Praxis Home Retail Ltd Management Discussions

The Management Discussion & Analysis (MDA) provides a complete overview of the financial position through the financial statements and a summary of our business performance and the eco-system it operates in. Management Discussion and Analysis comprises of:

Economy Overview

Industry Overview

Overview of Indian Home Furniture Market

Opportunities and threats

Business / Operational Overview

Human Resources

Risks and Internal Adequacy

Internal Control Systems and their Adequacy

Performance Overview

Some of the statements in this MDA may be forward- looking. The future performance of such statements maydifferfromthosestatedintheMDA.Suchprobable difference can be on account of various factors such as changes in the macro-economic environment, Government regulations, tax regimes, impact of competition, and demand-supply constraints.

ECONOMY OVERVIEW

2022-23 was a roller coaster ride for the global economy when global uncertainties were rife. Barely had the pandemic receded, and the war in Ukraine broke out in February 2022. Prices of food, fuel and fertiliser rose sharply. As inflation rates accelerated, central banks of advanced countries scrambled to respond with monetary policy tightening. Many developing countries, particularly in the South Asian region, faced severe economic stress as the combination of weaker currencies, higher import prices, the rising cost of living and a stronger dollar, making debt servicing more expensive, proved too much to handle.

INDIAN ECONOMY

However, 2022-23 was special for India. 2022 marked the 75th year of Indias Independence. India became the worlds fifth largest economy, measured in current dollars. In June-23, Finance Ministry stated that the nominal GDP of India has reached US$ 3.75 trillion. For the entire fiscal 2022-23, the growth rate came in at 7.2 percent (which is 200 basis point higher than earlier estimates) underscoring the countrys economic resilience amid geopolitical conflicts and global headwinds. This follows an 8.7 percent growth in the previous financial year. Indian economy is identified as a bright spot in the global economy. The rise in consumer prices has slowed considerably. The annual rate of inflation was below

6 per cent. Wholesale prices rose at a rate below 5 per cent. The countrys goods exports touched USD

447 billion till the last count for 2022-23 fiscal year as against USD 422 billion in 2021-22. The export of goods and services during the financial year 2022-23 is up more than 14 per cent compared to previous financial year. Although the high oil price this year compared to last inflated Indias import bill and caused the merchandise trade deficit to balloon, concerns over the current account deficit and its financing have ebbed as the year rolled on. Foreign exchange reserve levels are comfortable and external debt is low.

India had a good monsoon, and reservoir levels are higher than last year and the 10-year average. The fundamentals of the Indian economy are sound as it enters into goldilocks period. Policies pursued carefully and consciously have ensured that the recovery is robust and sustainable.

OUTLOOK

According to IMF, emerging markets are going to contribute four-fifth of global growth this year, with

India alone expected to play the role of a global growth engine with more than 15 per cent. The Indian economy is predicted to grow at 6.3% in FY24 which may go upto 7% if the Global uncertainties recede. The average inflation (Consumer Price Index) is expected to stay around 5.2 percent, which is below the upper tolerance band. Industry is predicted to outperform other sectors with 6.8% real GDP growth. Service sector is expected to maintain its growth momentum at 6.6%. With enhanced capex by Government of 10 lakh crores as announced in the last union budget, the strong private consumption and investment is expected to push the growth momentum further and boost demand. However, the downside risks emanating from the potential spike in oil prices and the weak global environment due to ongoing geopolitical crisis in Ukraine need to be considered.

INDUSTRY OVERVIEW

Indian Retail Industry

The Indian retail industry is the worlds fifth-largest retail destination. According to the latest IBEF study, the sector contributes 10% of Indias GDP and employs over 8% of the population. The retail industry in India works around four retail formats which comprise, Exclusive Branded Retail Shops, Multi-Branded Retail Shops, Convergence Retail Outlets and E-Retailers. The competitive landscape in the Indian retail sector is structured with Departmental stores, Hypermarkets, Supermarkets, Cash and Carry stores and Specialty Stores. With numerous new entrants, particularly in the retail tech space, the sector is becoming faster paced than ever.

Indian Organised Retail Industry

The Indian Retail Sector has been largely dominated by traditional retail formats and kirana outlets. Indias retail sector is experiencing exponential growth with retail development taking place not just in major cities and metros, but also in small cities. Healthy economic growth, changing demographic profile, increasing disposable income, urbanisation, and changing consumer tastes and preferences have been some of the factors driving growth in the organised retail market in India. With the shift in consumer preferences and the limitations imposed by the COVID-19 pandemic, organised retail has boomed in the country. Organised retailing encompasses selling goods or merchandise all under one roof in a fixed location such as a departmental store, hypermarket, supermarket or even a convenience store.

