Reliance Industries-owned Reliance Retail Limited (RIL) has booked a robust performance across all consumption baskets during the third quarter of the current financial year.
Revenues for the reporting period grew by 116.4 per cent Y-o-Y to Rs. 18,798 crores from Rs. 8,688 crores, while PBDIT (Profit Before Depreciation Interest and Taxes) soared 82 per cent to Rs. 606 crores from Rs. 333 crores.
Additionally, the company added 72 new stores during the period.
RIL operates through multiple retail formats viz., convenience stores, supermarkets, wholesale cash-and-carry and speciality stores. Its retail outlets offer foods, groceries, apparel and footwear, lifestyle and home improvement products, consumer durables and more. The company also operates in e-commerce space.
During the quarter under review, RIL’s fashion and apparel business posted a strong growth. The company’s fashion business portfolio comprises own and joint venture companies alongside a slew of exclusive licensing partnerships with renowned international brands.
The multi-brand fashion and lifestyle store chain Reliance Trends crossed a milestone of 400 stores during the quarter with 25 new store additions. It has the largest presence in the country amongst fashion retailers with 419 stores spread across 213 cities in 28 states. Trends notably witnessed over 25 Million customer walk-ins during the festive period.
RIL further strengthened its presence through its partnerships during this period. The joint venture with UK’s Marks & Spencer expanded its store network with 5 new stores opening during the quarter and reach extending to 24 cities with 63 stores, making India as the significant market for Marks & Spencer outside of its home country.
Besides, Reliance Brands also rolled out 22 new stores during the quarter led by international brands Hamleys, Superdry and Scotch & Soda. Operating since 2017, Reliance Brands is mandated to launch and build international and domestic brand equity in the premium to luxury segment across apparel, footwear and lifestyle business.
Project Eve, the differentiated experiential store concept, opened 3 more outlets during the quarter. The women-centred fashion and lifestyle department store continued to drive strong customer loyalty by offering a rich product portfolio of differentiated merchandise, in-store salon and café concept and unique store experience.
Furthermore, RIL’s fashion e-commerce portal, AJIO.com witnessed rapid growth in consumer acceptance with traffic doubling, the number of orders growing 3x and active customer base growing by over 60 per cent over last year.
Started in 2006, Reliance Retail, with its headquarters in Mumbai, is touted as India’s largest retailer (in terms of revenues) today. The company operated 3,751 stores across 750 cities with an area of over 14.50 million sq. ft. as of 31st December 2017.
