The retail business, which was up 73.6% in revenues on year to Rs 11,571 cr in the first quarter, delivered strong profit before depreciation, interest and tax of Rs 398 cr
Reliance Retail now operates more Hamley’s stores in India than the total number of Hamley’s stores across entire Europe, said Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL). The retailer has also become the largest toy retail chain in the country after opening the 33rd Hamley’s store in the June quarter of this fiscal.
The retail business, which was up 73.6% in revenues on year to Rs 11,571 crore in the first quarter, delivered strong profit before depreciation, interest and tax (PBDIT) of Rs 398 crore. This reflects a robust growth of 65.8% over the corresponding period last year.
During the quarter, Reliance Retail added 18 stores across various store concepts, taking the total number to 3,634 stores across 703 cities with an area of over 13.8 million square feet.
While growth for its retail business came from across all consumption baskets, formats like Reliance Fresh and Smart stores, Reliance Market, Reliance Digital and Jio stores made significant contributions to the topline.
For instance, the fruits and vegetables stores (Reliance Fresh and Smart) sold 30% more fruits during the period led by mangoes and melons, in addition to undertaking productivity improvement initiatives that led to a strong uptake in same store sales growth.
The operator of the largest cash-and-carry chain in the country with 41 stores, Reliance Market established a strong foothold and growth in the kirana and HoReCa (hotels, restaurants and catering) customer segments.
Similarly, Reliance Digital's dominance in selling large appliances continued. "Reliance Digital sold over 800 air conditioners every day during the period and one high-end television (HETV) was sold every minute making it a leader in the industry," RIL said, adding that the device distribution business sold 1.5 million LYF devices and accessories during the quarter.
A new store concept called Project Eve, positioned in the mid-to-premium segment, was launched during the quarter. A unique, one-stop, experiential store concept, Project Eve targets women in the age group of over 25 with wider fashion and lifestyle offerings across occasions, moods and purposes. The stores also feature Marks and Spencer's curated range of products through a shop-in-shop format, the first ever by Marks and Spencer in India.
"Fashion and Lifestyle category led by Reliance Trends surpassed a significant milestone of selling nearly one crore garments a month. More than half of its revenues have been contributed by tier-2 and tier-3 cities during the quarter," the company said.
As part of Reliance Retail 2.0 initiatives, RIL said in the statement, various omni-channel initiatives were expanded to offer a differentiated experience to the customers. "AJIO completed its first anniversary and has emerged as a destination e-commerce platform in a very short span of time," the company said, adding that it has also recommissioned 17 petro retail outlets during the quarter and now operates 465 outlets.
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