Isha Ambani-led Reliance Retail Ventures Limited on Monday reported its fiscal second quarter earnings with profit at Rs 2,836 crore, up 1.3 per cent in comparison to Rs 2,800 crore during the corresponding quarter of FY24. It recorded revenue from operations at Rs 66,502 crore, down 3.5 per cent as against Rs 68,937 crore during the same period of previous financial year. According to the company, growth was impacted by weak Fashion and Lifestyle (F&L) demand, continued focus on streamlining of operations and a calibrated approach to B2B business to improve margins.
The retail business vertical of Reliance Industries posted EBITDA at Rs 5,850 crore, up 0.3 per cent YoY. EBITDA from operations stood at Rs 5,675 crore, up 1.0 per cent YoY. The company reported depreciation for Q2FY25 at Rs 1,420 crore, up 1.5 per cent YoY, due to accelerated depreciation for stores under closure.
Isha M Ambani, Executive Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited, said, “Reliance Retail continues to make investments in technology and infrastructure to build a strong foundation for future growth and maintain market leadership. We continue to strengthen our customer proposition with innovative products that spans everyday essentials to premium offerings. By continuously enhancing our assortment and innovating across categories, we are creating a shopping experience that meets the evolving needs of our customers and reinforces our leadership in the retail space.”
Expansion spree
Reliance Retail opened 464 new stores during the quarter, taking the total store count to 18,946 with area under operation at 79.4 million sqft. Further, the quarter recorded footfalls of over 297 million, up 14 per cent YoY, and the registered customer base grew to 327 million. The focus on scaling up Digital Commerce and New Commerce, it added, continued with these channels contributing to 17 per cent of total revenue.
Mukesh D Ambani, Chairman and Managing Director, Reliance Industries Limited, said, “The retail segment continues to increase its consumer touchpoints and product offerings across physical and digital channels. The unique omni-channel retail model enables the business to service a wide range of requirements of a vast, heterogenous customer base. The retail business continues to partner with renowned domestic as well as global players, expanding its basket of quality product offerings. The focus on strengthening our Retail operations will help us rapidly scale-up this business in the coming quarters and years and sustain our industry-leading growth momentum.”
Q2 performance across business areas
In the consumer electronics segment, Reliance Retail’s digital stores maintained growth momentum led by a strong growth in average bill value, with the total store network surpassing 650 outlets across the country. The Digital India campaign resulted in a revenue uptick of 60 per cent YoY. Meanwhile, resQ, the services business, delivered steady growth with service volume increasing by 28 per cent YoY and now has presence in 150 cities. JioMart Digital business growth was driven across categories and the business also expanded its merchant partners and consistently increased the wallet share.
The fashion and lifestyle segment, Reliance Retail said, has been scaling up new formats which continue to gain positive traction with customers, with its ‘Yousta’ retail format crossing a milestone of 50 stores within its first year of launch. AJIO expanded its product catalog by over 25 per cent YoY and added over 1.8 million new customers. AJIO has been strengthening its portfolio through new brand launches like ASOS, H&M, Timberland. Ajio Luxe delivered growth with options count increasing by 28 per cent YoY and brand portfolio crossing 725 brands. Hamleys format, meanwhile, is now undertaking a focused international expansion. Jewelry business delivered growth led by improvement in ABV and launch of 9 new collections during the period.
The grocery segment delivered steady growth led by Smart Bazaar and Smart stores. The growth, it said, was broad based across categories led by growth in confectioneries & snacks (30 per cent YoY), fruits (26 per cent YoY), apparel (49 per cent YoY). Meanwhile, Grocery New Commerce business continues its growth trajectory as metro format strengthened its engagement with trader and HoReCa segments.
Reliance Retail’s JioMart continued to scale by serving customers through its own store network. The non-grocery categories continue to do well with AOV growing 2X YoY led by uptick in consumer electronics. The option count continued to grow with its seller base growing by 46 per cent YoY and option count up by 13 per cent YoY giving customers access to a wider product catalogue to choose from.
From: financialexpress
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