for several years, continue expanding its store footprint, and preserve its disciplined execution. The company's strong market share in Bihar and Jharkhand, rapid success in Uttar Pradesh, and upcoming foray into newer states all support this belief.
However, with high valuations come high expectations. Any slowdown in same-store sales growth, margin pressure from competitive dynamics, or delays in new store ramp-ups could lead to a sharp stock correction. This is similar to what DMart experienced whenever growth temporarily softened; the stock would quickly adjust, reflecting the high bar set by investors.
For investors, the key points to track going forward are:
Pace and quality of store additions: Is the company meeting its ~25-30 stores per year target without compromising profitability?
Same-store sales growth trends: Continued double-digit growth indicates strong brand pull and regional dominance.
Margin stability: Maintaining an 8-10% EBITDA margin despite expansion is critical to justify current valuations.
Inventory and working capital discipline: Avoiding excess inventory build-up and maintaining clean cash cycles.
Competitive landscape: Any aggressive moves by larger national retailers or local players that could disrupt market share or force deeper discounts.
Aditya Vision's story so far mirrors many aspects of DMart's early journey, including regional clustering, strong local relationships, careful cost control, and an expansion mindset. The company has proven that there is a massive potential beyond metro cities if one can understand and serve these markets with discipline.
While the stock is no longer cheap, and expectations are rightly high, Aditya Vision's strong foundation suggests it can continue compounding value for patient investors if it keeps executing its core principles.
For investors, it is more about consistent delivery, operational health, and steady customer trust, exactly the factors that built DMart into a retail giant. Aditya Vision now has the opportunity, and the responsibility, to do the same across India's vast heartland.
Note: This article relies on data from annual and industry reports. We have used our assumptions for forecasting.
Parth Parikh has over a decade of experience in finance and research and currently heads the growth and content vertical at Finsire. He holds an FRM Charter and an MBA in Finance from Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies.
Disclosure: The writer and his dependents do not hold the stocks discussed in this article.
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