Lifestyle & grocery retailers reverse FY21 trend, hire over 180,000 people

The total number of employees in eight of the top retailers in India went up 57 per cent to 4,90,000 in FY22, with Reliance Retail hiring the most number of people at 1,61,000

The retail sector in India is bouncing back after the slow period of the coronavirus pandemic. In FY22, the listed lifestyle and grocery retail companies in India reversed the trend of FY21 and hired over 1,80,000 employees, according to an Economic Times report. The trend is expected to continue in FY23.

"Significant investments are happening in the retail sector. Companies are looking to use this fresh capital to shore up hiring across multiple verticals, with some startups looking to add more physical stores too," Rituparna Chakraborty. executive director of HR firm TeamLease was quoted as saying by ET.

FY21 saw widespread layoffs and minimal hiring by the retail brands due to declining sales on the back of lockdowns. The report stated that the total number of employees in eight of the top retailers in India went up 57 per cent to 4,90,000 in FY22. The list includes companies like Reliance Retail, Shoppers Stop, Trent, Raymond, Bata, Titan, Avenue Supermarts, and Page Industries.

Reliance Retail hired the most number of people in FY22, adding 1,61,000 people. In the quarter ending June 2022 (Q1FY23), the company hired 17,000 new people. Shoppers Stop was the only company to decrease its staff strength.

These businesses are also likely to raise the demand for retail space in the country. In the top 8 retail companies listed above, a retail space of 16.7 million square feet is expected to be added between FY21 and FY24, according to a report by ICICI Securities.

"The sector is likely to witness 12-13 per cent year-on-year revenue growth in FY23, with an increase in operating profit margins by 150 bps to 8.2 per cent," a report by ICRA said.

The listed retailers and quick-service restaurant chains opened over 3,000 stores across India in FY22, averaging about nine stores per day, double the figure in FY21.