LDEN/138

IBS Center for Management Research

ST
PO
R
Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries
O
PY
This case was written by Shubhanjali Chakravarty, under the direction of Sanjib Dutta, IBS Hyderabad. It was compiled from
published sources, and is intended to be used as a basis for class discussion rather than to illustrate either effective or ineffective
handling of a management situation.
CO
T
O
N
O
D

© 2019, IBS Center for Management Research. All rights reserved.

To order copies, call +91 9640901313 or write to IBS Center for Management Research (ICMR), IFHE Campus, Donthanapally,
Sankarapally Road, Hyderabad 501 203, Telangana, India or email: casehelpdesk@ibsindia.org

www.icmrindia.org
 LDEN/138

Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

ST
“For the first 25 years for me, whatever I am today, and whatever recognition we
get, we always stand on the shoulders of my father. He founded Reliance and he
believed in the principle that as Reliance we will always remain invested in the

PO
businesses of the future and will always invest in talent. Over the last 40 years, we
have done that.”1
– Mukesh Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director,
Reliance Industries Limited, in 2017
“With his service Jio, he (Mukesh) has upended Indian telecoms and changed his

R
country. Now he wants to go further and become Indian Jeff Bezos or Jack Ma,
using Jio as a launch pad.”2

INTRODUCTION
O
– The Economist, in January 2019
PY
In the Forbes’ ‘Billionaires – The Richest People in the World 2019’ list published on March 5,
2019, Mukesh Ambani (Mukesh), Chairman and Managing Director of Reliance Industries Ltd.
(RIL), was ranked 13th.3 Also in 2019, Mukesh topped the list of ‘The World's Richest Sports
Team Owners 2019’ published by Forbes. 4 The business empire that Mukesh had built over the
CO

decades helped him grow his wealth tremendously – from US$ 19.3 billion in 2016 to US$55.2
billion in 2019, an increase of more than 150%.5
In the Deloitte ‘Global Powers of Retailing 2019’ Index, Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL), the retail arm
of RIL, was ranked 94th out of 250 companies covered in the list.6 By January 2019, RRL was
operating 9,907 stores across 6,400 towns and cities, which made it the largest retail chain in India,
T

both in terms of revenue and number of stores.7 For FY 2018, RRL posted revenues of Rs8 939.03
billion and profits of Rs 42.78 billion.9
O

1
Ruhail Amin, “Leadership is about setting new standards: Mukesh Ambani at IAA,”
N

www.exchange4media.com, October 2017.

2
“Mukesh Ambani aims to become India's 1st Internet tycoon: Report,” economictimes.indiatimes.com,
January 25, 2019.
O

3
“The richest people in the world,” www.forbes.com, March 2019.
4
“Mukesh Ambani becomes world's richest sports team owner!” www.timesnownews.com, March 17, 2019.
D

5
“Mukesh Ambani is the world's 13th richest man; wealth increased 25% in a year: Forbes,”
www.businesstoday.in, March 6, 2019.
6
“Global Powers of Retailing 2019,” www2.deloitte.com, June 2018.
7
Ibid
8
As of March 29, 2019, 1 USD was equal to 69.20 INR
9
“Reliance Retail leaps to 94th spot on Deloitte's top retailers' list,” economictimes.indiatimes.com,
January 23, 2019.

1
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

Mukesh single-handedly led RIL post its de-merger in 2005 (owing to a feud between the Ambani
brothers – Mukesh and Anil). In 2006, he announced an investment of Rs 2.5 billion for venturing
into the retail segment in India. Between 2006 and 2010, he launched several retail ventures which
included Reliance Fresh (groceries), Reliance Digital (consumer electronics), Reliance Mart
(hypermarkets), Reliance Trendz (apparels), Reliance Autozone (automotive parts), Reliance
Footprints (footwear), Reliance Home Store (a subsidiary for home furnishings), Reliance
Wellness (personal care and lifestyle shop), and Reliance Timeout stores (diversified products).
RIL also invested in oil and gas refineries in Saudi Arabia and Iraq.

ST
In 2010, Mukesh directed and led the creation of the world's largest grassroots petroleum refinery
at Jamnagar, India. In 2011, he led his company’s foray into the petroleum markets of the US with
its polyester and yarn products. Between 2011and 2015, Mukesh launched the Reliance iStore (in
2011 for selling Apple Inc. products), Reliance Markets (in 2011 for wholesale products), Reliance

PO
Jewelry (in 2013 for gold and diamond jewelry), and Reliance Jio Infocomm (soft launch in
December 2015 for providing a national LTE10 network).
In 2016, RIL publicly launched 4G internet services under the brand name “Jio” across India. RIL
also launched AJIO.com (an online apparel store for women) in 2016. RIL aimed to provide a
cluster of add on services for its Jio customers, like Jio GigaFiber (already launched in July 2018

R
as a preview), Jio VoWi-Fi (Voice over WiFi enables users to make calls with no cellular network
but with WiFi). Jio 5G, Jio Smartphone, Jio Cinema (by introducing new features like digital
library including movies from Disney, Marvel, and Pixar), Jio Enterprise Solutions (for corporate

O
houses), and Jio Better plans (freebie offers) in 2019. In 2018, Mukesh entered the entertainment
and media sector by getting into a partnership with Eros International Media Ltd.11 (Eros) for
producing and making film content. He also acquired online music application “Saavn” and
PY
rebranded it as “JioSaavn” in 2018.
In January 29, 2019, Mukesh announced that Jio and RRL would launch a “New Commerce
platform”. Once launched, it would challenge Amazon Inc. (Amazon)12, Flipkart Private Ltd. 13
(Flipkart), and PayTm14 in India. The platform, which would be rolled out in Gujarat, aimed to
CO

empower 12 lakh small retailers and shopkeepers in Gujarat, who were part of the over 30 million
small retailer community in India. Mukesh also aimed to invest Rs 97.49 billion in West Bengal by
2019, as part of RIL’s e-commerce activity. Commenting upon the announcement, Mukesh said,
“West Bengal is poised to become the logistics hub of the east, with plans to attract investments of
INR 5,000 Cr by 2020. This can create direct and indirect jobs for 50,000 people.”
Mukesh’s announcement of the New Commerce Platform came in just days after the
T

Government of India (GoI) updated its regulations on FDI in e-commerce. The two most
important changes brought in were, FDI-funded online marketplaces could only act as
O

technology platforms that connected independent sellers and buyers. They could not sell, own,
or control inventory. And second, it prohibited FDI funded e-commerce platforms from entering
into exclusive merchandise deals.
N

10
The abbreviation for Long Term Evolution, LTE is a 4G wireless communications standard.
O

11
Eros International Media Ltd. is an Indian motion picture production and distribution company. It was
founded in Arjun Lulla in 1977 in Mumbai. It is one of the leading production and distribution companies
in India.
D

12
Amazon.com, Inc., is an American multinational technology company based in Seattle, Washington, that
focuses on e-commerce, cloud computing, and artificial intelligence. It was founded in 1994 by Jeff
Bezos in Seattle, US.
13
Flipkart Pvt Ltd. is an Indian e-commerce company based in Bengaluru, India. It was founded in 2007 by
Sachin Bansal and Binny Bansal in Mumbai, India.
14
Paytm is an Indian e-commerce payment system and digital wallet company. It was founded in 2010 by
Vijay Shekhar Sharma in Noida, Delhi.

