Reliance Retail made investments to the tune of Rs 30,000 crore in FY22

Reliance Retail made investments to the tune of nearly Rs 30,000 crore in FY22 and added 2,500 new stores and 11.1 million sq. ft. of warehousing space during the year, the company said in its annual report.

The country’s largest retailer made the investment in its retail business in organic growth, acquisitions and strategic partnerships.

“During the year Reliance Retail further strengthened its sourcing ecosystem, working closely with producers, MSMEs, service providers, local and international brand companies,” the company said in its annual report.

Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director of Reliance Industries said in its annual report, “Braving the intermittent COVID restrictions, the Retail business continued to expand offline, as well as online. He added, “The business posted all time high revenues and EBITDA with steady improvement in profit margins. Growth was seen across all product categories from consumer electronics to grocery to apparel & footwear. Even the relatively smaller segments of jewellery, pharma and furniture & home décor, and new businesses like Freshpik and Milkbasket, witnessed rapid growth.”

In FY22, the company acquired a majority stake in Just Dial, entered into a master franchise agreement with 7-Eleven, Inc. for the launch and rapid scale-up of 7-Eleven convenience stores in India, acquired Milkbasket, a subscription based daily micro delivery platform, acquired stakes across Indian designer brands including Ritu Kumar, and Manish Malhotra.

It also acquired Acquired Amante and Clovia in the intimate wear brands space, Kalanikethan to strengthen ethnic wear portfolio and Jaisurya, a grocery retail chain in the southern market and picked up majority stake in Addverb Technologies that provides warehouse automation solution and robotic systems for automated material handling. It also invested $ 200 million in Dunzo, a quick commerce and last-mile fulfillment player.

The company also said that it built on its portfolio of brands, offering a superior value proposition and differentiated products to customers.

Its merchant partnerships and digital commerce now contribute nearly 17 per cent of revenues compared to 10 per cent in the preceding year. Its revenue from operations stood at Rs 1,75,015 crore in FY22 compared to Rs 1,39,136 crore in FY21.

Its EBIDTA margins in the year was stagnant at 7.1 per cent in FY22.

The company expects India’s retail sector to rebound and record a compounded growth rate of 11 per cent to become a $1.2 trillion market by 2025 as the impact of the pandemic reduces and consumer demand starts to pick up steam.

“Despite challenges posed by the pandemic, Reliance Retail further consolidated its leadership position and continued to be India’s largest, most profitable and fastest growing retailer,” the company said in its report.

It added, “All time high revenues were recorded in fashion & lifestyle and grocery consumption baskets with strong growth momentum in consumer electronics. Overall a well rounded growth driven by highest ever store sales and sustained growth momentum in digital and new commerce channels.”

Reliance Retail total store count stood at 15,196 covering 41.6 million sq ft at the end of the year. Also, its merchant partners grew 3X YoY while digital commerce orders grew 2.5x YoY.

The registered customer base grew 24 per cent to 193 million. During the year, it opened 75 per cent of its new stores in tier II and below towns and also opened over 1,000 fashion & lifestyle stores. It also witnessed 2X YoY increase in sales from tier II and below cities. It also opened over 1,000 grocery stores in the previous financial year.