Who is the Owner of DMart? The Man Who Discovered the Secret to Permanent Discounts

India is a hub for shopping. There are a variety of shopping hubs in the country and there are high chances that you might have shopped at a big store that offers everything at low prices. This place is known as D Mart which is officially known as Avenue Supermarts Limited. 

It is one of India's most popular and trusted retail chains. The concept of D Mart is a one-stop supermarket and hypermarket that sells a wide range of products under one roof. The main idea behind this retail chain is to offer good products at the lowest prices possible.

But do you know who is the person behind this brand and how it grew so big? Let’s find out who is the owner of D Mart and the fantastic business model. 

Who is the Founder of D Mart?

D Mart was founded by Radhakishan Shivkishan Damani who is popularly known as RK Damani. He was born on March 15, 1954 in Mumbai. His father was a stockbroker on Dalal Street. He studied commerce at the University of Mumbai however he dropped out after one year itself. 

After his father passed away he started working in stock market investing and broking, the same profession his father had followed. He was known to be a very sharp investor and made quite big profits in the early 1990s. 

Even though he was earning quite well from the stock market, he wanted to start something of his own. He started running a franchise of Apna Bazaar in the year 1999. It was a supermarket business model in Nerul however he was not satisfied with it and decided to start his own retail store from the ground up.

He started Avenue Supermarts Limited in 2000 and the first D Mart store was opened in Powai, Mumbai in the year 2002. The full name of D Mart is Damani Mart which is named after his family’s surname. 

Who is the Owner of D Mart? 

The brand is currently owned by Radhakishan Shivkishan himself. The company is publicly listed and it offered the IPO in March 2017 where initial shares were issued at a price of ₹299 per share. 

Even after being a public company, the majority shareholders are RK Damani and his family who own 74.56% of Avenue Supermarts. This means the leadership has never shifted from the founder of the company into other hands. 

Who is the CEO of D Mart?

The current CEO of the company is Anshul Asawa and he took charge of the company on February 1, 2026. He succeeded Ignatius Navil Noronha who led the company as Managing Director and CEO for many years and his term ended on January 31, 2026. 

Anshul Asawa studied at IIT Roorkee and IIM Lucknow. Before he joined D Mart he was associated with Unilever for almost 30 years. 

How Did D Mart Reshape India’s Retail Industry?

There are many retail chains all over the country but D Mart runs on a special model. It simply works on the EDLC (Everyday Low Cost) and EDLP (Everyday Low Price) model. 

The concept of this model is to incur low costs everyday so that the benefits can be shared with consumers too. Here is how D Mart follows this model: 

• By Owning or long-leasing properties: D Mart tries to own or lease a property for a long term which helps them cut down the rent costs. 

• Cost Control: Instead of spending huge amounts on advertising, the brand simply works on word of mouth and customer loyalty. 

• Focus on Essentials: Instead of going for a wide variety of brands, D Mart focuses on fewer brands but in higher volumes which helps the brand to get huge discounts on bulk orders. 

• Cluster Based Expansion: Instead of opening up new stores in secluded locations, D Mart works on opening them in geographically clustered locations where everything ranging from logistics to distribution is within range. This helps to reduce the cost as well.