As per India Retail and E-commerce Trends report by WazirAdvisorsandUnicommerce,whilemodernbrick-and-mortar retailers accounted for about 12% of the total annual market, online retailers have captured about 6.5% of the yearly business during FY22. pandemic served a severe blow to Indias physical retailing business in fiscal year 2021 that led the brick-and-mortar retailing in the country to shrink by 8.5% that year. With the pandemic receding, the economy in revival mode and over 1.8 billion vaccinations done in India, the retailers have experienced increased footfalls across high streets and malls. The onset of pandemic, evolved the consumer behaviour towards ‘conscious buying, resulting in a major shift in consumer purchase behaviour across both physical retail and e-Commerce. During the year the top performers like F&B, e-Commerce, pharmaceuticals, and the traditional grocery retailers witnessed steady growth despite disruptions across the economy.

As the perception of the Indian retail sector transforms, retailers continue to alter their store models to meet the demands of diverse customers across markets and geographies. The pandemic has prompted retailers to experiment with emerging trends like digitally enhanced experiences, pop-ups, omni-channel commerce, and so on. With high-street and shopping centre businesses reviving, merchants are rethinking and realigning their business strategies to suit the demands of customers who are continually exposed to the growing online shopping experience.

Outlook

The Indian retail industry is predicted to witness a

CAGR of 8-9% from FY21 to FY26 reaching $1,250 billion in FY26, primarily owing to the hybrid distribution model and omni channel approach. In the new retail environment, customer insights have become incredibly valuable. While technology has significantly transformed supply chain, production, and retail sales, an unified picture of the customer is vital for retail organisations, whether its for customisation of services or presence across multiple channels. (Source: Bain And Company Research)

The overall outlook for the Indian retail real estate market remains positive, thanks to a ramped-up vaccination campaign, policy reforms, and rising urbanisation. According to a study by IBEF, the organised retail sector in India is anticipated to expand at a CAGR of 20-25% every year going ahead. A consumption boom is driving substantial development in Indian retail. Indian retail is being driven by significant increases in increased focus on hygiene and changing lifestyles. Easy borrowing and the usage of ‘plastic money have contributed to Indias robust and rising consumer culture. Consumer acceptance and use of E-retailers is growing as a result of ease and safe financial transactions. Furthermore, with the renewed demand and bounce back of retail, a number of international brands both in the retail & the F&B sectors are showing interest in the countrys retail landscape. This would contribute to the overall sectors growth going forward.

OVERVIEW OF INDIAN HOME FURNITURE MARKET

The Indian home furniture market was valued at USD

19.07 billion in 2022. It is expected to reach USD 33.58 billion by 2028, registering a CAGR of 9.89% during the period of 2022-2028. The living room furniture segment held the highest market share of 43.3% in 2022, followed by the bedroom furniture segment

(26.2%) and the kitchen furniture segment (15.3%) in the same year. The demand for residential furniture is increasing by the orders from contract customers. The number of single- and two-person households has been increasing, resulting in the demand for small and portable furniture. Factors such as growth in the residential construction market, rising internet penetration, the rising popularity of eco-friendly products, and lifestyle changes are contributing to the growth of the home furniture market.

The key factors driving the increase in demand for home furniture in India include growing housing and commercial construction and an increase in income levels that influence customers to adopt global lifestyle options, especially in affluent urban Indians.

In terms of age bracket, the age group of 25-35 years has been considered as the prime target group by furniture retailers in India. Based on cities, most of the demand for furniture products from organized companies has originated from tier-1 cities. The furniture industry in India employs about 300,000 workers. In terms of structure, the sector remains mostly inward-oriented and extremely fragmented, with unstructured companies corresponding to about 85% of manufacturers.

Some of the major furniture brands in India include Godrej Interio, Hometown, Nilkamal, Durian, and Wipro. With the fast-growing and transforming retail sector, it is expected that large retailers will continue to expand their presence on e-commerce platforms, and various furniture companies, such as Pepperfry, Urban Ladder, Hometown.in and others, are creating huge demand from online channels. Imports and exports also play a major role in the Indian home furniture market, and imports have formed a significant portion of the products sold to the upper-middle-income class and higher-income class of Indian society. The trend of purchase of small furniture items, such as bean bags and coffee tables, through online portals has gradually changed to higher volume sales of heavy furniture products. The average ticket size for online purchases of furniture products has been observed to be between 10,000 and 15,000 in the past few years.

