Reliance Retail sold more stuff in March than during last Diwali – no wonder profit jumped 20% in the latest fourth quarter

• The retail arm of Reliance has posted an operating profit of ₹2062 crore, up by 19.8% from ₹1,721 crore in the same quarter the previous year.
• Reliance Retail also saw its revenue jump from ₹36,663 crore in Q4FY19 to ₹38,211 crore in Q4FY20.
• The company also added 9% to the total retail space in the last three months.

Reliance Retail has posted an operating profit of ₹2062 crore, up by 19.8% from the same quarter the previous year. The retail arm of Reliance also saw its quarterly revenue jump 4.2% to ₹38,211 crore year-on-year.

Its area space has also grown by 9% in three months. Reliance Retail now has over 11,784 stores all across India. In the full year ending March 2020, it has added 1500 stores and 30% to its total retail space.


“Despite the daunting challenges arising from the fallout of the global pandemic, our company has once again delivered a resilient performance for FY 2019-20,” Chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a statement. However, the coronavirus lockdown came into force on March 25, five days before the quarter ended. The impact of the lockdown is likely to be more pronounced in the second quarter.

Reliance Retail saw 640 million footfalls during the year, and has 125 million registered customer base, up 40% year-on-year. It is present across areas like food and grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle.

During the month of March, Reliance' grocery stores recorded their highest ever sales surpassing the Diwali month performance despite logistical challenges.

“Through its Jio Mart Pilot initiative, Reliance Retail supported its partner kirana stores by offering uninterrupted services and supplies during the lockdown period. Daily orders grew by 4x during the lockdown period as kirana partners focused on serving their neighborhoods during the time of crises,” said the company’s release.

Jio-Facebook partnership will fuel the next phase of growth in retail

Facebook invested a whopping $5.7 billion in Reliance Jio. One of the most significant factors of the deal was that Reliance Retail and WhatsApp are now in a commercial partnership to accelerate JioMart’s growth. Through JioMart and WhatsApp, the entities will now help support consumer businesses.


JioMart has already started a pilot run in Thane, Kalyan and Navi Mumbai.

“The companies will work closely to ensure that consumers are able to access the nearest kiranas who can provide products and services to their homes by transacting seamlessly with JioMart using WhatsApp,” Reliance had said in a statement.

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