Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Retail is set to rope in local Kirana stores as franchise partners to fulfill orders placed on its e-commerce platform JioMart. Reliance Retail will exit from the direct sale of packaged food, grocery, and FMCG products. The Kirana stores will sell these products to consumers in their respective neighborhoods.
The Economic Times citing two industry executives aware of the plans mentioned in a report that the kiranas will source goods from Reliance or elsewhere. In the case of products ordered on JioMart and not in stock with the kiranas which typically sell the 300-400 most popular items — Reliance Retail will supply them and the margins will be shared equally. However, Reliance will continue with the sale of perishables such as fruits and vegetables from its stores or fulfillment centers, the business daily mentioned.
Further Reliance Retail has decided to shelve its B2B cash-and-carry store format, Reliance Market, which will be turned into fulfillment centers for B2B delivery of products to kiranas. The neighborhood stores will place their orders online and get deliveries at their outlets.
JioMart has signed in nearly 56,000 Kirana from 30 cities to pilot this system of direct sale to consumers from kiranas in the June quarter.
The sources mentioned above told the publication that Reliance Retail is planning to enroll kiranas in over 100 cities by April and will eventually implement this format wherever JioMart has operations.
“Since roping in kiranas is a long-drawn process, for next few months JioMart will have a hybrid model of sales through kiranas, and in pin codes where there is no such partnership, the Reliance Retail stores will fulfill till the time kiranas are roped in,” one of the persons cited above told ET. “But Reliance will eventually exit from direct fulfillment of FMCG and grocery in JioMart.”