Two megatrends driving the demand for online furniture were the increased digitization and growing share of urban millennials. However, in todays scenario, with people spending a significantly substantial time indoors in the wake of the COVID-19 pandemic, there has been a rise in the demand of various home improvement products. Amongst the most frequently purchased bestsellers were tables and chairs. However, consumers also increased their purchases of dining tables and couches, and the bulk of these purchases happened online. India imports between USD 600 million and USD 800 million of furniture every year. Higher duties may nudge many entrepreneurs into furniture manufacturing and build stronger local brands. The union budget of 2020-21 tried to promote a "level playing field for domestic producers" and hiked customs duty on some furniture categories from 20% to 25%.

The market is also witnessing increased investment activity, especially in terms of international players. With a planned investment of 6,000 crore by 2030 in Maharashtra, IKEA aims to open two more city center IKEA stores, which will provide over 6000 jobs, of which 50% will be for women.

MARKET DRIVERS

Growth in Residential Real Estate in India

The Indian residential real estate market has been witnessing growth, owing to the increasing population, and growing demand for affordable housing accommodation. Major metropolitan cities, such as Delhi, Mumbai, Kolkata, and others, have also showcased the rising demand for luxury housing complexes, such as villas, penthouses, and apartments, in the past few years. The growth in the residential real estate industry over the last few decades has given an impetus to the home furniture market. This has augmented the need for home furniture, such as sofa sets, dining sets, beds, and chairs, which is further expected to witness growth in the upcoming years as well. Traditionally, the Indian consumers focus on fancy furniture and furnishings was restricted to the living room. However, growing aspirations and incomes have changed spending patterns, and these changes are spilling over into other living areas, including the kitchen, the dining room, and even the bedroom.

The Indian real estate sector is undergoing a revival, as the transaction volumes have increased by 45-60% annually, in the major cities. The government is also encouraging real estate activities in the country and has introduced various initiatives, such as the governments flagship scheme Pradhan Mantri Awas

Yojana (PMAY), launched in June 2015 which aims to build about 12 million urban houses and 29.5 million rural houses by 2022 and "The Smart City Project", which is an ambitious plan to build 100 smart cities in

India. The development in the housing sector and the rapid growth of metro cities are changing the living standards and lifestyle of the population and are further propelling the need to purchase new furniture products.

With homes growing smaller and the population exploding, there has been a surge in demand for space-conscious goods. Multi-functional furniture & homewares is growing in popularity to offer added convenience and make far better use of available household space. The markets growth has been driven by socio-economic changes, a large base of young population with high disposable incomes, and the will to spend on improved lifestyles.

Growing Demand for Luxury Furniture Products

The growing emphasis on improved and more trendy home decor is encouraging consumers to opt for unique and designer furniture products. This is further supported by the economic growth and high disposable income of consumers. High-end furnishings and designer furniture are largely preferred in upper-class households. Many international players are also entering the market target this segment. For instance, Versace tapped the luxury furniture segment in India in 2019 as a part of the expansion plan of its luxury portfolio in the country with the addition of furniture.

Similarly, in July 2022, Pia Johnson, one of the hospitality and lifestyle industry leader and former director of Indiabulls, revealed plans to expand the presence of her designer furniture brand ‘Ikaigai across India.

OPPORTUNITIES

The Rise in E-commerce Retailing

The rise in the e-commerce industry has contributed to the increase in the online furniture industry in India, and e- commerce is changing the way products are developed and shipped. Work from home has further augmented the market growth and has brought the increased focus of consumers on home-d?cor. With home spaces also doubling up as work zones, there has been a subsequent increase in demand for furniture, especially in categories, such as living room seating like recliners, and bean bags. Bedroom furniture, such as beds and mattresses. However, the categories witnessing the highest growth online are tables and desks.

Growing Adoption of Local Furniture Products

As India aims at becoming a global manufacturing hub, there has been a major policy push, with initiatives like ‘Make In India and ‘Vocal for Local etc., that has given a boost to the manufacturing sector, including furniture manufacturing. As per the Make in India initiative, the Indian government aims to increase the share of the manufacturing sector in the countrys GDP to 25% by 2025. A lot of Indians are now preferring to buy Indian made products over Chinese products owing to the ‘vocal for local initiative, which is reflected even in furniture products. Banking on the growing adoption for Made-In-India goods, companies, like Jaipur based Wooden Street, offer customized local furniture with all its raw materials sourced locally, and manufactures the furniture in-house, with delivery centers present in over 100+ cities.

THREATS

Volatile Raw Material Costs

Even under the best of circumstances, the costs of raw materials always represent an issue for furniture manufacturers. With the pandemic and a global trade war growing more intense, volatile raw material prices, which pose distinct challenges, are expected to pose further challenges in the foreseeable future. The raw materials and other input costs are anticipated to rise further and face volatility. The impact of the pandemic and the subsequent lockdown resulted in issues ranging from production loss to severe scarcity of labor and raw materials. Furthermore, the closure of some production plants due to the pandemic has also resulted in the prices of raw materials increasing.

