The new format will compete directly with Tata Group’s Zudio and Shoppers Stop’s Intune
New Delhi: Reliance Retail is planning to roll out 200-250 stores of its value retail format in the coming years that will compete directly with Tata Group’s Zudio chain, two people familiar with the development said.
One of the persons said the first store of the format codenamed Yousta is expected to be rolled out in August in Hyderabad.
A real estate consultant said Reliance Retail is currently scouting for about 10,000 sq. ft. of mall space in Delhi to open a flagship Yousta store.
A Reliance Retail spokesperson did not respond to IndiaRetailing’s email seeking comment on the value retailing initiative.
There is a great rush among Indian corporate bigwigs including Reliance Retail, Tata Group and Shoppers Stop to tap into the vast market of value fashion in India that is currently dominated by the unorganized sector and few players like V-Mart and 1IndiaFamily Mart among other retailers.
IndiaRetailing reported in April that Tata Group-owned affordable fashion brand Zudio is on an aggressive expansion spree with plans to add around 130 stores this calendar year. Zudio has so far opened around 350 stores and the planned expansion all over the country in 2023 will take the store count to slightly shy of 500, IndiaRetailing reported.
Shoppers Stop too has embarked on its value retail journey through Intune, which has two stores, one in Hyderabad and the other in Mumbai.
“Even as premiumization is making inroads, 90% of India’s overall consumption is going to happen in the value space,” Harminder Sahni, co-founder of retail consultancy Wazir Advisors said. According to him, the opportunity in fashion is huge as millions of Indians graduate from unbranded apparel to branded fashion and lifestyle products.
Reliance Retail already runs more than 2,300 stores of Trends, an affordable fashion and lifestyle department store chain that is currently present in over 1,100 towns and cities in India.
Meanwhile, Reliance Retail is now planning to give the Trends chain a major facelift by adding contemporary looks and by upgrading tech-enabled features ranging from self-checkout counters to electronic shelf labels to attract younger customers, PTI reported last week.
