Reliance Retail to offer global brands

Reliance Retail, the Rs 25,000 crore retail effort of Reliance Industries scheduled to kick off next month in Hyderabad, is planning to introduce global brands in India, according to Raghu Pillai, president and chief executive "� operations and strategy, Reliance Retail.

"We are talking to everybody. It is still very much in the project stage. On the ground, you will see huge action next year," said Pillai. He added that strategies were still being worked out.

Pillai did not throw any light on how these global brands would enter India. As for partnering a foreign retail partner, Pillai said he was personally against any such move as it was unnecessary.

On expected turnover, he said, "As investment to output ratio is 5:6, Reliance's Rs 25,000 crore investment in retail leads to a natural conclusion of a turnover of Rs 1,25,000 crore."

He refused to confirm on the timeframe for this investment. He also declined to comment on Reliance Retail's initial public offering plan.

Pillai confirmed that the first store would be rolled out in Hyderabad next month. This store would sell food, groceries and staples. Not commenting on the exact size of the store, Pillai said it would be a "very large store".

He said Reliance was also looking at pharma retailing. This would be rolled out separately. When asked about helping government cooperative stores, Pillai said Reliance was open to help such cooperatives in upgrading their supply chain and services.

Speaking on lower prices that are expected to be offered in Reliance outlets, Pillai said this would be achieved by taking out all the costs from the supply chain.

"We will be the owner of that money," he said. While Reliance would begin all its sourcing in India, it is also looking at sourcing from China, said Pillai.

Asked whether high real estate prices were affecting Reliance's retail plans, Pillai admitted that while prices were unrealistic in some parts of the country, it is only one element of its capital expenditure.

Reliance said its real estate model would include ownership as well as land lease. The company is in talks with developers across the country.