BUSINESS/OPERATIONAL OVERVIEW

Our Company operates brick and mortar stores of home furniture and home fashion in the brand name of HomeTown and caters to home retail segment in India. This retail format brings together under one roof, a wide range of furniture (both office and home furniture), home furnishing goods, kitchenware, other home related accessories and quality services including complete home design, modular kitchen among others, giving customers a great in-store experience. In addition, an exciting range of accessories, such as clocks, wall hangings and d?cor make it a complete one stop shop for all home needs. As on March 31, 2023, HomeTown has a pan India presence with 33 stores, across 24 cities in India. Our Company also operates a web portal for online sale of our products through the website www.hometown.in and also has its presence on the major e-commerce market places in India through which our Company sells a wide range of products across furniture, furnishings, d?cor, tableware and kitchenware.

OUR COMPETITIVE STRENGTHS

We believe that our primary competitive strengths include the following:

Experienced professional management team and motivated workforce

Our business is consumer driven. Our experienced professional management team has helped us to offer high standards of customer service and a pleasant shopping experience. Our management team consists of a team of professionals with relevant domain expertise and retail oriented functional specializations. Further, our management team has been able to complement our expansion with the ability to create adequate systems and processes. Our management team is complemented by a committed work force that enables us to operate, synergies and integrate our front-end and back-end operations efficiently. Our human resources policies aim to create an engaged and motivated work force, which is essential for our success. We believe in continuous development and have invested in our employees through regular training programmes to improve skills and service standards, enhance loyalty and increase productivity.

Robust sourcing capabilities

Driven by the wide scale of operation and an experienced management team, our business reflects robust sourcing capabilities across categories of our portfolio. In addition, HomeTown maintains an extensive supplier network, both in local and foreign markets. With a wide vendor network, HomeTown ensures best quality products for entire product portfolio. HomeTown works with different vendors across India to source furniture and home furnishing products. In addition, we have put in place effective quality control measures, by a centralized quality control team. Furniture, Stock Keeping Units (SKUs) are approved post a comprehensive quality screening process wherein sample for each SKU is sent to quality control team pre-dispatch. HomeTown has an experienced team which has expertise in both domestic and international sourcing. Our dedicated quality assurance team in Malaysia and China (major sourcing hubs) also helps in accelerating the new product development.

With our past experience in home retail business, we have developed an understanding of the retailing of furniture and furnishing business in India. We believe that our insights into consumer behavior have contributed to the development of a distinguished retail format. This insight has also enabled us to strategize, develop and promote new products to cater to the evolving needs of an Indian consumer.

Cost effective and efficient logistics network

With our past experience, we believe we have been able to develop a supply chain which assures quality and cost effectiveness along with faster delivery. We are able to source products internationally and deliver it to customers home in a cost effective manner.

Hometown has efficient last mile delivery and assembly capabilities. Through our different initiatives such as special trolleys designed and made for handling expensive marble top dinning sets and equipping our last mile delivery vehicles with foam, which we have undertaken in the past, we are able to minimise our warehousing and last mile delivery damages. Further, we have experienced assembly personnel who have expertise to carry out assembly with assured quality and minimise the damages which generally happen due to improper fitting.

We are able to deliver our fast-moving products to our customers home by effectively utilizing our regional distribution centres. We also offer quick delivery of our homeware and small furniture items by utilizing our stores as shipping points.

Extensive supplier network enabling procurement at predicable and competitive pricing

We sell a wide range of furniture home furnishing and home decor products across our product categories. We focus on using our deep understanding of the markets in which we operate to customise our product assortment in each store keeping in mind local demands and preferences. We also continuously focus on enhancing our products that we carry.

Our procurement team conducts detailed research on an ongoing basis to locate the best product sources, in relation to both quality and price. We have an extensive network of suppliers and we endeavour to source our products from regions where they are widely available or manufactured to minimise our procurement costs. We operate a standardised procurement system and procure most of our products on a purchase-order basis ensuring procurement flexibility at sustained efforts to improve our strong supplier network have led to an efficient supply and sale cycle.

Over the years, our business model has remained responsive to supply and demands disruptions. We believe that differentiated combination of integrated sourcing, distribution and demand fulfilment, with unique business position. Our business maintains sourcing ties with manufacturers both in India and overseas to obtain the most compelling product offering for aspirational Indian consumers. The interconnectivity of the regional distribution centers, city distribution centers and the central warehouse ensure that the products reach the consumers, safely and timely. As on March 31, 2023, we have 21 distribution centers with pan India coverage and one central warehouse at Nagpur. The business reaches the target customer base through a wide retail base. A mix of strong back-end processes and persuasive in-store communication delivers a unique customer experience. We believe that due to the scale that we have achieved over the past years, we have been able to understand and implement the relevant processes to make our front end and back end functions and execution capabilities efficient.We have been able to increase the scope of our operations at a consistent pace and provide efficient and convenient offerings to our consumers. Further, due to our scale and presence across India, we have been able to develop processes that enable us to offer competitive deals to our consumers.

