Ambani-Biyani deal: RIL spreads wings to become a dominant player in retail

Gets scale, massive presence, higher valuation of its retail business, and inherits the entire logistics and distribution chain

Reliance’s acquisition of Future group’s retail and wholesale business dovetails perfectly with its strategy to become a dominant player in retail — offline and online.

The company’s strategy comprises three elements. Reliance wants to build scale and consolidate its position in modern retail. It also wants to push up the valuation of its retail business — Mukesh Ambani has already announced it is looking for strategic investors. It also wants to bring the 30 million small retail shops (which includes about six million kiranas) into the organised sector by bringing them on to the JioMart platform and transforming them into partners.

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