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ShareMUMBAI: Wadhawan Food Retail Pvt Ltd (WFRPL), which operates the Spinach chain of food and grocery stores, may be the frontrunner to acquire Hindustan Lever's Sangam Direct business.
A source said Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Retail had shown interest, as did Subhiksha and RPG Retail.
"Every big retail company excluding Kishore Biyani's Big Bazaar was in the fray to acquire the e-tailing business," said a source.
A Hindustan Lever spokesperson said "We do not comment on market speculation."
Dippankar S Halder, chief executive officer of Wadhawan Food Retail Pvt Ltd, said "This is pure speculation."
Sangam Direct is a unique e-tailing format very exclusive to Unilever across the globe. It has been operational for over three years and has been very popular with households in Mumbai. The service now covers almost 80% of Mumbai.
Wadhawans launched their Spinach chain in 2006 and has been contemplating on taking the inorganic route to expand retail operations. DNA Money had reported about this in October 2006.
Besides targeting 1,500 stores across the country, Wadhawans are also looking at rolling out a retailing model on the lines of Sangam Direct.
Food, grocery and pharmacy retailer Subhiksha was also considering this format, calling it a direct-to-home (DTH) service. It had planned to launch the format in the western region, starting with over 70 stores in November- ecember last year.
In fact, the discount retailer has already set up a service wherein customers can make their purchases by dialling a single telephone number and get delivery at home.
Dominated mainly by small, family run shops or mom & pop stores, the total size of the Indian retail sector is estimated at around Rs 900,000 crore with a year-on-year growth of 5% to 6%.
Standing at a minuscule 3%, the organised retail sector is pegged at Rs 26,000 crore growing consistently at 25% to 30% every year.