Omni-channel solution using IT Systems

Taking into consideration the changing landscape of the retail industry across the world, we have put together an omni-channel view of our customers at every touchpoint. Our customer identification process begins from identifying our existing customers both at physical stores and online stores or tagging new customers at each of these channels. This coupled with a centralized view of customers product-preference from both these channels forms the bedrock of our customer journey that has been put together by a robust omni-channel platform built on Salesforce software.

Our enterprise application platform coupled with our Business Intelligence (BI) solution provides an integrated view of our data thereby aiding procurement and replenishment planning. Built on the mission of being a stakeholder centric organization which in turn includes both our key competitive stakeholders namely customers and suppliers, it hasprices. Our helped us in serving our customers in the furniture space with delivery Turn Around Time (TAT) of 72 hours only for our bestselling furniture in SKUs.

Sizeable online presence in furniture space including on e-commerce market places in India

Our online directsets us to customer sales are made through our e-commerce portal www.hometown. in. We have been operating this website and have established a sizeable foothold in the online furniture space. Our e-commerce website www.hometown.in is developed using the modern technologies and is maintained and supported by an efficient team of engineers and technicians. We provide a very unique feature of ‘Live video demonstration, through which a consumer can complete their shopping from the comfort of their homes. Once a customer avails this option, a sales person through video call will give a live demonstration of the products thus aiding the customers in making the buying decision. We provide an omni-channel experience to our customer, by virtue of which when a customer walks to a store and selects some products, it gets added to customers cart on HomeTown.in. Thereafter the customers can go back to their home, show the products to the family members and then make eventual purchase.

We also sell products through major e-commerce market places in India. We have optimized our supply chain for faster delivery for both our e-commerce and physical store operations. In addition to faster deliveries, we have capability to get the product assembled within 24-48 hrs of delivery thus leading to customer delight.

Our Brand

HomeTown offer trendy, affordable home products and solutions to Indian consumers. Our brand is known for high- quality, thoughtful design, competitive pricing and great experience. Our customers come to us for thoughtfully designed, functional products that are built to last, and that represents the true value of what our brand has to offer.

OUR STRATEGIES

Increasing our consumer base through consumer loyalty and expansion of our operations

We intend to enhance our consumer base through continuously increasing our presence (both physical and online channel) in various cities across India and drive spending across various product segments. We are specifically focusing to achieve a larger share of consumption spending in our existing markets. As on March 31, 2023, we are operating with 33 stores in 24 cities and have presence on major e-commerce market places. We intend to increase our share in the consumer spending in India by adding categories to our existing product range to cater to consumers across Indian society in various home consumption spaces. We also plan to increase our presence online by including additional pin codes where the consumption patterns are promising.

Further, we intend to continuously increase our presence by identifying properties that we believe may be viable retail property spaces at strategic locations and enter into arrangements to lock such properties for our format to be launched in the future.

Continue improving our operating efficiency and supply chain management

Our business model and pricing strategy require us to maintain high levels of operational efficiency on a consistent basis. Further, we believe that supply chain management is critical to our business. Our supply chain management involves planning, merchandising, sourcing, standardization, vendor management, logistics, quality control, pilferage control, replacement and replenishment. We are, and will continue to consolidate our supply chain network to improve the inventory by improving stock movement, replenishment and fill rates.

We plan to further improve our operating efficiency and ensure efficient supply chain management by: continuing to refine our store operating systems based on the performance of our stores and feedback from our customers and local management teams; continuing to restructure the look-and-feel of the store with visual merchandising ensuring excellent in-store customer experience; investing further in our IT and data management systems to improve productivity and time savings thereby increasing our operating efficiency;

continuing to strengthen our relationships with our suppliers through cooperation and closer coordination; expanding and upgrading our existing distribution centres to improve the efficiency of our inventory and supply management. We will continue to open new distribution centres in strategic locations to serve our existing and new stores when it is cost effective and efficient to do so; and continuing to absorb best industry practices.

