Top Indian retailers raise ₹4,000 crore as store additions hit four-year high

More Retail, Trent and DMart are raising capital for expansion as the top 10 listed retailers added 2,182 net stores in 2025-26. Reliance Retail is also backing dark stores and smaller-town outlets, with more investments planned.

— Filed Thu, 23 Jul, 2026, 10:42 IST · Source ET Retail · Updated

India’s major retailers are accelerating store additions and raising capital for expansion. Reliance Retail is funding dark stores and smaller-town outlets, while More Retail, DMart and Trent pursue debt or equity funding; listed leaders added 2,182 net stores in 2025-26.

Why this matters

The expansion push extends Reliance Retail’s omnichannel pattern, following AJIO Beauty’s launch, Netmeds’ first offline pharmacy in Chennai and JioMart’s kirana-led e-commerce model.

Store-opening activity is steady, with 1,411 signals recorded in the past 90 days.