Reliance Digital to surpass Tata's Croma in electronics retail

Reliance Retail overtook Croma after opening 921 stores in a single year

Reliance Industries electronics retail chain, Reliance Digital, has raced ahead of the Tata Group in the consumer electronics and cellphone retailing business, becoming the country's largest seller of durable and technology products.

Reliance Digital notched up sales of Rs. 4,233 crore in 2014-15, as reported in the Reliance Industries annual report, while Tata-owned Croma reported sales of Rs. 3,269 crore, according to a recent filing with the Registrar of Companies.

Croma topped the list with sales of Rs. 3,198 crore compared with Reliance Digital's Rs. 3,044 crore a year ago.

Reliance Retail overtook Croma after opening more stores, especially in its neighbourhood format known as Digital Express Mini. The Mukesh Ambani-controlled company added 912 stores in a single year, taking the total to 1,196 in FY15.

Reliance Digital is continuing its expansion, with the total store count going up to 1,380 across 225 cities, according to an analyst's presentation made after Reliance's second quarter results.