Expand our product portfolio and prioritize customer satisfaction through optimal product assortment

Our store format offers wide range of products for home furniture and furnishing segment in India. We believe with our product offerings, our format has reached a critical mass and is being accepted amongst consumers. Our operations are closely connected with the consumer preferences and changing choices and accordingly, it is imperative for us to forecast and continuously identify the changing demands of our consumers. Towards this end, we have, and intend to continue to identify and evaluate consumer demand across regions and expand our product portfolio in terms of new brands and new products, in home retail business. In order to accomplish objective, we believe that we have a talented in-house team of designers who help with product creation right from the ground level, co-create products with our vendor design team and also visit trade shows and buy the best products for HomeTown customers. Our designers are guided by 3 principles –

Design sensibility of our customers;

Price point acceptable to our customers; and

Global design trends.

Continue to develop talent and skilled workforce and inculcate good business practices

We believe that the key to our success will be our ability to continue to maintain and grow a team of talented and experienced professionals. We have been successful in building such a team and intend to continue placing special emphasis on managing attrition and attracting, training and retaining our employees. As of March 31, 2023, we had

831 employees on roll who are working in different functions, we intend to recruit best available talent across various industries, train them as per our value system and provide them opportunities to learn, experiment and innovate.

We intend to continue to encourage our employees to be enterprising and contribute constructively to our business through effective training and management. Pursuant to our focus on effective training of our employees, we undertake various internal training programmes. Our HR policies focus on improving employee retention and their engagement level in the Company. We have also initiated diversity and gender inclusion hiring to promote positive employee experiences

Advanced and scalable technology for online retail segment

We believe that our advanced technology enables us to support a diverse range of products and services and provide complex, modular and customizable e-commerce solutions on a scalable platform capable of implementing large transaction volumes with minimal downtime. Our technology enables us to effectively offer our services across multiple media, channels and customer interfaces including digital downloading and streaming services, and providing application framework solutions for supply chain and inventory management. Our hosting and technology platform, incorporates digital product catalogue, content management, promotions handling, access to payment gateways, as well as inventory and logistics management, and is capable of being integrated into the vendors IT infrastructure and third-party configurable software.

OUR PRODUCTS

We offer diversified and wide range of products in

Furniture (Living, Dining, Bedroom, Essentials and

Office), Homeware (Furnishings, Tableware, Decor,

Kitchenware), Home Improvement (Shower solutions, Bath Tubs, Vanities, Accessories) and Electronics. We also offer end to end Modular solutions (Modular Kitchens, Kitchen accessories, Modular wardrobes, Wardrobe accessories) and customized interior solutions (design and build) with latest design, focussing on ease of operations and style. All this combined with fine execution capabilities at a reasonable price makes an unmatched value proposition to the customer.

OUR STORES

As of March 31, 2023, we operate our business through 33 stores spanning across 24 cities. We do not own any of the property from which we operate our stores and the same is taken on lease through various arrangements that include lease, leave and license.

OUR PROCESS AND MARKETING APPROACH

Our marketing efforts are focused on driving a seamless and frictionless experience to our customers across channels and platforms. We are distinctly positioned to allow customers to shop how, where and when they want, and we believe our brand should be everywhere our customer is. From the moment our customer engages with our brand, whether in-store, on the website, on social media, newspaper ad or on-ground event, the overall experience communicates the brands promise.

Our marketing strategy is mapped to the customer journey and we actively engage with our customers across the marketing streams - from awareness to purchase and beyond through traditional channels (print, radio, billboards) and new media platforms (digital, social media, mobile-marketing and email-marketing). Our marketing efforts are focused on customer acquisition through sales and product promotions, and on customer retention through personalized content and product recommendations.

INTELLECTUAL PROPERTY

Pursuant to the scheme of Arrangement between Future Retail Limited and Bluerock eServices Private Limited (the transferor companies), the "HomeTown" business undertaking and e – commerce business of the respective transferor companies were transferred to Praxis Home Retail Limited (the Company) by virtue of the order dated November 10, 2017 passed by the National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), Mumbai bench. The said order of the NCLT was effective from November 20, 2017. Pursuant to the aforesaid order, trademarks and associated logos of "HomeTown" brand across various classes including 20, 21, 24, 27, 35, 37, 40, and 42 were transferred in the name of our Company. As on the date, we are the registered owners of 12 trademarks.

COMPETITION

The home retail market in India has become increasingly competitive in recent years. We face competition from various other retailers that operate stores in formats similar to ours as well as those retailers who sell retail products similar to the ones sold by us through small retail stores. These include standalone stores in the organized and unorganized sector, as well as other chains of stores including departmental stores. We face significant from the online retailers across home retail categories which led to a fragmented and highly competitive ecommerce market in India. However, we believe that with a nation-wide network of stores and our sizeable online presence through our website www. hometown.in and major e-commerce market places, provide us a competitive edge.

INFORMATION TECHNOLOGY ("IT")

Our entire IT landscape is built to recognize the same customer at every touchpoint and offer a single view of the transaction history to every frontline staffs interacting with the customers, be it store-staffs or customer service personnel. This spawned an integrated IT architecture created in tandem with various other subsystems.

