Marri Retail Limited IPO

01At a glance

What the company does — runs 34 family apparel and jewellery stores across 26 districts in Telangana, Andhra Pradesh, Karnataka and Maharashtra, under The Chennai Shopping Mall, JC Mall, J.C. Brothers and Jeans Corner for apparel and The Chennai Shopping Mall Jewellers for jewellery, with 10 jewellery shop-in-shops inside apparel stores (DRHP p.18).

Who pays it — families shopping for weddings, festivals and everyday wear; apparel was 54.31% and jewellery 45.69% of revenue in the six months to September 2025 (DRHP p.21).

Why it is raising money — ₹1,156.00 million to repay borrowings, ₹2,505.02 million to open 10 apparel stores, one integrated store and two jewellery stores, ₹358.46 million for lease rent on existing stores and a warehouse, and the rest for general purposes (DRHP p.19).

How fast it has grown — revenue from ₹19,008 million in FY23 to ₹24,563 million in FY25, and ₹13,014 million in the six months to September 2025 (DRHP p.125).

The one thing to understand — a two-state retailer with a heavy jewellery mix. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh were 96.24% of revenue in the six months, and the two Chennai Shopping Mall brands 92.64% (DRHP p.21, DRHP p.22). Profit was ₹1,005.83 million in FY23 and ₹992.64 million in FY25 despite 29% higher revenue (DRHP p.22).

02The business, in plain words

A large-format family retailer stocks sarees, ethnic and western wear and jewellery under one roof, buys from suppliers, and earns the retail margin. Stores are company-owned and company-operated.

A family in a Telangana district town shops for a wedding → it visits The Chennai Shopping Mall → it buys sarees and clothes on one floor and gold jewellery at the in-store jewellery counter → the store earns margin on both.

Most stores, the registered office and the warehouse are leased, some of them from the promoters, promoter group or group companies (DRHP p.60).

Earnings equation: Profit ≈ sales × gross margin − rent, staff and store costs − interest. EBITDA margin was 13.35% in the six months (DRHP p.126).

03Where the money comes from

Source: DRHP p.21, DRHP p.22. H1 FY26 is six months.

04The growth record

Source: DRHP p.43, DRHP p.125, DRHP p.126. H1 FY26 is six months.

05What the growth is made of

Store growth and gross margin. Gross margin rose from 23.20% in FY23 to 28.10% in the six months (DRHP p.126). Operating cash flow was negative in FY23, which the company attributes to building jewellery inventory when it entered that category (DRHP p.43). Inventory days rose from 67.30 in FY23 to 120.41 in FY25 (DRHP p.126).

06Earnings quality

Two items stand out. In FY23 the company sold ₹3,248.47 million of goods to, and bought ₹3,426.43 million from, J C Brothers Jewellers, a partnership in which key management and relatives had significant influence — about 17–18% of revenue — shrinking to under 2% in FY24; the relationship ended on 30 April 2025 (DRHP p.23). And tax authorities searched its premises: an income-tax search in June 2023, closed with a nil demand, and GST searches across Telangana in January 2025 and Andhra Pradesh in September 2025 (DRHP p.22, DRHP p.23). There are no auditor qualifications that have not been given effect in the restated accounts (DRHP p.21).

07The balance sheet

Source: DRHP p.20, DRHP p.126.

08What the money is for

Source: DRHP p.19.

A pre-IPO placement of up to ₹1,044 million may reduce the fresh issue (DRHP p.18). The pages read do not say who the lessors are for the rent to be paid from the proceeds.

09Who is selling

Source: DRHP p.18. Marri Venkat Reddy holds 56,580,060 shares, so the offer is 48% of that holding (our arithmetic, DRHP p.19).

10Promoters

The promoters are Marri Venkat Reddy, Marri Madhumathi, Venkata Krishna Pakalapati and Amrut Family Trust (DRHP p.18). Marri Madhumathi became a director on 5 January 2026 (DRHP p.23).

11Who already owns it

Source: DRHP p.19. The promoters hold all the shares (DRHP p.19).

12What changed just before the IPO

• Related-party trading — ended with J C Brothers Jewellers in April 2025 (DRHP p.23).
• Share split and bonus — ₹10 shares split into five ₹2 shares, then a two-for-one bonus, in November–December 2025 (DRHP p.21).
• Borrowings — down from ₹3,793 million to ₹2,103 million in six months (DRHP p.20).
• Tax searches — GST searches in 2025 (DRHP p.23).

13Capacity and expansion

Capacity is store space: 34 stores and 10 jewellery shop-in-shops (DRHP p.18). The proceeds fund 13 new stores, ₹1,416.35 million of it in FY27 and ₹1,088.68 million in FY28 (DRHP p.102).

14Market size and industry structure

The TKC report cited in the offer document values India's apparel market at ₹6,903 billion in FY25 and projects ₹12,100 billion by FY30, with South India the largest region at 30.5%; it values gems and jewellery retail at ₹8,016 billion in FY25 (DRHP p.18). Those projections are TKC's, and newboard has not tested them.

15Competitive position

What the document claims, and what it rests on:

• One-stop family shopping across price points (DRHP p.18).
• Established store brands in Telangana and Andhra Pradesh (DRHP p.22).

Against that: two-state concentration, dependence on two brands, rising inventory, and a thin net margin (DRHP p.21, DRHP p.22, DRHP p.126).

16Peers the company named

Source: DRHP p.123. The table also lists V2 Retail and Bazaar Style Retail (DRHP p.123). The price date for the peer P/E ratios was not read for this study.

No P/E is possible for the company until a price band is set.

17Risks, in plain words

• Region. Telangana and Andhra Pradesh are 96% of revenue (DRHP p.21).
• Brand. Two brands are 93% of revenue (DRHP p.22).
• Jewellery. 46% of revenue, exposed to gold prices (DRHP p.21).
• Profit. Flat despite revenue growth (DRHP p.22).
• Leases. Some from promoters and group companies (DRHP p.60).
• Trademarks. Some are not registered in the company's name (DRHP p.62).

18Litigation and regulatory matters

Source: DRHP p.21. The amount is a penalty outstanding on a GST demand of ₹2.22 million, the rest of which has been paid (DRHP p.21). No proceedings are listed against the promoters or directors (DRHP p.21).

19Related-party transactions

Sales to and purchases from J C Brothers Jewellers were ₹3,248.47 million and ₹3,426.43 million in FY23 (DRHP p.23). Purchases from Nrupen Creation, a proprietorship, were ₹93.83 million in the six months (DRHP p.23). Some stores and the registered office are leased from promoters, promoter group and group companies (DRHP p.60).

20What the offer document does not say

In the sections read for this study, the document does not give:

• Why the company traded so heavily with J C Brothers Jewellers in FY23, and on what terms, in the pages read.
• Who owns the premises whose rent will be paid from the proceeds.
• Store-level economics such as sales per square foot, in the pages read.
• What the Andhra Pradesh GST search found.
• The price band, lot size or issue dates, which is normal at DRHP stage.

21Five questions for management

1. What were the FY23 sales to and purchases from J C Brothers Jewellers for, and why did they end?
2. Are any of the leases to be paid from the proceeds with promoters or group companies?
3. Why did profit fall in FY25 while revenue rose 11%?
4. Why have inventory days nearly doubled since FY23?
5. How will the company compete outside Telangana and Andhra Pradesh?

1Sources and cited facts

This study was read from 1 document the company filed. The 37 figures it cites are listed under the document each came from, with the page and the sentence as printed.