2
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

With RIL’s revenues growing fast and Mukesh developing a penchant for launching and growing new
businesses and aiming to be “India’s first internet tycoon”, it would be interesting to see how he
planned for the big ecommerce battle with the big bulls of ecommerce – Alibaba Group and Amazon.

EARLY LIFE

Mukesh was born on April 19, 1957, to Dhirajlal Hirachand alias Dhirubhai Ambani (Dhirubhai)
and Kokilaben Ambani in Aden, Yemen. He was brought up in Mumbai, India. He was the eldest

ST
of four siblings – a younger brother, Anil Ambani (Anil), and two sisters, Dipti Ambani (now
Salgaoncar) and Nina Ambani (now Kothari). Mukesh’s father, Dhirubhai, went to Yemen at the
age of 16 and worked as a petrol pump attendant in a trading and oil bunkering fort in a city named
Aden. Dhirubhai shifted to India in 1958 and started a business in trading spices.

PO
In 1960, Dhirubhai co-founded a company named Reliance Commercial Corporation (Reliance)
with a trader and business partner, Champak Lal Damani, that sold polyester. By 1965, the
partnership ended but Dhirubhai continued with the polyester business. In 1966, Reliance entered
the textile business and named it Reliance Textiles Industries Pvt Ltd. (Reliance Textiles), which
was located in a 500 square foot office in Mumbai. The same year, the company established a
synthetic fabrics mill in Gujarat.

R
Dhirubhai and his family lived in a modest two-bedroom apartment in Mumbai between 1960 and
1970. Dhirubhai, cared little about his children’s education and focused more on their all-around

O
development. Mukesh once narrated, “His (Dhirubhai’s) brief was our all-round development. We
played hockey, football and different kinds of games, watched matches at cooperage, travelled in
buses and trains and explored different parts of Bombay. We went camping and stayed in a village
for 10-15 days every year. These experiences have helped us a lot, but at that time, we were not
PY
very aware of all the learning that was going on.”15
Mukesh attended the Hill Grange High School at Peddar Road, Mumbai. He received his
Bachelor’s degree in chemical engineering from the Institute of Chemical Technology (earlier
University Department of Chemical Technology), University of Mumbai, around 1978-1979.
CO

Mukesh then enrolled for the Master of Business Administration (MBA) course at Stanford
University. However, he withdrew from Stanford in 1980 to help his father build the family
business, which at that time was still a small but fast-growing enterprise. Mukesh was his father’s
favorite. It was Mukesh whom Dhirubhai asked for suggestions regarding business matters.
Mukesh was analytical and detail oriented and was known for taking meticulous notes during
business meetings and conversations. He was a private person and rarely spoke publicly.
T

Reliance Textiles issued its first IPO in 1977 in the Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE). The issue was
oversubscribed by seven times, and there were millions of small subscribers. In 1980, the GoI
O

under Prime Minister Indira Gandhi opened up polyester filament yarn16 (PFY) manufacturing to
the private sector. Dhirubhai applied for a license to set up a PFY manufacturing plant. However,
N

obtaining the license was a long-drawn-out process which required a strong connection within the
bureaucratic system.
Despite the competition from the Tata Group17, Birla Group18 and others, Reliance Textiles was
O

awarded the license to import yarn and in 1981, Mukesh took charge of building and overseeing
15
“Always invest in businesses of the future and in talent,” www.rediff.com, January 19, 2007
D

16
Polyester fiber is one of the most used for commercial fibers across the world. Polyester Filament Yarns
(PFY) are in huge demand in the global market and are made from PET Polyester. PET Polyester is also
called Polyethylene Terephthalate.
17
The Tata Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate holding company. It was founded in 1868 by
Jamshetji Tata and is headquartered in Mumbai, Maharashtra, India. The Tata Group is owned by Tata Sons.
18
The Birla Group is an Indian multinational conglomerate headquartered in Worli, Mumbai, India. It was
founded in 1857 by Seth Shiv Narayan Birla.

3
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

the PFY plant in Patalganga, Maharashtra. The plant was completed in 14 months. By 1985, the
company’s assets were valued at Rs 1.59 billion. 19 During 1985, the company expanded its
installed capacity to produce polyester yarn by over 145,000 tonnes per annum.
In 1986, Dhirubhai suffered a stroke. Mukesh and Anil took over as co-managing directors of
Reliance Textiles while Dhirubhai became the Chairman. The same year, a new subsidiary in the
form of a financial services company, “Reliance Capital” was created.

THE SPLIT IN BUSINESSES

ST
By 1988, Mukesh had earned a reputation for building new plants and he built 60 new, world class
manufacturing plants that included the diversification from textiles into petroleum refining and
going up-stream into oil and gas exploration and production. Under his leadership, Reliance

PO
created a new subsidiary, Reliance Petroleum Ltd. (Reliance Petroleum), in 1988. In 1991, its first
petrochemical plant was commissioned at Hazira, Gujarat. The same year, the company’s name
was changed to Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL).
In 1992, RIL became the first company to raise capital from international markets through global
depositary receipts20 (GDRs) and it set a record of receiving one million investor applications. The

R
same year (1992), Reliance Petroleum was made public. In 1994, RIL issued its second GDR.
Meanwhile, RIL continued its diversification and launched two other subsidiaries, Reliance
Mutual Funds in 1995 and Reliance Telecom Private Ltd. in 1996.

