Reliance Retail shifts focus to premium formats, quick commerce, and consumer brands

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With its store footprint now stable, Reliance Retail is doubling down on high-growth areas such as premium grocery, quick commerce, and consumer brands as it sharpens its focus on profitability and deeper market penetration.

“We are pretty much done with the streamlining that we had started during the year,” said Dinesh Taluja, chief financial officer, during a post-earnings briefing on April 25.  He added that the company will continue to expand across its portfolio in the coming quarters.  It opened 2,659 new stores in FY25, but with ongoing restructuring, net additions stood at around 500.

“Reliance Retail delivered strong growth in revenue and profits, powered by improved efficiencies, innovative formats, a sharper product mix, and continued investments in technology and customer experience. We remain focused on shaping the future of retail with agility and purpose,” said Isha  Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd.

Consumer brands power ahead 

Reliance’s consumer brands segment has seen significant growth, generating Rs 11,500 crore in revenue in its second year. The company’s FMCG portfolio, which includes Independence and Campa Cola brands, has gained double-digit market share in key markets. The business is now focused on broadening its product offerings and expanding distribution, with a presence in more than 1 million retail outlets across India.  During the quarter, the company launched the sports drink ‘Spinner’ and acquired the personal care brand ‘Velvette’ to strengthen its product portfolio.

“We will continue to act on our portfolio by launching new products and acquiring new interesting brands,” Taluja said.

The company also plans to export to the Middle East and Asia by setting up distribution. “In addition to tapping the Indian market, we have also started looking at exports to other markets. We would set up distribution in select markets to distribute our products, where they have the relevant appeal,  in a big way,” he added.

Premium formats and quick commerce push 

The company pointed to strong demand for niche and premium products, such as its high-end grocery brands Freshpik and Go Fresh. Reliance Retail plans to open more premium stores in affluent areas, citing higher footfall in stores, especially from younger customers. It highlighted double-digit demand growth for premium coffee and healthy snacks.

“Grocery was the star performer during this quarter with the highest growth. The store’s business continues to outperform, with industry-leading performance,” Taluja added.

Alongside its premium push, Reliance Retail is significantly scaling its quick commerce business through JioMart. The company’s under-30-minute delivery service is rapidly gaining traction, with a notable 62 percent year-on-year increase in average daily orders. JioMart’s network now includes almost 2,000 stores, covering more than 4,000 PIN codes

“We have completely repivoted our model to focus on under-30-minute deliveries, and we expect this number to scale up substantially in the coming year,” Taluja said.

Meanwhile, the company flagged strong air conditioner sales in the quarter due to the early onset of summer and expects the demand to be robust on predictions of a hot summer. In consumer electronics, average bill values were up 26 percent from a year earlier in the March quarter. It also saw a 20 percent increase in the average bill value in the jewlery business due to higher gold prices.

Q4 results 

Reliance Retail, the retail arm of India’s most valuable company, said fiscal fourth-quarter profit rose 29 percent from a year earlier as it expanded its store network and retail formats.

Net profit rose to Rs 3,545 crore for the quarter ended March 31 from Rs 2,746 crore in the year earlier, the company said.

Consolidated revenue rose 16 percent to Rs 88,620 crore from Rs 76,627 crore in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Reliance Retail’s registered customer base grew 15 percent from a year earlier to 349 million, while total transactions rose 11 percent to 1.39 billion.