Reliance Group on track to dominate Indian retail sector

Reliance Group is set to emerge as the leader in the Indian retail landscape, according to GlobalData.

It notes that Reliance Industries Limited (RIL) is grabbing every single opportunity, be it collaborating with technology companies, acquiring leading retailers or adding physical stores or its entry into the online retail space for gaining access to advanced technologies, to gain a dominant position.

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Reliance Retail, which is already a front runner in the Indian retail industry, had reportedly sold over 20 million electronic units, 160 million garments, 2.6 billion grocery units during the FY2019 ended in March 2020. In the same year, the retailer had also added 1,500 stores and over 30% to its total retail space.

In April 2020, Facebook paid $5.7 billion for a 9.99% stake in India's Reliance Jio Platforms. In July 2020, Google agreed to invest $4.5 billion for 7.7% stake in Jio Platforms.

Vijay Bhupathiraju, Retail Analyst at GlobalData, comments: “RIL’s recent collaboration with technology businesses such as Facebook and Google will help it gain access to advanced technologies and valuable consumer data, which can be leveraged in its retail platforms.”

RIL is looking to acquire Future Retail, an Indian retail conglomerate that owns such chains as Big Bazaar, HyperCity and More. The deal, if it works out, will complement Reliance Retail’s massive reach in the country by adding an additional 1,500 stores to its already substantial network of over 11,784 stores across the country.

Similarly, Relaince Retail is reportedly in talks with Arvind Fashions to buy two of its denim brands Newport and Ruf & Tuff. The company is also betting big on India’s fast growing online grocery market.

In August 2019, it announced its entry into the space via a new e-commerce platform, JioMart, and subsequently started a pilot for the same in Mumbai in January 2020. The value chain created by JioMart connects local offline retailers on a large scale with its merchant Point of Sale solution, where it provides digital platforms for inventory management, customer care services and other services required by the retailers.

The Facebook partnership has enabled JioMart to leverage the WhatsApp platform to accelerate its growth. Bhupathiraju concludes: “Reliance can also use its already well established formats including Reliance Fresh and Reliance Supermart to not only aid its supply chain systems, but also lure their customers to become familiar with online grocery shopping through omnichannel strategies.”