O
In 1997, Mukesh led the construction of the world’s largest multi-feed cracker plant in Hazira by
Reliance Petroleum. In 1998-1999, RIL introduced packaged liquefied petroleum gas (LPG) in 15
KG cylinders under the name Reliance Gas. In 2001, another subsidiary was opened in the name of
PY
“Reliance Logistics Private Ltd. (Reliance Logistics) under RIL. The subsidiary was created for
transportation of solid goods, packaged and capital goods, loose products, capital goods, and
export containers, as well as project cargo goods, including pipes and over dimensional cargos by
road, rail, coastal, and a combination of modes. It was also engaged in the road transportation of
liquid and gaseous products through tankers for various hazardous and non-hazardous materials.
CO

The subsidiary also aimed to provide customized transport solutions, warehousing, and distribution
logistics services for RIL’s other businesses.
In mid-2001, RIL opened another subsidiary named “Reliance Life Sciences” (RLS). This was
formed with the intent of establishing and developing business opportunities in medical
biotechnology with key initiatives in biopharmaceuticals, pharmaceuticals, regenerative medicine,
T

clinical research, and molecular diagnostics. There were five other subsidiaries under RLS –
“Reliance Pharmaceuticals”, “Reliance Clinical research Services”, “Reliance Genemedix”,
“Reliance Biopharmaceuticals Private Ltd.,” and “Reliance Holdings”.
O

In 2002, Reliance Petroleum merged into RIL, making RIL much bigger in size. The same year,
RIL announced India's biggest gas discovery (in the Krishna Godavari basin) along the coast of the
N

Krishna and Godavari river basins in Andhra Pradesh, India. The volume of natural gas was in
excess of seven trillion cubic feet, equivalent to about 1.2 billion barrels of crude oil. In May 2002,
RIL purchased a 26% stake in Indian Petrochemicals Corporation Ltd. (IPCL),21 India's second
largest petrochemicals company under the GoI.22 However, the year 2002 was challenging for RIL
O

with the sudden demise of Dhirubhai in July 6, 2002, owing to a brain stroke.
D

19
Ernesto J. Poza, “ Family Business”, books.google.co.in
20
A global depository receipt is a general name for a depository receipt where a certificate issued by a
depository bank, which purchases shares of foreign companies, creates a security on a local exchange
backed by those shares.
21
RIL bought 100% stake in IPCL in 2007
22
Raghuvir Srinivasan, “Reliance makes it big with IPCL,” www.thehindubusinessline.com, May 20, 2002

4
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

Mukesh and Anil resumed office just a day after carrying their father’s body to the pyre. As
Dhirubhai did not leave any will (which subsequently became the cause of a major conflict
between Anil and Mukesh over ownership of the empire), Mukesh was made Chairman and
managing director of RIL and his brother Anil Ambani was made Vice-Chairman.
In December 2002, RIL created another subsidiary Reliance Infocom, under Anil’s supervision. The
subsidiary aimed to provide nationwide CDMA2000 services. The same year, RIL created another
subsidiary under Anil when it took over Bombay Suburban Electric Supply (BSES) and named it
Reliance Energy. By the beginning of 2003, RIL had become a diversified business consisting of oil

ST
and gas exploration and production, petrochemicals, textiles, financial services and insurance,
energy, and telecom, with total revenues of Rs 15.74 billion. It sold its products to 100 countries
globally. With its expansion and global outreach, RIL was listed on the Forbes Global 500 list in
2003 at the 306th position. It was the first Indian company to be on the list in 2003.

PO
By November 2004, reports started appearing in the popular press about the rift between Mukesh
and Anil on which, Mukesh commented, “Well, there are issues which are ownership issues.
These are in the private domain, but as far as Reliance is concerned it is a very-very strong
professional company.”23 At that time, the Ambani family jointly held a 46.67 % stake in RIL;
13.48% was held by the public and 22.85% stake was held by foreign institutional investors.24

R
With the rift getting serious, Kokilaben Ambani, mother of Mukesh and Anil, intervened in June
2005, split the businesses, and arranged for a de-merger. In December 2005, the Bombay High

O
Court approved the de-merger and Mukesh got RIL, which included Reliance Textiles, Reliance
Petroleum, Reliance Logistics, and Reliance Life Sciences whereas Anil got three subsidiaries of
RIL which included Reliance Infocom (now, Reliance Communications25), Reliance Energy, and
Reliance Capital (See Exhibit I for the businesses of Mukesh and Anil, as of 2019). However, the
PY
division of businesses invited criticism from RIL shareholders who described it as a family
arrangement. All the business divisions and the subsidiaries were showing profits at the time of the
de-merger.
CO

RIL’S EXPANSION UNDER MUKESH’S LEADERSHIP

Retail
In 2006, when Mukesh forayed into the retail segment, the Indian retail market was dominated by
Kishore Biyani’s Future group26. Mukesh announced that RIL would invest Rs. 250 billion over
the next few years in its organized retail business initiative. For this, a new 100% subsidiary was
T

formed under RIL and it was named RRL. The plan was to set up retail outlets across 1,500 India
cities and towns.
O

Mukesh aimed to open retail outlets that offered foods, groceries, apparel and footwear, lifestyle
and home improvement products, electronic goods, and farm implements and inputs, with stores
N

located at various geographical locations across India. He said, “Organised retail has the potential
to trigger socio-economic transformation on an unprecedented scale in our country and will bring
about enormous spin-off benefits to the Indian economy and its various constituents”27
O

23
Mamta Badkar, “The full story of the massive feud between the billionaire Mukesh brothers,”
D

www.businessinsider.com.au, May 27, 2011

24
Ibid
25
Reliance Infocom’s name was changed to Reliance Communication in 2006
26
Future Group is an Indian conglomerate. The company is known for Indian retail and fashion sectors,
with popular supermarket chains like Big Bazaar and Food Bazaar, lifestyle stores like Brand Factory,
Central. It was founded in 1987 by Kishore Biyani in Mumbai, Maharashtra.
27
“Reliance Digital: A new Reliance Retail Venture,” www.merinews.com, April 25, 2007

5
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

On October 29, 2006, RRL unveiled its first stores under the brand, "Reliance Fresh” in
Hyderabad. These stores operated on a pilot basis for a few months, paving the way for the
opening of more stores nationwide. By January 2007, 49 more stores had been added under
Reliance Fresh.28 In February, Mukesh launched the first automotive specialty store, named
“Reliance Autozone” at Ambience Mall in Gurgaon. This sold a comprehensive range of car and
bike accessories, electric scooters, tires, and batteries among other things. After launching
Reliance Fresh stores and Reliance Autozone, Mukesh spearheaded the launch of “Reliance
Digital”, consumer electronics mega stores in April 2007. The stores covered an area of more than

ST
15,000 square feet and offered over 4,000 products from 150 brands29. They were spread over 70
cities across India30 in 2007-2008.
In August 15, 2007, RRL forayed into the hypermarket segment with the launch of the first
“Reliance Mart” store in Ahmedabad. The store, spread across 165,000 square feet of shopping

PO
area, provided a range of over 95,000 products, catering to families. The products ranged from
fresh produce, food and grocery, home care products, apparel and accessories, non-food FMCG
products, consumer durables and automotive accessories, lifestyle products, footwear, and more. 31
Continuing with its expansion in the retail segment, RRL entered the apparel segment by
launching its brand, “Reliance Trendz” in October 2007. Reliance Trendz was launched as an
apparel and accessory specialty venture conceived to deliver fashion products. In October 2007,

