Billionaire Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries has started a limited test use of WhatsApp to connect customers to grocery stores, days after Facebook decided to invest USD 5.7 billion in digital assets controlled by the company. JioMart, an e-commerce venture of Reliance Retail, "has already started interacting with customers on WhatsApp for grocery orders" in Navi Mumbai, Thane and Kalyan, Credit Suisse said in a report.
The company raised Rs 53,124 crore through a rights issue and sold nearly 33 per cent stake in Jio Platforms Ltd - the firm that houses telecom business and apps - to likes of Facebook and Google for Rs 152,056 crore.
Profit from its retail business jumped 77 per cent to Rs 1,923 crore and that from telecom rose by 78.3 per cent to Rs 2,665 crore.
Saudi Aramco chairman and head of the Kingdom's cash-rich wealth fund PIF Yasir Othman Al-Rumayyan will join the board of Reliance Industries Ltd as an independent director in a precursor to a $15 billion deal. Reliance chairman and Asia's richest man Mukesh Ambani, who had two years back disclosed the talks to sell a 20 per cent stake in the company's oil-to-chemical unit to Saudi Aramco, announced the appointment of Al-Rumayyan at the company's annual meeting of shareholders. Harvard educated Al-Rumayyan, 51, will replace Yogendra P Trivedi, 92, who has expressed a desire to retire, Ambani said. On the sale of a 20 per cent stake in the O2C business, he said the deal is likely to conclude this year.
Its tie-ups so far have been with international brands, either through licensing agreements or joint ventures, to get them into India.
In a regulatory filing, Reliance -- the country's most valuable company - said, 'The 43rd AGM will be held on Wednesday, July 15, 2020 at 2 pm though video conferencing / other audio-visual means.'
The Raheja-owned Shoppers Stop, which was so far an up market department chain, is becoming a full service retailer soon. It is increasing its stake in the promoter group's hypermarket chain Hypercity from 19 per cent to 51 per cent.
As part of the arrangement, products from Timberland's portfolio will be available through various premium department stores across the country, besides its own outlets. "With rapidly-growing fashion and retail sectors, we believe India will become a key market for us," Timberland president and chief executive officer Jeff Swartz said in a statement.
With retailers downsizing operations, many senior executives from fast-moving consumer goods and telecom who had jumped on the retail bandwagon a couple of years ago are making a quiet comeback.
Kishore Biyani's Future Group is getting its act together on supplying its private labels outside the group's 1,000-odd outlets, even as Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail has already marched ahead by starting to sell some of its private brands to kiranawalas (independent stores).
Anand Raghuraman, partner, The Boston Consulting Group, said it is extremely tough to make money on small food and grocery stores.
With retailers downsizing operations, many senior executives from fast-moving consumer goods and telecom who had jumped on the retail bandwagon a couple of years ago are making a quiet comeback.
Kishore Biyani-led Future Retail Ltd (FRL) on Thursday told the Delhi high court that Amazon was opposing the Rs 24,713 crore deal with Reliance as the Mukesh Ambani company was a competitor, a contention denied by the US-based e-commerce giant which said it was interested in salvaging FRL. FRL contended before a bench of Chief Justice D N Patel and Justice Jyoti Singh that Amazon was not concerned if the deal falls through then all the shops of the Indian company would be closed down and it's more than 25,000 employees would be without any livelihood. Senior advocate Harish Salve, appearing for FRL, told the court that the US-based e-commerce giant was only concerned that the Mukesh Ambani group company should not get the shops as they are a competitor of Amazon.
Players such as Food Bazaar, Reliance, More and Vishal have already launched their private labels in this category. Names such as Tasty Treat, Disney, Ching's, Smith & Jones from the Future Group stables and Reliance Select from Reliance Retail among others are challenging the market dominance of Maggi in terms of in-store purchases in these retail formats.
'This encourages escapism through the politics and economics of nationalism, made worse by tribalism or nativism, the package accompanied inevitably by the erosion of institutional bulwarks and therefore State capture by powerful businessmen,' notes T N Ninan.
Indian retailers put cash & carry on backburner
With confidence creeping back into the market place and rentals down up to 50 per cent, large retailers are back to drawing up aggressive growth plans. In the next one year, Aditya Birla Retail, Bharti Enterprises, Reliance Retail, Trent, Mahindra Retail and others hope to open new stores spread over five million square feet.
