AHMEDABAD: Reliance Retail will launch its first hypermarket in March in Ahmedabad. Though delayed, its hypermarkets, called Reliance Mart, will house boutique hotels. Of the company’s 1,500 hypermarkets, 30 will come up in Gujarat.
The first hypermarket, earlier scheduled for December at Iscon Mega Mall near SG Highway in the city, will now roll out in the first quarter of next year. Parimal Nathwani, group president, corporate affairs, Reliance Retail, said: “Our first hypermarket is scheduled to be launched in March on SG Highway.”
Sources added that Reliance Retail has purchased 2 lakh sq ft at Iskon Mall in Ahmedabad for Rs 9 crore. The company has paid Rs 7 crore as stamp duty, the highest paid by any construction firm in the state, sources added.
Iscon will also house Reliance Fresh. In Ahmedabad, Reliance will have three hypermarkets, the other two being at CG Road and at Shahibaug where it has bought the closed Tata Advance Mill.
The boutique hotels may come up in places like Moti Khawadi where Reliance has its grassroot refinery and one in Bhuj, sources said. Reliance officials declined to comment on this issue. “The refinery in Moti Khawadi is spread over 5 lakh sq ft and will house a hotel and multiplex. The company has roped in foreign architects for this project,” a realtor from Jamnagar said.
Besides, Reliance will open retail outlets in Jamnagar, Rajkot, Surat and Bhavnagar as well, sources said. Reliance has also leased 1.25 lakh sq ft at a shopping location in Greater Noida.
Reliance Retail is in the process of buying out Adani Retail for about Rs 110 crore, sources said.
Adani Retail has 54 stores across Gujarat; these include hypermarkets and supermarkets. “Our talks with Adani are progressing,” Nathwani said.
Reliance may change its retail plans by taking a more aggressive stand and by increasing its store format size, an official said on conditions of anonymity.
According to the findings of Trammel Crow Meghraj, there are currently 100 full-fledged malls and 300 malls, multiplexes and shopping centers are under construction. At the pace set this year, we stand to have close to 50 million sq ft of high-grade retail space by the end of 2007.
“The segment of India’s more affluent shoppers is 6 million strong and international retailer community has taken notice of this. This segment spends approximately $28.36 billion annually. India rates as the fifth most attractive emerging retail market in the world and represents a virtual goldmine. That is certainly strong incentive to adapt to India’s highly individualistic consumer mentality,” the study said.
Source : DNA Money
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