R
RRL launched a subsidiary named “Reliance Home Store Ltd.” to cater to the segment of home
furnishings. In November 2007, it launched its first footwear store in the southern Indian city of

O
Bengaluru, branding it as “Reliance Footprint”. The stores covered a space of around 5,000 square
feet and offered 1,200 varieties of footwear. By 2008, Reliance Footprint had 25 stores across
India in cities like Bengaluru, Chennai, Hyderabad, and Kochi, among others.32 With the aim of
acquiring a 10-15% market share in the segment, Reliance Footprint also launched an in-house
PY
brand 'Tender Sole' which was available in its stores. In 2008, RRL forayed into personal care and
lifestyle products with the launch of “Reliance Wellness”. The company’s first wellness store,
launched in Hyderabad, was 2,500 square feet in area, and featured 8, 000 different brands of
products.
CO

In 2008, RRL continued opening new retail outlets and it inaugurated its new format of stores
which were branded as “Reliance Timeout stores” which sold books, music and stationery outlets,
across India in the next three years (2008-2011). The company launched a pilot project, under
which it opened two stores in Bengaluru and Gurgaon. The first store, covering 21,000 square feet,
came up in Bengaluru. The Timeout stores contained 26,000 varieties of products. In September
2008, RRL launched a new “Reliance Home Kitchen” brand under its subsidiary, “Reliance Home
T

Store Ltd.”. Reliance Home Kitchens tied up with leading international manufacturers to offer high
quality kitchen solutions at affordable prices. Meanwhile, RRL opened more Reliance mart stores
O

at Tirupati, Pune, Gurgaon, Bengaluru, Ranchi, Hyderabad, Ahmedabad, and Jamnagar by 2008.
By 2008, RRL had 600 overall stores across 57 cities in India.
N

By 2009, the total number of stores of RRL had increased to 950 all over India, spread across 80
cities and employing 2,000 professionals. However, the increasing number of stores did not bring
revenues for the company. The turnover of RRL dropped 53% to Rs 2.91 billion in FY 2009-2010,
compared to Rs 6.23 billion in FY 2008-2009. However, unfazed by the fall in turnover, Mukesh
O

opened another 40 stores in 2010. In FY 2010-2011, RRL posted a profit of Rs 0.25 billion for the
D

28
“Reliance Retail launched,” www.projectstoday.com, October 30, 2006
29
“Reliance Digital: A new Reliance Retail Venture,” www.merinews.com, April 25, 2007
30
Ibid
31
Dipayan Mazumdar, “Reliance Mart, India's first Hypermarket in Ahmedabad,” www.merinews.com,
August 16, 2007
32
Ibid

6
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

first time in three and half years since 2006. And RRL unveiled an ambitious five-year business
plan to strengthen its presence in multi-format retail stores, focusing on hypermarkets, building
world class infrastructure and training facilities.
In 2011, addressing the 37th annual shareholder meeting of RIL, Mukesh asserted that RRL had
made substantial investments in the last five years (2006-2011), and had established itself as the
largest food retailer of the country. He also said that 25 lakh customers shopped from its retail
outlets every week. At the same meeting, he announced the launch of a cash and carry and
wholesale outlet, “Reliance Market” under RRL which aimed to support the growth of local retail

ST
shops and to provide them with a modern distribution system. Reliance Market grew rapidly to 46
stores by the end of 2011 and enjoyed strong patronage from its 2.5 million registered member
partners33. It offered them a wide assortment of groceries, home and personal care products,
consumables, general merchandise, apparel and footwear, and home appliances.

PO
In 2011, Mukesh attempted to diversify under the existing brand Reliance Digital (launched in
April 2007) by way of launching new sub brands. RRL launched “Reliance iStores” as a chain of
Apple iPhone resellers in India and launched its products under the private label “Reconnect” in
October 2011. Reconnect sold over 200 products, from the latest large-screen LED television sets,
star-rated air conditioners, washing machines, smartphones, and tablets to household appliances

R
and personal care products. By the end of 2011, Reliance Digital had 101 stores with 21
warehouses in the country.

O
In 2012, Mukesh announced the expansion of the Reliance Digital stores, with the target of taking
the total number of stores to 500 as well as having a warehouse in every state in the country. In
April 2014, RRL planned to open 2000 outlets under the name Reliance Digital Xpress Mini to sell
the company’s telecom services, smartphones, and tablets. Those stores were planned at about 250
PY
square feet and aimed to sell the upcoming services of Jio.
Continuing with the expansion in the retail segment, RRL launched another venture, “Reliance
Jewelry” in 2013. Its first store was launched in Bengaluru and it planned to roll out 400 outlets
over the next three years (2013-2016). Apart from gold and diamond jewelry, the stores offered
CO

customized services for high-end jewelry. Reliance Jewelry aimed to sell gold below market rates.
The Indian jewelry market was valued at Rs 7 billion in 2013. RRL entered into a sourcing
agreement with Rosy Blue, one of the largest jewelry manufacturers, for its operations.
In December 2015, the company had 597 stores operational under Reliance Fresh, Reliance Mart,
Reliance Market, and more. In the value and other format, the company had 616 stores by March
2015. In the fiscal 2015, the company shut down over 100 stores, in the value and jewelry formats.
T

But the company increased its overall store count from 2,857 at the end of September 2015 to
3,043 stores at the end of the December quarter of 2015, and added stores in the digital and
O

lifestyle formats.34
As of 2016, RRL aimed to focus upon a new format, “Reliance Smart” stores, which would
N

include clothing and accessories among other things, and would be spread out over areas ranging
from 7,000 square feet to 20,000 square feet. The formats were expected to be bigger than
Reliance Fresh but smaller than the hypermarket format of Reliance Mart. The company planned
to rebrand the existing hypermarkets and supermarkets as Reliance Smarts.35
O

In FY 2017-2018, RRL’s revenues (Rs 691.98 billion) exceeded the combined revenues of rivals
Future Group (Rs 184.90 billion), Avenue Supermart (Rs 119.13 billion), Shoppers Stop (Rs 36.78
D

billion), and Tata Trent (Rs 12.22 billion). Commenting upon RRL’s financial results, Mukesh
33
“Reliance Market has grown rapidly with 46 stores serving over 2.5 million member partners,”
relianceretail.com
34
Meenakshi Kumar, “Reliance Retail shuts 20 stores, to launch Reliance Smart,” fashionunited.in, March
2016
35
Ibid

7
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

said, “We have established strong foundations in retailing and digital services business with
world-class supply chain management and network infrastructure which will serve our customers
well.”36 As of 2018, RRL operated a total of 3, 837 stores across India.37
Petrochemicals
Mukesh also made advancements in the petrochemical segment. RIL expanded through its Dubai-
based arm, “Reliance Exploration and Production”, and acquired a 100% stake in the Rovi and
Sarta blocks of Kurdistan, Iraq, in 2007. It also signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU)

ST
with GAIL India, India’s largest pipeline infrastructure company, as a move to expand RIL’s
presence overseas. Said Mukesh, “GAIL and RIL are India’s leading companies in the energy and
infrastructure sector. The decision will enable us to look for opportunities globally on a
competitive scale for the petrochemical business which will further strengthen India’s position on
the global map."38 An Ernst and Young analyst opined, “Given the recent situation in Iraq, it

PO
probably makes sense for such an arrangement for RIL as relying on government-to-government
contacts helps in risk minimization...."39
In 2008-2009, Mukesh achieved another feat when RIL joined the league of global deep water oil
and gas operators and commenced production of hydrocarbons in its KGD6 block in the Krishna
Godavari basin with the production of sweet crude of 420 API. The production of oil in KG-D6

R
was commissioned in just over two years (in 2006) of its discovery, making it the world’s fastest
greenfield deep-water oil development project.

