Reliance shifts to specialty stores

Reliance Retail is likely to use some of its now defunct fruits and vegetables outlets in West Bengal into stores for other speciality goods.

The company plans to convert properties in West Bengal that were booked for Reliance Fresh outlets, into stores for footwear, apparel, jewellery, books and such other speciality items.

Reliance Retail shut down its Reliance Fresh outlets across West Bengal after widespread protests by political groups and organisations of traders who said the stores had hurt small businesses.

Winding up its Reliance Fresh operations, the company is understood to have served lease annulment notices for about 150 properties that it had rented for the grocery stores.

Bijou Kurien, president and chief executive "� lifestyle division of Reliance Retail, informed, "West Bengal will see only speciality stores, like exclusive jewellery, footwear, wellness and apparel stores, instead of the hyper or fresh formats."

Kurien was speaking on the sidelines of a seminar in Kolkata organised by the National HRD Network.

Reliance Retail, at present, has seven speciality formats.

It is also in the process of announcing a few more formats within two weeks.

Reliance Retail also plans to launch its first books, music and films store and another footwear store in the National Capital Region in December.

As for expansion plans, Reliance Retail is planning a total of 30 hyper markets in India by March 2008, from one right now.

As for the fate of the 1000 employees who have been affected due to Reliance Retail shutting down in Uttar Pradesh and West Bengal, Kurien said, "Employees' security is not solely our responsibility, the government must take the responsibility of locations where stores could be opened and sustained. If there are no stores, there would be no jobs."

However he added that most of the effected employees have been offered to relocate to other states.