Reliance Retail plans new format

Reliance Retail is planning to launch a value apparel format.

The company plans to lease a 6,000 sqft to 9,000 sqft space across malls and high street for the new brand, which will sell clothing within the Rs1000 range.

India’s consumption structure has been skewed in the past over a narrow base of richer consumers accounting for a large chunk of the overall market. However, as the economy is broadening across many more cities and the impact is reaching further down the income ladder, the opportunity for value formats and value brands is expanding.

In the next few months, multiple stores are expected to come up in this segment as big brands want to tap this segment. After the consumption has increased in metro cities as well as Tier II cities, retailers are eyeing growth in 2023.

Reliance Retail opened 789 new stores, totaling an area of six million sqft in the third quarter of fiscal year 2023. The company has been able to operate all stores, distribution and fulfillment centers, offices and facilities at pretty much at the pre-Covid level of efficiency. As consumers returned to stores, it also recorded the highest ever footfalls at 201 million across formats and geographies, a growth of 25 per cent during the same period.