Reliance Fresh
| Supermarket | |
| Industry | Retail |
| Founded | October 30, 2006[citation needed] |
| Headquarters | Mumbai, India |
|
Key people
|
Mukesh Ambani |
| Slogan | Growth Through Value Creation |
| Website | www.ril.com |
Reliance Fresh is the convenience store format which forms part of the retail business of Reliance Industries of India which is headed by Mukesh Ambani[citation needed]. Reliance plans to invest in excess of ₹250 billion in the next 4 years in their retail division.[citation needed] The company already has 1691 Reliance Fresh outlets across the country.[1] These stores sell fresh fruits and vegetables, staples, groceries, fresh juice, bars and dairy products.
A typical Reliance Fresh store is approximately 3000–4000 square feet and caters to a catchment area of 2–3 km.[citation needed]
History
After launch, in a dramatic shift in its positioning and mainly due to the circumstances prevailing in UP, West Bengal and Orissa, it was mentioned recently[when?] in news dailies that Reliance Retail is moving out of stocking fruits and vegetables[citation needed]. Reliance Retail has decided to minimise its exposure in the fruit and vegetable business.
The company may not stock fruit and vegetables in some states. Though Reliance Fresh is not exiting the fruit and vegetable business altogether, it has decided not to compete with local vendors partly due to political reasons, and partly due to its inability to create a robust supply chain. This is quite different from what the firm had originally planned.
When the first Reliance Fresh store opened in Hyderabad last October[citation needed], not only did the company say the store’s main focus would be fresh produce like fruits and vegetables at a much lower price, but also spoke at length about its “farm-to-fork" theory[citation needed]. The idea the company spoke about was to source from farmers and sell directly to the consumer, removing middlemen out of the way.
Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart, Reliance Digital, Reliance Trends, Reliance Footprint, Reliance Wellness, Reliance Jewels, Reliance Timeout and Reliance Super are various formats that Reliance has rolled out.[citation needed]
In addition, Reliance Retail has entered into an alliance with Apple for setting up a chain of Apple Specialty Stores branded as iStore, sTarting with Bangalore.[citation needed]
Controversy
In 2007 Reliance stores in Jharkhand faced the ire of mobs of local vegetable vendors. They vandalised and attacked the stores claiming that they were stealing their livelihoods.[2]
In August 2007, Uttar Pradesh Chief Minister Mayawati ordered to close 10 new stores keeping view of Law & order situation. In November 2007, Reliance Fresh stores were attacked by Bharatiya Janshakti Party supporters headed by Uma Bharti.[citation needed]
See also
- List of Indian companies
- Namdhari's Fresh
- Reliance Footprint
- Reliance Jewel
References
External links
- Reliance Official Site
- Reliance Retail
- Podbharti's podcast reporting on the stone pelting incident at Reliance Fresh store at Ranchi.