O
By March 2008, RIL had incurred some losses from its petrol pumps due to a fall in its sales after
the GoI, in order to contain inflation, disallowed state firms from raising retail prices in line with
soaring crude oil prices. And by the end of May, it shut down all 1,432 petrol pumps owing to
PY
huge losses because of GoI regulations. By 2009, RIL proposed to sell or lease its 1,432 petrol
pumps to Indian Oil Corporation (IOC). It also proposed to transfer its petrol stations to Hindustan
Petroleum Ltd. RIL executives opined, “The company had invested about Rs 50 billion in setting
up the retail network and it does not make sense to keep it idle.”
CO

In 2010, Mukesh led the creation of the world's largest grassroots petroleum refinery at Jamnagar,
India, which had the capacity to produce 660,000 barrels per day (33 million tonnes per year),
which was integrated with petrochemicals, power generation, port, and related infrastructure.
During the year, RIL and Russia's SIBUR 40 announced a joint venture for the setting up of a
facility for producing 100,000 tonnes of butyl rubber in India. RIL also took a significant step by
entering into partnerships in the US with Atlas Energy, Pioneer Natural Resources, and Carrizo Oil
T

and Gas through three distinctive joint venture agreements. It also entered into a separate joint
venture with Pioneer Natural Resources aimed at addressing the mid-stream opportunity in gas
evacuation and transportation.
O

By 2010-2011, the Mukesh-led RIL, entered into a Foreign Direct Investment (FDI) with a British
oil and gas multinational company, BP, which was the biggest FDI in the sector in 2010 and
N

amounted to Rs 50.14 billion. The investment comprised BP taking a 30 % stake in 23 oil and gas
production sharing contracts that RIL operated in India, including the KG-D6 block.
O

36
“Reliance Retail sales cross $10 bn mark,” economictimes.indiatimes.com, April 2018
D

37
Ibid
38
Utpal Bhaskar, “GAIL, Reliance Industries sign MoU for overseas projects,” www.livemint.com,
December 2007
39
Ibid
40
SIBUR is a Russian petrochemicals company founded in 1995 and headquartered in Moscow. SIBUR
operates 22 production sites located all over Russia, had over 1,400 major customers engaged in the
energy.

8
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

FORAY INTO B2B AND B2C DIGITAL MARKETPLACE

By the end of 2014, RRL had forayed into e-commerce services with its first online grocery store,
“Reliance Fresh Direct”. In June 2015, RRL announced launching of a B2B digital marketplace to
enable small retailers to transact online. Mukesh said, “We are rolling out the Reliance Digital
Marketplace platform to enable millions of small retailers and provide them with an enhanced
supplier base and product range, better supply chain productivity, digital payment capability,
connectivity to customers and credit capability.”41 Mukesh also announced that RRL aimed to

ST
launch e-commerce portals by the end of 2015 for its fashion and lifestyle formats.
In February 2016, RRL announced its fashion e-commerce site “AJIO.com (AJIO)”.. The name
was an extension of its brand name Jio. AJIO was tested among its employees from December
2015 and was made public in 2016. It offered a wide collection of private fashion labels from

PO
apparels to accessories and more for women aged between 18-34 years. AJIO was launched with
the tagline “doubt is out”.42
A Game Changer Called ‘Jio’
In 2010, Mukesh entered the wireless broadband services market with the acquisition of a 95%
stake in Infotel Broadband Services Ltd. (Infotel) by paying Rs 69.35 billion. With this, Infotel

R
became a subsidiary of RIL. Infotel was the only successful bidder in the pan-India fourth-
generation (4G) spectrum auction held by the GoI the same year. In 2010, RIL emerged as a

O
successful bidder in all the 22 circles of the auction for broadband wireless access43 (BWA)
spectrum conducted by the Department of Telecommunication, GoI. Mukesh opined, “RIL's
initiative will usher in a wireless broadband revolution in both urban and rural areas across the
country by providing end-to-end data solutions for business enterprises, social organizations,
PY
educational and healthcare institutions and Indian consumers.44 It named the subsidiary “Reliance
Jio Infocomm Ltd. (Jio)” in 2013.
In December 2015, Jio launched its 4G services by issuing complimentary offers confined to Jio
employees. These were later extended to families and friends of employees, partners, and vendors.
CO

The services were launched on the 83rd birth anniversary of Dhirubhai. Mukesh said, “By throwing
open the Jio services to all its business partners, and its vast number of employees and their
families spread all across India, RIL will be making the optimal use of human resources to ensure
that the last and the slightest wrinkle would be smoothed out to perfection before Jio launches its
all-India commercial services.”45 The complimentary offer for group staff continued until Jio’s
launch of its 4G services commercially in 2016. In September 2016, Jio was publicly available
T

across the country. The Jio services were rolled out (?) in the name of a “welcome offer” and were
kept free until March 31, 2017. RIL advertised it as the world’s most affordable 4G telecom
O

service, which aimed to offer services to 100 million Indians.

