Reliance Retail The global Retail scenario The private consumption is currently at 64% of Indias GDP - higher than

that of countries like Europe (58%), Japan (55%) and China (42%). Retail in India currently provides employment to 15% of the population. The total population is expected to grow by around 1.2% annually with the youth population expected to grow at the same rate. India will have one of the youngest populations in the world by 2020. Indias urban population is fast-growing at 2.3% per year and is projected to increase from 28% to 40% of the total population by 2020. Gen X-consumers are increasingly attaching importance to quality and are much more brand conscious than ever before. They are keen to upgrade to new technologies and products and do so more frequently leading to higher disposal rates in products. Transitioning segmental and income demographics with booming middle class households armed with greater disposable incomes currently comprise 8% of the total number of households. This figure is expected to increase to 13% by 2010 growing annually at around 15%. Disposable incomes too are expected to rise at an average of 8.5% p.a. till 2015. The average age of home owners has come down from over 40 years a few decades ago to under 28 years. The estimated number of new home constructions is 4.5 million p.a. over the next decade. The organised Retail trade will not only benefit productivity through supply-chain enhancements and increased efficiencies in the system but will induce lower inflation due to the increased productivity that will be shared with the consumers (lower endproduct prices). With its foray into organised Retail, Reliance aims to forge strong and enduring bonds with millions of farmers in India and take its relationship with end-consumers to a new level. Reliance Retail will create a virtuous circle of prosperity by creating win-win partnership for farmers, small shopkeepers and consumers. This idea has been evolved based on the new paradigm in the area of the consumption of products and services in India. Reliance will expend over Rs. 25,000 crores (US$ 5.6 billion) over the next few years in building a state-of-the-art retail infrastructure in India. It will follow a multi-format strategy by opening up hypermarkets, supermarkets, seamless malls/ department stores, convenience stores and other Specialty stores across India in over 1500 towns and cities. Through this effort, Reliance Retail will create over 500,000 jobs through direct employment and over a million through indirect employment.We are poised to unfold a new and expansive chapter in Indias growth story. Reliance Retail entered the organised Retail market in India with the launch of its convenience store format under the brand name of Reliance Fresh. Since the launch of the first Reliance Fresh store in November 2006 in Hyderabad, the network has expanded to 96 stores at the end of FY 2006-07 covering locations like Jaipur, Chennai, NCR, Guntur, Vijayawada and Visakhapatnam. During this year, we also launched our B2B operations called Ranger Farms to cater to small retailers in Hyderabad. We also introduced our private label in the staples category under the

Reliance Select brand name. Reliance Retail also started its loyalty programme for customers by introducing the RelianceOne membership card from the first day of operations in Hyderabad. Within five months of operations, the loyalty programme has over one million members enrolled and is growing at a rapid rate. This year also witnessed the launch of our first consumer durables and IT pilot specialty store branded as Reliance Digital at the Shipra Mall in Faridabad. Reliance Digital aspires to be a one stop solution provider for all technology requirement with a wide array of brands and products covering consumer electronics, home appliances, information technology and telecommunication. Reliance Retail also launched its much awaited and Indias largest hypermarket under the brand name of RelianceMart at Iskon Mall in Ahmedabad in August 2007. Spread over 165,000 sq. ft. of shopping area, RelianceMart carries a range of over 95,000 products across categories ranging from fresh produce, food & grocery, home care products, apparel and accessories, nonfood FMCG products, consumer durables and IT, automotive accessories, lifestyle products, footwear and more. The store also offers some unique services to the shoppers like tailoring, shoe repair, watch repair, a photo shop, gifting services and laundary services all within the store. The store network continues to expand at a rapid pace. Currently, there are over 300 Reliance Fresh Stores covering more than 30 towns and cities in 12 States. Our focus this year will be on the rapid roll-out of Reliance Fresh and hypermarkets in various parts of the country. Apart from these formats, we will also open newer formats in select cities and towns. Courtesy: Reliance Industries Limited Link: http://www.fibre2fashion.com/news/textile-news/newsdetails.aspx?News_id=41476

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