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On June 12, at the annual general meeting of Reliance Industries (RIL), group chairman and managing director Mukesh Ambani talked about unveiling big plans on e-commerce by creating “a differentiated model” for India. Over a month later, RIL detailed its e-commerce plans post its first quarter results.
The plan, coined Reliance Retail 2.0, will integrate advanced infrastructure built by its telecom arm Reliance Jio and physical retail business to create a differentiated model.
RIL said it planned to leverage the reach of retail in India by integration of existing digital and cash-and-carry formats into the reliance digital marketplace platform.
“The combined physical and e-commerce business is poised for a stupendous growth, which would sustain our leadership in retail," the company said.
RIL is looking at integrating its physical and digital shopping (fashion and lifestyle), own stores and other retailers (market place), own products and others products (digital). It will roll-out its fashion and lifestyle e-commerce initiative before end of the year.
As part of its marketplace model, RIL said it would enable over 150,000 small retailers, providing them with a supplier base and product range, better supply-chain productivity, digital payment capability, connectivity to customers and credit capability.
RIL had in February joined hands with State Bank of India (SBI) to form a joint venture for a payments bank, aiming to reach remote places through the mobile platform.
The venture needs a partner with good technology and spectrum support. RIL, through its telecom business and fourth-generation (4G) service offering, would address this need, while SBI, being country's largest lender, brings a huge number of accounts.
As part of Reliance digital, RIL would make available entry level ultra-premium 4G LTE (long-term evolution) smartphones, tablets and other devices. It would also be rolling out ResQ as a service brand that would entail being an authorised service provider for all leading brands.
RIL plans to build Reconnect, a national brand with more than 100 different products. The company has its own range of consumer electronics and appliances range under the brand name ‘Reconnect’.
During the April-June quarter of 2015-16, revenue from the retail segment for RIL grew 17.5 per cent year-on-year to Rs 4,698 crore from Rs 3,999 crore.
During the quarter, the business delivered profit before depreciation, interest and tax of Rs 203 crore, against Rs 171 crore in the corresponding period of the previous year.
Contribution of private label sales to overall sales increased to 10 per cent from eight per cent in the same period last year. As on June 30, Reliance Retail operated 2,747 stores across 210 cities in India.
STRENGTHENING ITS REACH
- Plan will integrate advanced infra built by its telecom arm Reliance Jio & physical retail business to create a differentiated models
- RIL is looking at integrating its physical and digital shopping, own stores and other retailers (market place), own products and others products (digital)
- It will roll-out its fashion & lifestyle e-commerce initiative before end of the year
- As part of marketplace model, RIL said it would enable 150,000 retailers, providing them with a supplier base & product range, among others