The Jio SIM cards were compatible with mobile phones of 19 brands – LYF (RRL’s in-house
N

brand), Samsung, LG, Panasonic, Asus, Gionee, Karbonn, Lava, Xolo, Videocon, Sansui, Sony,
Micromax, YU, Alcatel, TCL, Vivo, Intex, and HTC 4G phones . By September 2016, it was
available for all brands of mobile phones. Customers could avail of the Jio free SIM directly from
O

41
“Reliance Retail to launch B2B e-marketplace,” www.business-standard.com, June 13, 2015
42
Rasul Bailey and Chaitali Charravarty, “Reliance Industries plans fashion ecommerce site AJIO.com
D

under Jio brand,” economictimes.indiatimes.com, February 2016

43
Wireless broadband is telecommunications technology that provides high-speed wireless Internet access
or computer networking access over a wide area. The term comprises both fixed and mobile broadband.
44
Sarah Young and Jo Winterbottom, “BP partners Reliance in $7.2 billion Indian oil hunt,” in.reuters.com,
February 2011
45
“Reliance Jio Infocomm launches 4G services for employees,” economictimes.indiatimes.com, December
2015

9
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

the nearest Reliance Digital and Digital Xpress Mini Stores by using their Aadhaar ID46 and get
free unlimited access to services like high definition (HD) voice calls, HD video calls, apps, data,
and SMS.47 Jio expected a usage of around 2.5 billion GBs per month on its network and aimed to
get 100 million users connected via the Jio network in a short time. The service was available
initially only in Delhi and Mumbai with an all-India rollout planned out by October 2016.48
Between 2010 and 2017, Mukesh invested Rs 250 million to build a speedier 4G wireless network
for his venture in Jio. Sanjiv Bhasin, executive Vice President at India Infoline Ltd., opined,
“Reliance’s strategy to diversify beyond the energy sector was the biggest game changer, Mukesh

ST
Ambani had the 10-year vision to foresee that data will be the next gold and he invested heavily."49
Jio’s launch was one of the biggest launches in the Indian Telecom industry. And its free data
service at a speed of 4G made it even more popular. Mukesh said, “Jio stands on five pillars: best
quality broadband network with highest capacity (all-IP network), affordable 4G smartphones,

PO
compelling applications and content, superior digital service and affordable and simple tariffs.”50
Its launch was dedicated to the Prime Minister’s Digital India51 movement, started in 2015.
Mukesh managed all his finances for investments from his profit making petrochemical business,
which by 2018, accounted for 90% of RIL’s profits. By September 2018, less than two years after
starting the service, Jio had signed up 252.3 million users.

R
Mukesh said, “RIL aims to offer up to 90 per cent of Indians high-speed mobile Internet as well as
voice services by 2017. Today India is ranked 115th of 230 countries in terms of mobile

O
broadband access. Jio plans to take India to top 10 globally.”52 Analysts opined that Jio would be
the largest revenue driver of RIL, contributing 50% of RIL’s earnings by 2021. Jio aimed for a
50% market share by 2020, up from 20% in 2018.53 Apart from the 4G services, Jio offered other
services which were available only for Jio SIM card users. It launched JioTV with access to 350
PY
channels, which could only be watched on mobile phones or tablets. The other services were Jio
Chat (a chat feature with video chat, voice calling, messaging, conferencing, audio notes, instant
video, doodles, stickers, and emoticons), Jio Cinema (video streaming service to watch movies,
TV shows, Jio exclusives, documentaries and trailers, on smartphones and tablets), Jio Music(for
CO

listening to free music), Jio Mags, (an application where users could browse through various
magazines published within the country), Jio Xpress News (application providing access to news,
blogs, website and more). Next was Jio Money, which was in keeping with the demonetization
initiative of the now GoI. 54
T

46
Aadhar id is an identity card issued to all the citizens of India by Unique Identification Authority of India
(UIDAI). The identity card contains one unique 12 digit number for every citizen after satisfying the
O

verification process laid down by the Authority.

47
Saurabh Singh, “Reliance Jio 4G: Data plans, prices, how it is different and everything else you need to
N

know,” www.indiatoday.in, September 2016

48
Ibid
49
Bhuma Shrivastava, “The $41 billion wealth gap that divides the Ambani brothers,” www.livemint.com ,
October 2018
O

50
Saurabh Singh, “Reliance Jio: Free calls for ever, Rs 50 for 1GB data, free to try until Dec 2016,”
www.indiatoday.in, September 2016
D

51
Digital India campaign was launched by the GoI to ensure the Government's services are made available
to citizens electronically by improved online infrastructure and by increasing Internet connectivity or by
making the country digitally empowered in the field of technology. It was started in 2015.
52
Ibid
53
Kalyan Parbat, “Reliance Jio third-largest telecom by revenue market share,” economictimes.indiatimes.
com, June 2018
54
“9 products Reliance Jio offers other than SIM cards,” www.businesstoday.in, December 2016

10
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

However, the company revised its plans and planned to charge its Jio customers from March 2017.
RIL also put forward its tariff plans for Jio wherein it charged customers for data only. Voice calls
remained free to any network across the country with no roaming charges. Jio offered data at a
fraction of its traditional cost. To ensure every customer got the best out of Jio, the company offered
a total of 10 tariff plans. Tariff plans started at Rs 149 and went up to Rs 5,000.55 Jio also launched
the “JioGigaFiber preview” in 2018 with a Fiber to the Home (FTTH) technology in which the fiber
cables would be connected directly to homes without any inferior cables and patches, which would
offer ultra-high-speed internet up to 100 mbps for 90 days along with a monthly data quota of 100

ST
GB and complimentary access to a host of Jio's premium applications for a payment.
Commenting upon the launch, Mukesh said, “We see this as the next wave of value creation
opportunity in the wireless broadband space. We believe this will pole-vault India's economy into
the digital world at an accelerated pace while creating next generation tools that will enhance

PO
productivity and create world-class consumer experiences.”56
In March 2018, Mukesh also entered the entertainment sector with the establishment of a
subsidiary named, “Reliance Eros Productions Llp”. The subsidiary was formed in partnership
with Eros and RIL. RIL acquired a 5% stake in Eros and planned to set up a Rs 10.39 billion fund
that would be jointly controlled by RIL and Eros, to produce and acquire film content.
Commenting upon the deal, Mukesh said, “We are pleased to join hands with Eros, as it will bring

R
further synergies into our plans, making for a win-win partnership.” 57 The same year, RIL also
acquired the online music application “Saavn58” and rebranded it as “JioSaavn”. The rebranded

O
JioSaavn application was made available on iOS with the same look. The new application had over
45 million music tracks. The combined entity was valued at Rs 69.22 billion with JioMusic’s
implied valuation at Rs 46.38 billion. 59
PY
MUKESH STEERS RELIANCE TOWARD A TECHNOLOGY PLATFORM
COMPANY

By January 2019, RIL owned 4,000 Jio outlets. The outlets were expected to increase to 10,000 by
CO

2025. While announcing its new commerce portal, Mukesh asserted, “In this new world, data is
the new oil. Data is the new wealth. India’s data must be controlled and owned by Indian people
and not by corporates, especially global corporations. For India to succeed in this data-driven
revolution, we will have to migrate the control and ownership of Indian data back to India, in
other words, Indian wealth back to every Indian."60
Mukesh aimed to leverage Jio’s vast user base of 280 million (as on March 2019) coupled with
T

Reliance Retail’s offline footprint. He said, “The O2O platform will utilise augmented reality and
virtual reality to create an “immersive shopping experience” for users. The service would be made
O

available to small merchants too, allowing them to do everything that large enterprises and large
ecommerce players are able to do.”61
N

