After launching Reliance Fresh, the super market and convenience store format, Reliance Digital, the consumer durables specialty store and Reliance Mart, the hypermarket format, Reliance Retail is now set to launch a new format for Lifestyle shopping and the first outlet is a toss-up between Bangalore and Gurgaon.
The first lifestyle format will have stores close to 30,000 sq ft in size and will stock products across categories such as books, music, toys, stationery, fragrances, sporting goods, jewellery and watches.
In this format, Reliance Retail would be competing with established chains like the Tata Group’s south-based Landmark, RPGs Music World, and the Future Groups Planet M. The first stores are expected before the end of the year. Under the lifestyle segment Reliance is expected to roll out specialty stores of different catagories. Reliance Retail president and chief executive, Lifestyle, Bijou Kurien said, ?The Lifestyle stores are expected to come up in a few months and the roll out will not be fast paced.? Also commenting upon the cash and carry stores he said that the stores would only come up by next year end.
While the supermarket and the hypermarkets are positioned as a value for money experience, the specialty stores would be targetted at the upper middle and upper segments of the market. Reliance Retail is also expected to soon launch its apparel stores.
Reliance Retail has recently launched their first hypermarket in Ahmedabad.