A COMPARATIVE PROFITABILITY ANALYSIS OF SELECT RETAIL COMPANIES WITH REFERENCE TO PRE AND DURING COVID-19 PERIOD

Abstract

The objective of the article is to evaluate and compare profitability of select retail companies of India. The research includes top three Retail companies Future Retail Limited, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail Limited and Avenue Super Mart Limited, which is also listed in National Stock Exchange. The research is Quantitative in nature and includes financial records as prescribed by SEBI for analysis. The result clearly indicates that, Covid-19 has impacted the Retail companies. All the three companies were financially impacted due to the world-wide pandemic known as Covid-19. The first financial quarter of Covid-19, from 1^st April 2020 to 30^th June 2020, has shown decline in Net Profit, Operating Income and Return on Equity of all the selected Retail companies. Avenue Super Mart Limited has topped in all the profitable parameters on the basis of comparative analysis of the three companies. However, Future Retail Limited needs to make changes in their strategy for maintaining or resorting their profit. This will help the Retail Managers to adopt the best practises followed by the leaders. Finally, the outcome will enhance the understanding of the impact of Covid-19 on the profitability of Retail companies, for policy makers, researcher and academicians.