Three big Indian retailers post Rs 1,200 cr loss in 2011

Domestic retail chain majors -- Reliance Fresh, Bharti Retail and Aditya Birla Retail – have incurred a total loss of nearly Rs 1,200 crore in 2011 financial year, Parliament was told today.

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In a written reply to the Rajya Sabha, Minister of State for Commerce and Industry S Jagathrakshakan said as per the financial statement filed by the Reliance Fresh, the company posted a net loss of Rs 345.82 crore during 2010-11.
    
He further said Aditya Birla Retail too had a net loss of Rs 423.1 crore during 2010-11 fiscal. "Bharti Retail Ltd had a net loss of Rs 394.32 crore during the period January 1, 2011 to December 12, 2011," Jagathrakshakan added.
    
Defending the decision to allow 51 per cent FDI in multi-brand retail, while hiking the cap to 100 per cent in single-brand retail, he said: "The government was conscious of the livelihood concerns of the millions of small retailers."
    
Moreover, organised retail by domestic entities are already allowed and small retailers have "flourished in harmony with the large retail outlets", Jagathrakshakan said.