All major markets, daily haats, shopping malls and roadside shops were closed in response to the call given by Rajdhani Byabasai Jibika Bancho Samiti, police said. Even fish and vegetable markets were closed in protest against the government's permission to Reliance Retail Limited for opening its outlets, they said.
Big retailers are openly talking of plans to harness the power of big data, even reporting those in annual reports as part of a long-term strategy.
The JV was expected to open 56 exclusive high-end stores for the four focus brands, Miss Sixty, Energie, Killah & Murphy&Nye, in the top 10 cities in the first three years. As per the original plans, Darshan Mehta president and chief executive of Reliance Brands, was to spearhead the JV with separate business heads for each of the four brands.
The Symbiosis Institute of Management Studies, Pune, invites industry delegates and management students to attend its annual business seminar 4Thought--Khsitij ke Par.
Betting on higher margins from private labels, Reliance Digital, the consumer durable chain of Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail, is planning to introduce its own brands of home theatres, LCD televisions and digital cameras. The brands, according to a source, will be called Rldigi. Reliance Digital is planning tie-ups with domestic and international consumer durable and appliance companies. These private labels are expected to contribute 12-15 per cent of Reliance Digit
Most of the hirings are, however, in the entry or junior level.
Apparel makers are hopefully eyeing the Indian womenswear and lingerie market in the New Year.
Close on the heels of the Mukesh Ambani-controlled Reliance Retail's possible entry into the second-hand car market, Tata Motors, the country's second largest automobile major, is planning a similar foray.
Marks & Spencer Reliance is the joint venture between the Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Retail and the British department store chain, Marks & Spencer group. The first store would have around 40 employees and would offer men's, women's and children's garments besides various household items.
Coca-Cola and PepsiCo have already announced plans to enter the milk-based beverages segment in the country. Reliance Retail, which has entered the diary segment with Dairy Pure, its milk brand, may also expand into niche categories. Industry observers believe that Bharti Retail may also be working its way towards marking an entry into the dairy space.
Reliance Digital, the consumer durables information technology arm of Reliance Retail, on Wednesday announced opening of 'iStore' in Hyderabad to offer a range of Apple products in professional and consumer segments.
The Kurkumbh unit, which manufactures MEG from industrial alcohol, has 90 employees on its rolls and another 250 contract labourers.
Amendments to the Agriculture Produce Market Committees Act have opened floodgates for private companies and online commodity exchange in Gujarat.
Fitch, one of the largest design consultancies in the world that has designed stores of Wal-Mart, Target, Marks & Spencer, Best Buy and Tesco among others, is betting big on India's organised retail sector. Already in the country to serve clients such as Aditya Birla Retail, Reliance Retail, Tatas and so on, Fitch plans to treble the number of staff and open new offices in the country.
Nashik district, an Agri Export Zone (AEZ) for onion, grapes, keshar mango, pomegranates and flowers, is fast becoming the source of agri goods for retail companies such as Subhiksha and Reliance Retail.
World Gold Council to double investment in India, views organised retail as a boon to industry
Beginning with the festive season, the company expects to open at least one store for each of these products by the year-end.
Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Industries is in talks to acquire an equity stake in Haryana-based Modern Dairies, which would strengthen its presence in the high-volume, low-margin liquid milk market.
The fixed line broadband will offer "ultra high-definition entertainment on large screen TVs, multi-party video conferencing from your living room, voice-activated virtual assistants, virtual reality gaming, digital shopping, immersive experiences," Ambani said.
The country's fruits and vegetables retail segment has caught up the fancy of international companies even as domestic companies such as Bharti and the Tatas tie up with global firms for supply of farm produce.
German retail giant Metro Cash & Carry and India's emerging retail venture Reliance Retail have roped in the property services group of ICICI Bank for identifying retail properties for its proposed pan India expansion.
Dutch consumer electronics major Royal Philips is in talks with major retail players in India, including Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Retail and Tata Group company Trent for a tie-up, as it looks to shore up volumes in the country.
India's retail giants, including Kishore Biyani's Future Group, Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail and Sunil Mittal-promoted Bharti group, have started negotiations with the railways for leasing land for retail development.