55
Saurabh Singh, “Reliance Jio: Free calls for ever, Rs 50 for 1GB data, free to try until Dec 2016,”
www.indiatoday.in, September 2016
56
“Reliance Industries to acquire Infotel Broadband,” www.thehindu.com, June 11, 2010
O

57
Suman Layak, “Will Eros handshake with Ambani's RIL become a bear hug?”
economictimes.indiatimes.com, September 2018
D

58
Saavn was founded in 2007 by Rishi Malhotra. The company has acquired rights to over 5 crore music
tracks in 15 languages.
59
Kul Bhushan, “JioSaavn merger: Reliance Jio users get free access to Pro version for 90 days,”
www.hindustantimes.com, December 2018
60
Maulik Pathak and Amrit Raj, “Mukesh Ambani vs Jeff Bezos set to begin from Gujarat,”
www.livemint.com
61
Ibid

11
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

And with the new ecommerce policy effective from February 2019, the likes of Amazon were
expected to face challenges from RIL. The fact that foreign funded companies like Amazon and
Walmart were not being given permission to hold e-commerce inventory, would create a hindrance
to Amazon and Walmart, as the new policy prevented them from fully capitalizing on the strengths
of their much vaunted logistics operations, seen as one of their most decisive edges in the US.
With the new rules and changes, Amazon’s preferred resellers would not be able to offer deep
discounts. Meanwhile, RIL being an Indian company, would be free to control and improve its
supply chain and enhance its online presence with Jio 62

ST
The GoI had also planned initiatives under which after a two-year period, the data generated via
any of the social media websites (like Facebook Inc.) or ecommerce portal (like Amazon), would
have to be stored on Indian servers. That move would push up costs for the foreign companies.
The Reserve Bank of India (RBI) also had been directing all payment firms like Visa Inc.63,

PO
MasterCard Inc. 64, and PayPal holdings Inc.65 to keep Indian data within the country. With such
intricacies and strictness in the policies, Amazon might face difficulties in generating huge profits
in India comfortably.66 India was pegged to be a Rs 696.34 billion digital economy by 2025 and
judging by this first regulatory skirmish, it was the RIL chief Mukesh that the likes of Jack Ma or
Bezos needed to worry about the most.
By March 2019, Mukesh’s net worth amounted to US$ 55.2 billion, compared to Jack Ma’s US$

R
38.5 billion. Mukesh aimed to double the size of his empire by 2025. In April 2018, he was one of
the three Indians to make it to the Fortune 50 Greatest Leaders list. He was ranked No. 24 for

O
bringing “mobile data to the masses” and “completely upending the country’s telecom market”67 In
his speech at the 41st annual general meeting (AGM) of RIL, Mukesh opined, “As Reliance
transitions to become a technology platform company, we see our biggest growth opportunity in
creating a hybrid, online-to-offline (O2O) new commerce platform.”68
PY
The Economist added in January 2019, “His ambition to become a tech tycoon goes beyond
making money in telecoms. RIL has already invested in content creation, and has bought rights to
distribute cricket matches and Disney films on its 'Jio TV' platform,”69 An analyst at Ellara Capital
said, “Today, RIL is valued for its traditional businesses and an iota of recognition for its retail
CO

and telecom businesses. Mukesh has articulated an ambition of crossing INR 1,000bn (USD
294bn) in EBITDA from the new consumer-facing businesses in the next decade by 2027 and
closer to where Alibaba stands today.”70

62
Andy Mukherjee, “Amazon’s real rival in India isn’t Walmart, it’s Reliance,” www.livemint.com, August
T

16, 2018
63
Visa Inc. is a multinational financial services corporation of the US. It is headquartered in Foster City,
O

California, United States. It facilitates electronic funds transfers throughout the world, most commonly
through Visa-branded credit cards, gift cards, and debit cards.
64
Mastercard Inc is multinational financial services corporation of the US. It is headquartered in the
N

Mastercard International Global Headquarters in Purchase, New York, United States.

65
PayPal Holdings, Inc. operates a worldwide online payments system that supports online money transfers
and serves as an electronic alternative to traditional paper methods like cheques and money orders. It is
located in the US.
O

66
Andy Mukherjee, “Amazon’s real rival in India isn’t Walmart, its Reliance,” www.livemint.com, August
16, 2018
D

67
Sohini Mitter, “Mukesh Ambani rides on Jio success to become Asia's richest man, surpasses Alibaba
founder Jack Ma,” yourstory.com, July 2018
68
Ibid
69
“Mukesh Ambani aims to become India's 1st Internet tycoon: Report,” economictimes.indiatimes.com,
January 25, 2019
70
Pooja Jaiswar, “Mukesh Ambani vs Jeff Bezos vs Jack Ma – the bulls of Indian e-commerce! Reliance
industries' massive leap of faith,” www.zeebiz.com, January 25, 2019

12
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

Exhibit I:
The Businesses of Mukesh Ambani and Anil Ambani, as of 2019
As of 2019 Anil Ambani Mukesh Ambani
Occupation Chairman, Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Chairman & MD, Reliance Industries
Group
Net Worth US$ 1.8 billion US$ 55.2 billion

ST
Group name Anil Dhirubhai Ambani Group Reliance Industries Ltd.
(ADAG)
Businesses Reliance Power Reliance Petroleum Ltd. (RPL)

PO
Reliance Communications Reliance Retail Ltd (RRL)
(RCOM) Reliance Jio Infocomm (Jio)
Reliance Capital (RCL) Reliance Eros Productions LLP
Reliance Infrastructure Reliance Life Sciences

R
Reliance Entertainment Reliance Logistics Pvt. Ltd.
Reliance Health
Reliance Media works
Source: Adapted from compiled sources O
PY
CO
T
O
N
O
D

13
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

Suggested Readings and References:

1. Shreya Ganguly, “Reliance ecommerce venture to be fueled by $1.4 Bn West Bengal

investment,” inc42.com, February 2019
2. Pooja Jaiwar, “Mukesh Ambani vs Jeff Bezos vs Jack Ma – The Bulls of Indian e-
commerce! Reliance Industries' massive leap of faith,” www.zeebiz.com, January 25,
2019

ST
3. Writankar Mukerjee, “Reliance Retail to open grocery stores in tier III, IV towns,”
economictimes.indiatimes.com, January 26, 2019
4. “Reliance Retail leaps to 94th spot on Deloitte's top retailers' list,”
economictimes.indiatimes.com, January 23, 2019

PO
5. Andy Mukherjee, “Jeff Bezos vs Mukesh Ambani is the bout that had to happen ,”
economictimes.indiatimes.com, January 22, 2019
6. “Reliance announces e-commerce foray plans; to challenge Amazon, Flipkart,”
www.adgully.com, January 2019

R
7. Vasan, “9 Reliance Jio products and services coming up in 2019,” www.smartprix.com,
December 2018
8.

