|  While,
the group has ruled out expansion of its retail business
outside India, it has also decided against following
the franchise route.
Despite strong protests of small traders and street
vendors as well as governments in some states, the group
has launched 226 outlets across 11 states of its neighbourhood
convenience format called ‘Reliance Fresh’,
during the past 9 months. The number of such ‘Fresh’
stores will be taken up to 1200 during the next few
months.
Reliance will also open 30 hypermarkets called ‘Reliance
Mart’ by the year-end. These will be similar to
the first one opened in Ahmedabad on Wednesday. Dubbed
as India’s biggest superstore it was inaugurated
on India’s 60th Independence Day. The number of
such hypermarkets will go up to 500 by 2010. New hypermarkets
are to come in Jamnagar, Jaipur, New Delhi and Pune.
Each of these hypermarkets occupying a retail space
of lakh or more square feet is likely to generate sales
revenues of Rs. 1,000 ($25) per month per sq. ft.
The superstore, in Ahmedabad, sprawls over 1,750,000
square feet and retails goods ranging from groceries
to automotive accessories. Reliance Retail opened its
first store last November in Hyderabad.
Mukesh Ambani owned Reliance Group, is gearing up to
unveil yet another retail format that will extend its
retail footprint to small town of India. Reliance Retail,
which so far has launched three retail formats comprising
neighbourhood convenience stores (Reliance Fresh), hypermarkets
(Reliance Mart), and concept mega stores (Reliance Digital),
has decided to now set up 700 ‘Reliance Town Centres.’
The first of these centres would be launched in Delhi
by this year end
 “The
town centres will be spread across an area of 60,000
sq ft to 2,00,000 sq ft and will be set up in cities
with a population of less than 300,000,” said
Raghu Pillai, President and Chief Executive, Operations
and Strategy, Reliance Retail.
At the media launch of Reliance Retail’s Ahmedabad
store, Mr. Pillai said: “Some people will be out
of business. But they will be people in the distribution
chain who do not add any value to the product. They
play a significant role in inflating the cost of these
products.”
Reliance Town Centres, according to K. Radhakrishnan,
CEO, Hypermarkets, Reliance Retail, hope to include
almost every need of a small town. This will include
malls, multiplexes, health centres, and vocational training
centres.
This should help Reliance take its retail footprint
to 1,500 urban and rural centres by 2010. The company
is targeting sales of nearly $25 billion by 2011. The
management says they don’t have any plans at this
stage to ally with foreign chains to expand in the market
India’s retail market is estimated at $350 billion,
but small mom-and-pop kirana stores account
for about 97% of this market. The government doesn’t
allow multibrand foreign retailers to set up their own
stores here.
|
