Reliance Retail on Sunday launched seven Reliance Fresh pilot stores, four in Vijayawada and three in Guntur, thus making its entry into coastal Andhra Pradesh.In Reliance style, the first customers who entered the stores inaugurated them. Every customer who made purchases at these stores was presented half-a-kilo of sugar free.K Venugopal, chief executive, customer operations, Reliance Industries (retail business), said the company was planning to open 25 more Fresh stores in coastal Andhra Pradesh this year as part of its strategy to have a pan-India presence.He said the stores, beginning with 250 categories of commodities, would increase the number phase-wise to 1,250 categories. Stores in Vijayawada and Guntur would be expanded in two months basing on customer feedback.Before opening the stores, the Reliance executives had made frequent visits to a number villages around Vijayawada and Guntur and came to an understanding with farmers on supply of vegetables and other products. Reliance would pay market rates to farmers and lift products directly from them. According to their study, 40% of vegetables and fruits harvested by the villagers were being wasted.With the stores in Vijayawada and Guntur, the number of Reliance Fresh stores has reached 47 in the country. While Hyderabad has 21 stores, there are 12 in Chennai and seven in Jaipur, according to Venugopal. The stores were opened at Suryaraopet, One Town, Machavaram and Gandhinagar in Vijayawada and at Arundelpet, Brodipet and Kothapet in Guntur. Each store has on an average 2,300 square feet of space.
