After divesting stake in the digital business, Mukesh Ambani is set to bring in strategic investors into Reliance Retail.

“We have received strong interest from strategic and financial investors in Reliance Retail. We will induct global partners and investors in Reliance Retail in the next few quarters. I will keep you informed about the progress of Reliance Retail, which is at the doorsteps of continued exponential growth,” Ambani said during the AGM.

Reliance Retail had recently launched its new commerce business JioMart, which has clocked over 2.5 lakh daily orders. JioMart will soon expand its presence into cities and new segments such as electronics, fashion, pharmaceutical, and healthcare, Ambani said. In FY20, Reliance Retail’s revenues were ₹1,62,936 crore and EBITDA was ₹9,654 crore. According to a Deloitte report, it is the most profitable retail business in India.

As on March 31, 2020, it has 11,784 retail stores, of which, “more than two-thirds are operated in Tier II, Tier III and Tier IV towns,” Ambani said.

Plans to integrate

During the AGM, Isha Ambani, Mukesh Ambani’s daughter, announced that Reliance Retail and Jio Mart will leverage their huge online and offline customer base; Reliance Retail plans to integrate new commerce and physical networks of kirana stores. It has developed a multifunctional POS which will allow its kirana partners to transact, and check stock availability in an integrated manner.

“With JioMart, kirana stores will no longer be held back by limited product range, space, or delivery challenges. The partnership with JioMart can potentially help kirana stores grow business and earnings,” Isha Ambani said.

To take this integration a notch above, JioMart has also begun a pilot to give a facelift to the humble kirana stores and make them self-service stores.

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