After acquiring Future group’s retail assets and garnering widefold investments, Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail is now India's most powerful, organised retail player.
However, a Business Standard report said DMart founder Radhakishan Damani is also gearing up to defend his retail turf.
Damani's retail chain has been strategically planning to ramp up operations, including setting up more stores, increasing e-commerce operations and presence among consumers.
However, the grocery revenue of Reliance-Future combined is estimated to be 2.5 times that of DMart, Credit Suisse analysts told the publication. Besides that, DMart is also predominantly present only in the western part of the country, while Reliance, on the other hand has a far wider reach with over 12,000 stores across the country. The Future-Reliance deal will boost Reliance's presence further, adding another 1,800 stores to its array.
Besides, Reliance has bagged a series of investments over the past few weeks. So far, Reliance Retail has raised Rs 18,600 crore in four rounds, offloading 4.25 per cent stake to financial investors.
For DMart, the key to expansion lies in the fact that the organised retail space is still in its nascent stage in India, giving it significant headroom.
DMart will likely add close to 60 stores in the next two years, based on management commentary and assessment of the company’s track record, the agency said, citing experts. While DMart is expected to charter a strong course ahead offline, given its strong balance sheet and execution strengths, it may face significant challenges in the online model, where it has been lagging.