Mukesh Ambani-promoted Reliance Retail is planning to foray into the lifestyle stores segment in India, with the brand ?Reliance Lifestyle?. These stores will comprise cosmetics, national and international watches, home and design accessories, books, optics, photography and design. Reliance Retail officials told FE, ?We are planning to set up company-owned 123 Reliance Lifestyle stores with an area size of 21,000 to 28,000 sq ft each across the country. In the initial phase, Reliance Lifestyle stores will be set up in Delhi, Hyderabad, Bangalore and Mumbai, which will be followed by expansion into Tier I and II cities.?
Reliance Retail has appointed Surender Gnanaolivu as vice president – lifestyle business merchandising for Reliance Lifestyle in order to handle the lifestyle store operations in India. Gnanaolivu refused to divulge Reliance Lifestyle?s new plans when FE contacted him.
Reliance Retail is currently in talks with Procter & Gamble to source cosmetics from them as private labels within Reliance Lifestyle outlets. According to Reliance Retail officials, ?We are looking at making Procter & Gamble our third party manufacturers for cosmetics. Similarly, we are also talking to international watch manufacturers such as Breitling from the US, Perryroche from France and Kolber from Geneva in order to be their watch distributors for the Indian market. Likewise, talks are on with national watch players as well.? Reliance Retail has opened 226 Reliance Fresh supermarkets spread across 11 states and one hypermarket, ?RelianceMart?, in India.
As per ORG GfK, the market for lifestyle stores in India is growing at the rate of 14%. ?There are limited players in the lifestyle concept stores segment, and it has a potential to grow further with more players likely to make an entry into the lifestyle stores concepts in the near future,? say industry experts.
For instance, recently, Home Solutions Retail (India) Ltd, a part of the Future Group, has launched 1.83 lakh sq ft ?HomeTown? in Hyderabad, targeted at lifestyle buyers. ?Home Town? features products like books and music, sofa sets, dining tables, beds, kids furniture, kitchen fittings, bathroom fittings and furnishings.