Tata Cliq, the ecommerce platform of the Tata Group, has seen its sales drop for the second consecutive year.
Tata UniStore registers INR 430 Cr loss in FY23
According to its latest filing with the Registrar of Companies (RoC), Tata UniStore, which owns and runs Tata Cliq, reported a 42% drop in sales to INR 247 crore in fiscal 2024 from INR 430 crore in FY23. The company’s sales have been under pressure since it exited the electronics category.
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Meanwhile, the company attributed the drop in revenue to the exit from the electronics category. However, it narrowed its net loss to INR 391 crore in FY24 from INR 874 crore in FY23 and INR 750 crore in FY22. The company did not attribute any reason for this improvement in its filing.
Further, Tata UniStore said in its filing that while profitability has improved during FY24, revenue in FY24 was not comparable with FY23 as the previous year had revenue from the electronics business that it exited in early part of FY23. The exit of electronics was part of the transfer of the electronics category exclusively to the group’s super app, Tata Neu, so that it would scale up rapidly.
“With aggressive growth targets for future years, the company plans to continue to improve its contribution margins and further strengthen its position as a leading omnichannel multi-brand e-retail player in India,” Tata UniStore said in the filing. The company said it took significant steps to grow its platforms, have stronger partnerships with brands and strong association with Tata Neu.
“Tata UniStore improving loss trajectory masks a concerning reality — its revenue has collapsed by 42% last fiscal suggesting the turnaround comes from retreating rather than recovering,” said Mohit Yadav, an analyst and founder at business intelligence firm AltInfo.
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Tata UniStore sees equity in minus, borrowings surges 12X
With a negative equity of INR 183 crore and a 12-fold jump in borrowings to INR 517 crore, the ecommerce venture appears to be in strategic limbo, raising questions about its future in India’s hyper-competitive digital retail space, he concluded.
In the last week, Tata Cliq rebranded itself as Tata Cliq Fashion. It shifted from being a marketplace that sold everything to focusing on fashion and lifestyle products like apparel, footwear, watches, accessories, beauty items, gadgets, and home goods. In a regulatory filing, the company mentioned that it launched the Tata Cliq Palette app nationally last fiscal year and opened two beauty retail stores named Tata Cliq Palette in Navi Mumbai and Pune. They aim to grow their platform by focusing on personalized beauty.
“The company continues to focus on being a strong partner to all brands by helping them leverage their existing retail footprint to offer customers a unique and differentiated omnichannel experience,” it said.
