A month after the launch of its hypermarket, Reliance Retail is set to open a host of standalone apparel stores across the country. Starting this month, NCR will see the opening of over 115 apparel stores in the next couple of months.
When contacted, a Reliance official commented: “NCR is the prime target, though we will cover the entire country by the end of this fiscal. The company plans to open 125 stores in the current fiscal.” Sriram Srinivasan, former managing director of Indian Terrain, will lead Reliance’s apparel retail foray.
The apparel stores will stock products from over 90 brands, manufactured exclusively for the company. These will also stock lingerie and dry knits at competitive prices. The stores will have separate men’s, women’s and children’s categories.
The company has 211 designers and has tied up with a large number of apparel manufacturers for merchandise. Johnson & Johnson is one of the company’s kidswear suppliers.
Reliance Retail has planned nine product formats. It is also in the process of launching Reliance Footwear, Reliance Lifestyle and Reliance Auto. Currently, there are Reliance Fresh, a chain of fresh produce stores; Reliance Digital, a consumer durables and information technology store chain; and Reliancemart hypermarket chain. While the company has about 330 Fresh stores, it has one digital store and one hypermarket so far.
Besides, the company has launched its B2B initiative labelled Ranger Farms, which will cater to small retailers in Hyderabad. It has also introduced its own label in the staples category under the Reliance Select brand.
