After a decade since its launch, Reliance Retail Ltd, the retail arm of Reliance Industries, is all set for a revamp. As
per the revamp policy, Reliance Mart hyper markets, Reliance Super mini hyper markets, and Reliance Fresh, will all be
brought under a single brand –‘Reliance Smart’.
Reliance Retail since its inception in 2006 has seen three shifts in strategy and leadership. Initially, the plan was to
have more than 1,000 Reliance Fresh Stores in the first two years. Over time, the company decided to go bullish on the big
box format, but changed it again. At present approximately 60 Reliance Super stores and Reliance Super stores will now
become Reliance Smart.
In 2014-2015, Reliance Retail’s total revenue was estimated to be around INR 17,640 crore. This year, Reliance has decided
to formally launch Reliance Smart and lock its strategy of differentiating between neighborhood stores under Reliance
Smart stores and Reliance Fresh stores that are positioned as destination stores.
Till now Reliance Mart, Reliance Fresh, and Reliance Super were differentiated by the size of the stores and the
assortments that each carried. This was done, although their value proposition was same, and they even communicated with
the consumer in the same language.
As per the new strategy, Mr. Damodar Mall, chief executive officer at Reliance Retail, said,
“The consumer walks to
our Fresh store and casually drops in for her small needs whereas her visit to the destination store is a planned trip.
Therefore, the language we speak to her and the branding must be different.”
The strategy rests on the fact that for markets, there are two formats that work- the fresh-led supermarket, which is
known for fresh vegetables, fruits and dairy products, Reliance Fresh, and the other is Reliance Smart, a straight-forward
value destination.
At Reliance Smart, the retailer follows an aggressive pricing strategy to woo customers. The company performed pilot tests
before finalizing this model. Mr. Mall is sure that this strategy will succeed after the successful market testing of the
Reliance Smart model in Gujarat. He added the new format is a live experiment in the field as it incorporates feedback
from the internal merchandising team, consumers, and marketing team.
As per the new strategy, the Reliance Smart format will be 8,000 to 30,000 sq. ft and will feature products below the MRP.
All year-round there will be offers and discounts from 2-50% across all the major categories. The motto of the company is
simple, ‘more you buy, more you save.’ Most of the stores will be co-located with its other stores, Reliance Digital and
Reliance Trends.
The Reliance Fresh Format is 3,000-6,000 sq. ft and is different from Reliance Smart on the basis of the ease of
accessibility and dependability, while being good value for money. This is not all. Reliance Fresh stores will have a
cosmopolitan feel in terms of branding, while Reliance Smart will focus on ethnicity and feel of the location. There are
certain categories that may overlap between the neighborhoods, but there is a chance that the price formats will vary.
In January 2016, Reliance Retail also launched a set of 4G smartphones under the brand name of
LYF. Other than smartphones,
LYF also manufactures 4K LED
TVs and other electronic products.
Summary
Under a consolidation plan, Reliance Super and Reliance Mart will be brought under one brand—Reliance Smart.