9.
Applications,” telecomtalk.info, November 2018
O
Arpit Sharma, “Soon Reliance Jio might charge its users for JioTV and JioCinema

Andy Mukherjee, “Amazon’s real rival in India isn’t Walmart, it’s Reliance,”
PY
www.livemint.com, August 16, 2018
10. Sohini Mitter, “Mukesh Ambani rides on Jio success to become Asia's richest man,
surpasses Alibaba founder Jack Ma,” yourstory.com, July 2018
11. Rasul Bailey, “Reliance Retail may enter apparel wholesale,”
CO

economictimes.indiatimes.com, June 29, 2018

12. “Reliance Retail sales cross $10 bn mark,” economictimes.indiatimes.com, April 28,
2018
13. “Reliance Retail sales cross $10 bn mark,” economictimes.indiatimes.com, April 2018
T

14. Sadnan Bin Sattar, “Leadership qualities and skills of Mukesh Ambani,”
www.gotabout.info, April 30, 2017
O

15. Saurabh Singh, “Reliance Jio: Free calls for ever, Rs 50 for 1GB data, free to try until
Dec 2016,” www.indiatoday.in, September 2016
N

16. Saurabh Singh, “Reliance Jio 4G: Data plans, prices, how it is different and everything
else you need to know,” www.indiatoday.in, September 2016
17. Saurabh Singh, “Reliance Jio: Free calls for ever, Rs 50 for 1GB data, free to try until
O

Dec 2016,” www.indiatoday.in, September 2016

18. Meenakshi Kumar, “Reliance Retail shuts 20 stores, to launch Reliance Smart,”
D

fashionunited.in, March 2016

19. Rasul Bailey and Chaitali Chakravarty, “Reliance Industries plans fashion ecommerce
site AJIO.com under Jio brand,” economictimes.indiatimes.com, February 2016
20. “Reliance Jio Infocomm launches 4G services for employees,”
economictimes.indiatimes.com, December 2015

14
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

21. “Reliance Retail to launch B2B e-marketplace,” www.business-standard.com, June 13,

2015
22. “Reliance Industries to restart petrol pump network by March 2016,”
www.financialexpress.com, May 2015
23. “After revenues, Reliance Retail is now biggest in categories too,” www.business-
standard.com, April 2015
24. “Reliance Industries to raise $ 750 mn overseas,” www.business-standard.com, February

ST
2015
25. Shambhavi Anand, “RelianceFreshDirect.com to deliver fresh groceries in Mumbai,”
economictimes.indiatimes.com, November 2014

PO
26. Rasul Bailey, “RIL plans to launch Jio with 2,000 Digital Xpress Mini outlets,”
economictimes.indiatimes.com, April 2014
27. Abhineet Kumar, “Mukesh tops retailer list, too,” www.business-standard.com, August
2013
28. K. Raghavendra Kamath, “Few RIL retail arms still making losses,” www.business-

R
standard.com, May 2013
29. Tejal A Deshpande, “Reliance Retail to launch 'Reliance Jewelry',” www.business-

30.
standard.com, February 2013
O
Raghavendra Kamath, “Reliance Retail profit after 3.5 yrs,” www.business-
standard.com, January 20, 2013
PY
31. “Reliance Wellness kicks off from Hyderabad,” www.business-standard.com, January
19, 2013
32. “Rel Retail's 8th format - Reliance TimeOut,” www.business-standard.com, January
CO

2013
33. “Reliance Footprint opens 100th showroom,” www.thehindubusinessline.com, July 2012
34. Sarah Jacob and Chaitali Chakravarty, “Reliance Industries to enter fast-food business
with its own brand next year,” economictimes.indiatimes.com, December 2011
35. V. Rishi Kumar, “Reliance Digital on major expansion drive; to introduce private
T

labels,” www.thehindubusinessline.com, July 2011

36. “RIL AGM 2011: Reliance Industries to invest aggressively in retail; shares fall,”
O

economictimes.indiatimes.com, June 2011

37. Mamta Badkar, “The full story of the massive feud between the billionaire Mukesh
N

brothers,” www.businessinsider.com.au, May 27, 2011

38. Sarah Young and Jo Winterbottom, “BP partners Reliance in $7.2 billion Indian oil
hunt,” in.reuters.com, February 2011
O

39. Jio Chakravorty and Sumeet Chatterjee, “Asia's richest man strikes big gas deal with
BP,” in.reuters.com, February 2011
D

40. “Reliance Footprint partners Japanese footwear maker,”

economictimes.indiatimes.com, January 2010
41. “Reliance Industries to acquire Infotel Broadband,” www.thehindu.com, June 11, 2010
42. “RIL may sell or lease 1,432 pumps to IOC,” www.rediff.com, May 16, 2009
43. “Reliance Home Kitchens launch,” www.indianretailer.com, September 25, 2008

15
 Mukesh Ambani and Reliance Industries

44. “Reliance Retail launches the biggest 'Reliance Mart' in North India,”
www.indianretailer.com, September 11, 2008
45. “Reliance Autozone launches retail store,” www.hindustantimes.com, July 26, 2008
46. Anand Giridharadas, “Indian to the core, and an oligarch,” www.nytimes.com, June 15,
2008
47. “Reliance Footprint opens 100th showroom,” www.thehindubusinessline.com, March
12, 2008

ST
48. “Mukesh Ambani, Mallya, SRK win IPL bids,” www.rediff.com, January 24, 2008
49. “Reliance to roll out 45 'TimeOut' stores in 3 yrs ,” economictimes.indiatimes.com,
January 2008

PO
50. Utpal Bhaskar, “GAIL, Reliance Industries sign MoU for overseas projects,”
www.livemint.com, December 2007
51. “Reliance launches 1st apparel store,” www.oneindia.com, October 12, 2007
52. Dipayan Mazumdar, “Reliance Mart, India's first Hypermarket in Ahmedabad,”

R
www.merinews.com, August 16, 2007
53. “Traders attack Reliance Fresh retail outlets,” www.thehindu.com, May 13, 2007
54.

55.
2007
O
“Reliance Digital: A new Reliance Retail Venture,” www.merinews.com, April 25,

“Always invest in businesses of the future and in talent,” www.rediff.com, January 19,
PY
2007
56. “Reliance Retail launched,” www.projectstoday.com, October 30, 2006
57. Maulik Pathak and Amrit Raj, “Mukesh Ambani vs Jeff Bezos set to begin from
Gujarat,” www.livemint.com
CO

58. Ernesto J. Poza, “ Family Business”, books.google.co.in

T
O
N
O
D

16