Radhakrishna Damani Loses $5 bn

In 2022, retail tycoon Radhakishan Damani lost $5 billion in personal wealth, bringing his fortunes to $19.3 billion. Despite the fact that his retail chain DMart is known for offering low prices on necessities and food, low consumer sentiment combined with high inflation is wreaking havoc on the average person's purchasing power.

Damani, who joined the Top 100 richest people club last year, is now the world's 77th richest man. Last year, his stock experienced a 70 percent increase in value. Analysts have become wary of the company this year, citing high valuations and concerns that new store openings will dilute margins.

There is also concern that disruptions caused by modern players could affect retail in general. Furthermore, macro and global events have an impact on its earnings. In the January-March quarter, revenue fell nearly 5% sequentially.

The company attributed this to the Omicron wave. “January 2022 started extremely well but then the Omicron wave of Covid‐19 reduced the momentum over the middle of the month. These waves typically hurt the high margin and discretionary items more,” said Neville Noronha, CEO and managing director at Avenue Supermarts.