In addition to the customer journey, we have a robust business intelligence platform that provides an end-to-end analytical capability covering sales management, inventory management and operations. The span of integration done with Manthan also ensures predictive analysis.

Our online store www.hometown.in is built on a custom solution developed on REACT. This is tightly coupled with all our enterprise applications thereby offering a single view of all transactions, irrespective of the point of origination i.e., online sales or even offline sales.

HUMAN RESOURCES

Human Resource is one of the critical support functions and forms another key element of the corporate backbone. As of March 31, 2023, we had

831 employees on roll located at head office, zonal offices, retail stores across the Country. Further, we also have employee persons on contract basis from time to time.

Our Company has a dedicated human resource team which takes care of acquisition, development and retention of skills and talent in a way that supports the accomplishment of our Companys goals and objectives. Our Company believes in creating a culture and environment that allows its people resources to utilize their skills, knowledge and leadership abilities and collectively in serving the consumers. We have employee initiatives that promote work life balance and this goes a long way in boosting a positive culture. Some of these initiatives are birthday leave, bereavement leave along with financial support in case of a section of employees and focus on health and well being. We encourage performance and that is most evident in the various incentive programmes that we run at the store level. We strongly believe in equal opportunity and platforms for growth. While looking at filling vacant positions – internal employees at Praxis are given preference. Our robust and comprehensive Induction program, timely and seasonal product trainings, yearly career progression trainings are juxtaposed to the other behavioural, technical and functional training interventions that take place throughout the year.

The disclosure under the Sexual Harassment of women at workplace (Prevention, Prohibition and Redressal Act, 2013) has been covered in the Boards Report forming part of this Annual Report 2022-23.

RISKS AND INTERNAL ADEQUACY

Risk and Concerns: The Company recognises that risk is an inherent part of every business. The current economic environment in combination with significant growth ambitions of the with it an evolving set of risks. Company recognises that these risks need to be managed to protect its customers, employees, shareholders and other stakeholders in the society to achieve our objectives and ensuring sustainable growth of the business. Key risk areas are periodically reviewed by the Senior Management of the Company.

Nevertheless, the Company periodically reviews risks, and provide an integrated approach for identifying, assessing, mitigating, monitoring and reporting of various risks associated with the business of the Company.

The Audit Committee has been entrusted by the Board with the primary responsibility to monitor and review risk management, assessment and minimization procedures and to develop, implement and monitor the risk management plan and identify, review and mitigate all elements of risks which the Company may be exposed to. During the year under review, the Company has voluntarily constituted a Risk Management Committee to mitigate the risks involved with foreign exchange exposure.

Further, the Audit Committee has delegated the Internal Auditors with the role of risk management, assessment and minimization procedures and also periodically reviews with them the existing procedures and measures to improvise the same.

The Company has in place adequate internal financial controls with reference to financial statements and proactively tracks all changes on the regulatory front and make sure our systems and processes are in compliance of the same. The general economic and political conditions in India, Indian monetary and fiscal policies, state of the economy also have impact on our business. An important element of our business is our procurement strategy which is largely import oriented. The Company closely tracks developments in this area and taking proactive steps to mitigate risks arising as a result of any import related policy changes.

Insurance

We have insured our stores and warehouses against fire & allied risks and our stocks against burglary and theft risks. We also have insurance policies in respect of marine cargo, money policy, fidelity policy, group personal accident policy, and medi-claim policy.

INTERNAL CONTROL SYSTEMS AND THEIR ADEQUACY

The Company has adequate internal controls and risk management processes that are commensurate with the nature of business, and size and complexity of its operations.

Appropriate internal control policies and procedures are designed to ensure sound management of our Companys operations, safekeeping of its assets, optimal utilisation of resources, reliability of its financial information and compliance and have been set up to provide reasonable assurance on:

Effectiveness and efficiency of its operations

Reliability of financial reporting

Compliance with applicable laws and regulations

The compliance with these policies and procedure is ingrained into the management review process. Deviations from laid-down processes and policies are addressed through systemic process. The Company continuously assesses effectiveness of its internal controls across multiple functions and locations throughinternalaudit.Standardoperatingprocedures have been laid down for important processes across functions. The internal audit program, significant audit findings, adequacy of internal controls and the financial and risk management processes are regularly reviewed by the Audit Committee. Proactive steps are taken to ensure compliance with various upcoming regulations by the Compliance team. The Company also encourages the employees to adopt fair, compliant and ethical practices. Praxis continues to stay committed to the areas of control and compliance, to ensure the highest standards of governance.

