NE BUSINESS BUREAU
MUMBAI, JUNE 25
Reliance Industries’ retailing arm Reliance Retail would grow at least three times in the next 3 to 5 years, Chairman and Managing Director Mukesh Ambani said on Thursday.
It continues to be among the fastest-growing retailers globally and the company aims to be among the top ten retailers of the world, Ambani said at RIL’s annual general meeting with shareholders.
In the next three years, Reliance Retail will create employment opportunities for over ten lakh people and enable the livelihoods for many more, he added.
Reliance Retail will continue to acquire businesses to heighten its offering, sharpen omni-channel capabilities, and drive operating efficiencies, as it has recently acquired digital platforms as Netmeds, Urban Ladder and Zivame, Ambani said.
The company has plans to onboard over one crore merchant partners over the next three years on its e-commerce venture JioMart. In addition, Reliance Retail will also expand its store footprint multi-fold this year, with co-located delivery hubs in the next few years.
“I am confident that Reliance Retail is on a hyper-growth trajectory to grow at least 3X in the next 3 to 5 years,” Ambani said.
Despite a challenging year, Reliance Retail had revenues of Rs 1,53,818 crore and an EBITDA (pre-tax profit) of Rs 9,842 crore in FY21.
“We are by far the leader in each category — grocery, electronics and apparel,” Ambani said.
Reliance Retail would further invest in our research, design and product development capabilities along with strengthening its sourcing ecosystem and supply chain infrastructure to maximise efficiencies, he added.
“An automated, modular, reliable and scalable warehousing and logistics ecosystem will enable us to deliver products anywhere across the country in the shortest possible time,” he said.
In the pandemic impacted FY21, Reliance Retail added 1,500 new stores, which is among the largest retail expansion undertaken by any retailer during this period. Reliance Retail has a total store count of 12,711.
“We continue to maintain and strengthen our leadership position. Today, one in every eight Indians shops with Reliance Retail,” Ambani said. Reliance Retail sells over a billion units of groceries or about 30 lakh units per day.
“Our apparel business sold nearly five lakh units per day and over 18 crore units during the year. This is equivalent to dressing the entire population of UK, Germany and Spain once,” he said.
In FY21, Reliance Retail has also created over 65,000 new jobs. It currently employs over 2 lakh people, making it one of the largest employers in the country.
“Over the next three years, we shall further create employment for over ten lakh people and enable the livelihoods for many more,” he noted.
Its fashion portal Ajio has a portfolio of over 2,000 labels and brands along with a listing of over 5 lakh options. It now contributes to over 25 per cent of its apparel business.
“We further consolidated our position in consumer electronics and sold 4.5 crore units of electronics last year which translates to over 1,20,000 units per day,” Ambani said.
On JioMart, Ambani said over 3 lakh merchant across 150 cities joined the platform, which has registered over 6.5 lakh peak orders in a single day and over 3 lakh merchant were enabled and empowered to transform their businesses.
“JioMart new commerce’s aim is to transform and grow the small merchant ecosystem, so our merchant partners prosper,” Ambani said, adding “expansion across cities is well underway and we will onboard over one crore merchant partners over the next three years.
Future is Retail
In FY21, Reliance Retail also agreed to acquire the retail and wholesale business along with the logistics and warehousing segment of the Future Group for a consideration of Rs 24,713 crore. The deal is contested by Amazon and final order from the Supreme Court is awaited. Reliance Retail also executed India’s largest fundraising of Rs 47,265 crore in FY21 from global investors.
