Avenue Supermarts, better known as DMart, is one of India’s pioneering value retailers. With a clear value-led offering, DMart has steadily grown over the years. When the Company came out with its IPO, the significant investor interest didn’t come as a surprise. That the retail chain is promoted by billionaire investor Radhakishan Damani, often hailed as India’s Warren Buffet, added to its attractiveness. Post the successful listing, the leadership team at DMart needed to ensure that the investors clearly understood the Company’s growth strategy and true potential. Premium valuations also meant that there was little room for error on the execution front. We understood that the only route to sustained value creation for stakeholders was through DMart’s steady performance for the past five years.
We decided to allow the Company’s superior financial and operational metrics (using a 10-graph KPI spread) speak for themselves while conveying the broader message of ‘Good Products. Great Value’. Great value is something that DMart stands for and something that their customers swear by. ‘The Story of Value’ tells the reader how DMart focusses on delivering ‘customer surprise’ through its ‘Every Day Low Cost/Every Day Low Price’ strategy.
We also highlighted how DMart’s 360-degree social entrepreneurship initiatives and sustainability drives are creating value for the external environment. The overall design exuded an aura of simplicity and transparency. Actual images of DMart stores were used to provide a candid fervour to the Company’s on-the-ground activities.
"The core of being a value investor as a promoter comes off very well in the Annual Report. If you see the page which talks of expansion they have shown a map of India and DMart's presence 15 years back, then 10 years back and now the latest. So you see that slow and big contrast building up over a period of time. They are talking about patience and conviction in their work. They are talking about building a balance sheet which is clean."
Vishal Khandelwal, Safal Niveshak, an independent authority on value investing in India
