Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL) is entering its next phase of growth with a sharper focus on profitability, disciplined expansion, digital transformation and AI-led customer engagement, as investments made over the past few years begin to yield tangible business outcomes, Managing Director Ashish Dikshit has said.
In his message to shareholders in the company’s Annual Report 2026, Dikshit said the fashion retailer would continue to balance growth with financial discipline while strengthening customer engagement across channels and enhancing retail experiences.
“Our focus remains on scaling the businesses thoughtfully, improving profitability, strengthening customer engagement across channels and delivering differentiated retail experiences. We will continue to balance growth with financial discipline, ensuring that expansion is supported by stronger unit economics, operating leverage and sustainable cash generation,” he said.
He added that with a strong gross cash position, a diversified portfolio of brands and a clear execution roadmap, ABFRL is well positioned to create long-term value for stakeholders.
Profitability takes centre stage
Dikshit said FY26 demonstrated that the company’s investments in brands, distribution, digital capabilities and operating infrastructure are beginning to translate into stronger financial performance.
ABFRL reported healthy revenue growth during the year, accompanied by improved margins driven by scale benefits, better execution and tighter operating discipline across businesses.
While consumer demand improved during the latter part of FY26, Dikshit said the company remains cautious about near-term market volatility.
However, he expressed confidence in the long-term prospects of India’s organised fashion and lifestyle retail sector, citing rising consumer aspirations, premiumisation, increasing brand consciousness and the continued shift towards organised retail formats as key structural growth drivers.
Digital ecosystem gathers momentum
ABFRL continued to strengthen its digital and omni-channel capabilities by expanding its proprietary e-commerce platform, which now supports dedicated brand websites, mobile applications and virtual stores.
The company said e-commerce has emerged as an increasingly important growth engine, contributing around 16% of total revenue during FY26.
Online sales grew more than 20% year-on-year, reflecting stronger consumer engagement across digital and omni-channel platforms.
AI enhances customer engagement
The retailer also accelerated investments in artificial intelligence and data analytics to improve consumer experience and operational efficiency.
During FY26, ABFRL modernised its core technology infrastructure while embedding AI-led solutions across multiple business functions.
According to Dikshit, AI-driven customer insights, analytics and data-led decision-making are helping the company better understand consumer preferences, improve personalisation, sharpen engagement and enhance operational efficiency.
These investments are creating a more agile, scalable and future-ready digital foundation for the business, he said.
TMRW records strong growth
ABFRL’s digital-first fashion platform TMRW continued its rapid expansion during FY26, delivering 34% revenue growth while narrowing losses as it shifted towards more sustainable and profitable growth.
The platform strengthened its portfolio through sharper brand positioning, premiumisation initiatives and improved product-market fit, while leveraging technology and data analytics to refine product assortments and boost customer engagement.
TMRW also expanded its physical footprint in a calibrated manner by opening more than 60 stores during the year, taking its total network to 120 stores across brands.
Dikshit said the company will continue to prioritise stronger brand fundamentals, better unit economics, lower losses and the creation of contemporary fashion brands capable of becoming meaningful long-term businesses.
Disciplined growth strategy
Looking ahead, Dikshit said ABFRL’s priorities remain centred on building a stronger, more resilient and future-ready fashion and lifestyle business.
The company will continue to pursue disciplined expansion backed by stronger unit economics, operating leverage and sustainable cash generation while leveraging digital capabilities and AI to deepen customer relationships and drive long-term growth