PERFORMANCE OVERVIEW

Review of Financial Performance of the Company for the year under review

Your Companys Audited Financial Statements are prepared in accordance with Ind AS prescribed under Section 133 of the Companies Act, 2013 read with Companies (Indian Accounting Standards) Rules, 2015, as amended. Your Company has made a loss of

2,101.39 Lakhs as per Audited Financial Statements for Financial Year ended March 31, 2023.

Review of the Financial Performance Total Revenue

Total revenue for the Financial Year ended March 31,

2023 (FY 2023) was 39,541.66 Lakhs as compared to 48,103.68 Lakhs for the Financial Year ended March 31, 2022 (FY 2022), representing decrease of 17.80%.

Total Expenses: Our total expenditure for the FY 2023 was 44,753.33 Lakhs as compared to 46,680.12

Lakhs for the FY 2022, representing a decrease of 4.13%.

Total expenditure comprises of: Purchase of Stock-in-Trade

The purchase of stock in trade for the FY 2023 was

16,317.61 Lakhs as compared to 27,934.79 Lakhs for the FY 2022, representing decrease of 41.59%.

Changes in Inventories of Stock-in-Trade

The changes inventories of stock-in-trade –

(Increase)/Decrease for the FY 2023 were 7,331.00 Lakhs as compared to (4,193.46) Lakhs for the FY

2022.

Employee Benefit Expenses

Employee benefit expense for the FY 2023 was 6,036.86 Lakhs as compared to 6,571.23 Lakhs for the FY 2022, representing decrease of 8.13%.

Finance Costs

Finance costs for the FY 2023 was 2,175.98 Lakhs as compared to 2,302.79 Lakhs for the FY 2022, representing a decrease of 5.51%.

Depreciation and Amortization Expense

Depreciation and amortization expense for the FY

2023 was 3,602.62 Lakhs as compared to 4,289.34

Lakhs for the FY 2022, representing a decrease of 16.01%.

Other Expenses

Other expenses for the FY 2023 were 9,289.26 Lakhs as compared to 9,775.44 Lakhs for the FY 2022, representing decrease of 4.97%.

Profit/(Loss) After Tax and Exceptional Items

The profit/(loss) after tax and exceptional items for the FY 2023 was (2,101.39) Lakhs as compared to 1,423.56

Lakhs for the FY 2022.

Financial Review

Financial Results	Standalone for the
	year ended March 31
	2023	2022
Turnover (Including other Income) ( in Crores)	39,541.66	48,103.68
Return on Net Worth (%)	(21.28)	(17.78)
Net Assets Value per Share ( )	(2.37)	0.10
Earnings per Share ( )	(2.79)	2.74

Details of Significant Ratio Changes

Standalone

	2022-23	2021-22	% change	Reason for change
Inventory Turnover (Days)	161	180	-10%	1
Interest Coverage Ratio (Times)	(1.40)	1.62	-186%	2
Current Ratio (Times)	0.75	0.94	-21%	3
Debt Equity Ratio (Times)	(2.97)	107.68	-103%	4
Debtors Turnover (Times)	1.60	0.58	178%	5
Operating Profit Margin (%)	38.74	40.48	-4%
Net Profit Margin (%)	(13.50)	3.57	-478%	6
Return on Net Worth (%)	(21.28)	(17.78)	-20%	6
EPS ( )	(2.79)	2.74	-202%	6

Note:

1. Decrease was primarily on account of decrease in inventories.

2. Decrease was primarily on account of increase in losses incurred by the Company.

3. Decrease was primarily on account of higher decrease in current assets mainly inventories as compared to decrease in current liabilities.

4. Decrease was primarily on account of negative shareholders equity on account of losses and decrease in debt.

5. Increase was primarily on account of increase in credit sales.

6. Decrease was primarily on account of losses incurred by the Company during financial year 2022-23.

Cautionary Statement

The statements in the Management Discussion and Analysis section describing the Companys objectives, projections, estimates and prediction may be considered as forward-looking statements. All statements that address expectations or projections about the future, including, but not limited to, statements about the Companys strategy for growth, product development, market positioning, expenditures and financial results, are based on certain assumptions and expectations of future events. The Company cannot guarantee that these assumptions and expectations are accurate or will be realised. The Companys actual results, performance or achievement may thus differ materially from those projected in such forward-looking statements. The Company assumes no responsibility to publicly amend, modify or revise any forward-looking statement on the basis of any subsequent developments, information or events. To avoid duplication and repetition, certain heads of information required to be disclosed in the Management Discussion and Analysis have been included in the Boards Report.

For and on behalf of the Board of Directors

Praxis Home Retail Limited

	Mahesh Shah
Place: Mumbai	Managing Director
Date: May 27,2023	DIN: 01488017