Will Reliance Retail become India's Wal-mart? Well, that's Mukesh's dream. So Reliance's latest passion is retailing. Eyeing big opportunity in the organised retail business, Reliance has launched Reliance Fresh stores in New Delhi, Hyderabad, Chennai and Jaipur. Reliance Retail will open over 180 Reliance Fresh stores in Gujarat over the next six months.
"People first want to spend money on food -- that is common across the world. The second, in India, is education. In many parts of the world, it comes way down on the list of priorities. So, there is a huge opportunity," says Mukesh in an interview to MoneyLife.
The company plans to invest about $5.5 billion (Rs 25,000 crore) in its retail initiative over the next five years, in order to set up about 1,000 stores by 2007 end and about 4,000 stores in five years. Reliance Retail has a sales target of Rs 100,000 crore (Rs 1,000 billion) by 2011 through these stores.
"We are creating something that is totally missing in India: an efficient distribution system linked to supermarkets across the world. This will generate up to 1 million new jobs and make us the largest private-sector employer in India," says Mukesh in a interview with Newsweek.
Reliance plans to set up more special economic zones all over India -- in Haryana, West Bengal, Karnataka, Andhra Pradesh and Maharashtra. The Mahamumbai SEZ, to come up over 10,000 hectares, has hit a roadblock with the government capping the land at 5,000 hectares for SEZs. An undeterred Reliance, however, decides to move on.
From a small textile company, Reliance has, in its journey, crossed several milestones to become a Fortune 500 company in less than three decades.
Mukesh's role in the company has been outstanding. He continues his pursuit to achieve the impossible as Reliance moves ahead to conquer bigger milestones.
Image: Mukesh Ambani (right) looks at rows of produce as he speaks with employees during a visit to the Reliance Fresh supermarket in Hyderabad.
Photograph: Noah Seelam/AFP/Getty Images
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