More Retail, the food and grocery retail chain backed by Amazon and Samara Capital, is all set to go big with a planned INR 2,000 crore IPO between April and December 2026. The supermarket chain which has 775 outlets currently plans to use the IPO proceeds to scale up, reduce debt and become profitable.
More Retail IPO: Structure and Shareholding
According to Managing Director Vinod Nambiar, More Retail IPO will be a fresh issue of equity with no major offer-for-sale (OFS) component. The structure indicates strong promoter confidence as neither Amazon nor Samara Capital who hold 48% and 51% equity respectively do not plan to exit at this stage. 1% equity is held by family offices and high net worth individuals (HNIs).
“This will be a primary capital raise. Our existing shareholders are committed to the long term vision of this business,” Nambiar said during a recent media interaction in Kolkata.
The proposed equity dilution is expected to be 10% with the bulk of INR 2,000 crore raised for expansion and balance sheet improvement. More Retail IPO will also set a valuation benchmark before the company goes to the broader market.
Debt Reduction and Capital Efficiency
A significant portion of More Retail IPO proceeds will be used to reduce the company’s debt of INR 500 crore which is a mix of term loans and non-convertible debentures (NCDs). More Retail plans to halve the debt before the IPO and be almost debt free post listing.
“The retail business is not capital intensive in the traditional sense. A typical store costs around INR 30 lakh to set up since we operate on a lease model. The infusion of funds will help us scale efficiently,” Nambiar said.
Over the last five years Amazon and Samara have together invested INR 900 crore in the business. An additional INR 150 crore was raised from family offices in the last four months to support expansion and valuation discovery.
Aggressive Expansion Plan
More Retail is planning an aggressive expansion plan with a target of 3,000 stores by 2030 from the current 775. By FY26 the chain will cross 1,013 stores and add 250-300 stores in FY27 alone.The company is shifting its focus from the saturated urban markets of Delhi and Mumbai to the high growth Tier 2 and 3 cities. It is strengthening its presence in Karnataka, Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, West Bengal, Punjab, Haryana and NCR and entering Jharkhand and Odisha this fiscal.
Meanwhile the company is investing heavily in its hybrid retail model and e-commerce infrastructure. It plans to double the number of dark stores — stores dedicated to only online orders — from 40 to 100 by FY26.
Strengthening Ties with Amazon Fresh
One of the key drivers of More Retail’s growth is its partnership with Amazon Fresh for which it is the exclusive brick and mortar fulfillment partner in India. Currently 270 of its stores serve Amazon Fresh customers. This number is expected to go up to 500-600 by end of FY26, reinforcing the offline-online synergy.
In FY25 online sales was INR 1,045 crore which is about 21% of the total gross sales of INR 4,985 crore.
Financial Turnaround in Progress
More Retail is still loss making at PAT level but is moving towards profitability. The company reported an EBITDA loss of INR 60-65 crore in FY25 which is a significant improvement from INR 260 crore in FY23.
Going forward the company expects EBITDA profit of INR 60 crore in FY26. Revenues are expected to grow from INR 5,000 crore in FY25 to INR 6,000 crore in FY26 and further to INR 7,500 to 8,000 crore by FY27.
“We will be PAT positive by FY27. Our operating losses are narrowing and we are on a clear path to sustainable profitability”, Nambiar said.
Strategic Realignment and Operational Focus
The company has rationalized its store portfolio, exited unprofitable formats and geographies like Maharashtra (Mumbai), Delhi city and Indore. It has also streamlined operations by focusing only on food and grocery and exited non-core lifestyle segments.
This leaner operational model along with robust backend logistics and increasing digital integration is expected to improve overall efficiency and profitability as the company scales.
Conclusion
More Retail IPO is more than a fund raise – it is a strategic inflection point. Backed by marquee investors and with a clear path to profitability the company is positioning itself as a strong player in India’s rapidly evolving grocery retail landscape.
As it plans to triple its store count and deepen its integration with Amazon’s online ecosystem More Retail’s journey from loss making to EBITDA positive and then net profitable will be watched by industry and investors alike.
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