DMart shuts two Mumbai stores to take on Reliance in e-commerce space

Converts outlets into online fulfillment centres; experts say firm had been quietly stitching up a strategy to boost e-commerce operations, push its value proposition aggressively among consumers

Avenue Supermarts, which runs the DMart chain of stores in the country, has shut two outlets in the Mumbai region, one at Mira Road and the other at Kalyan, as it seeks to ramp up its e-commerce operations. The stores had been converted into online fulfillment centres, the company said, implying no offline retail activity would be carried out at these locations.

While Neville Noronha, chief executive officer and managing director, Avenue Supermarts, was quick to defend the move, saying that there were alternate stores within a four-km radius at these locations, analysts view the development in the context of