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<ul><li><keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword> is withdrawing <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword> products from future rival e-commerce platforms, Flipkart and <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword>.</li><li>The Ambani-owned enterprise is aiming for exclusivity, according to a report by the Economic Times.</li></ul>Mukesh Ambani’s e-commerce plans are starting to move faster as products from Reliance Industries are being withdrawn from the shelves of future rivals, Amazon India and Walmart-owned Flipkart. According to a <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/ahead-of-etail-launch-reliance-industries-pulls-out-brands-from-rivals/articleshow/68914949.cms">report</a> by the Economic Times, it’s not just products that are Reliance-branded but also include <a href="https://relianceretail.com/partner-brands.html">over</a> 40 Reliance-affiliated global brands. And, whatever inventory is still available, is only there until it runs out since Reliance isn’t taking any new orders either. The reason for removing Reliance products from Amazon India and Flipkart is because Ambani is reportedly trying to create exclusivity around the brands that comes under its umbrella. Sources told the Economic Times that Reliance Trends and <keyword id="74639" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Brands">Reliance Brands</keyword> have also reportedly been told to speed up the ‘phasing-out process’ from non-Reliance marketplaces in the coming weeks. Ambani’s e-commerce model is already being <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/e-commerce-wars-amazons-jeff-bezos-vs-mukesh-ambani-in-india/articleshow/67620116.cms">tested</a> in Gujarat where Reliance has an existing network of 1.2 million local shopkeepers thanks to the Reliance Retail’s offline reach. And the blow to Amazon and Flipkart dealt by India’s new e-commerce rules in February only worked in Ambani’s favour. The <keyword id="7538599" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="20" keywordseo="richest-man-in-asia">richest man in Asia</keyword> has the home field advantage in India with Reliance Retail’s network of 3.5 million customers every week across 6,500 Indian cities and towns having been around since 2006. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Mukesh-Ambani-may-be-the-surprise-winner-from-Indias-new-rules-hurting-Amazon-and-Walmart/articleshow/67751026.cms">Mukesh Ambani may be the surprise winner from India's new rules hurting Amazon and Walmart</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/e-commerce-wars-amazons-jeff-bezos-vs-mukesh-ambani-in-india/articleshow/67620116.cms">Amazon's newest challenger may be the richest man in Asia</a>

Mukesh Ambani is clearing the way for the launch of his e-commerce business

<ul><li><keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>’s <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword> is being tested between the employee’s at the company according to a report by LiveMint. </li><li>The strategy is similar to the one Ambani employed before taking <keyword id="6354504" type="DEFINITION" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-jio">Reliance Jio</keyword> live in India. </li><li>He also has a considerable home field advantage compared to Walmart-owned <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> and <keyword id="6354743" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Amazon-India">Amazon India</keyword> as well as plan to access customers in rural areas.</li></ul>Tests for the much anticipated e-commerce app by India's richest man have begun. Reliance Retail’s online shopping platforms is currently being tested between its employees before going live to the rest of the world according to a <a href="https://www-livemint-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.livemint.com/companies/news/reliance-retail-testing-grocery-app-before-launch-of-e-commerce-platform/amp-1556042589629.html?usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D&amp;_js_v=0.1#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp;_tf=From%20%251%24s&amp;ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.livemint.com%2Fcompanies%2Fnews%2Freliance-retail-testing-grocery-app-before-launch-of-e-commerce-platform-1556042589629.html">report</a> by LiveMint. The strategy is similar to the one adopted by Mukesh Ambani — the richest man in Asia — before the launch of Reliance Jio, the 4G telecom network known for disrupting mobile data market with its cheap prices. Ambani <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambani-versus-amazon-walmart-in-india/articleshow/68918092.cms">announced</a> his plans to take on Amazon India and Flipkart — the two biggest players etail players in the Indian market — in January, and his progress has been accelerating since. Sources <a href="https://www-livemint-com.cdn.ampproject.org/v/s/www.livemint.com/companies/news/reliance-retail-testing-grocery-app-before-launch-of-e-commerce-platform/amp-1556042589629.html?usqp=mq331AQCCAE%3D&amp;_js_v=0.1#referrer=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.google.com&amp;_tf=From%20%251%24s&amp;ampshare=https%3A%2F%2Fwww.livemint.com%2Fcompanies%2Fnews%2Freliance-retail-testing-grocery-app-before-launch-of-e-commerce-platform-1556042589629.html">told</a> LiveMint that the commercial launch of Ambani’s e-commerce venture should happen by the end of the year. Experts believe that, since the strategy is similar to the one adopted before the launch of Reliance Jio, Ambani’s arrival in the e-commerce space will be equally aggressive. But, then again, so was Amazon when it initially launched in India. The American e-commerce giant has been able to <a href="https://www.forbes.com/sites/johnkoetsier/2018/05/18/report-amazon-india-worth-16b-with-30-market-share-will-hit-70b-gmv-in-2027/#699b8a36b952">capture</a> one-third of the market in its five years in India. During festive seasons that share has <a href="https://www.thehindubusinessline.com/info-tech/flipkart-captures-51-market-share-in-festive-sale-says-report/article25258134.ece">jumped</a> up to 51%. The symbiosis with Reliance Jio and its 300 million <a href="https://www.news18.com/news/tech/jio-fastest-global-operator-to-reach-300-million-users-revenue-grows-92-7-percent-yoy-2108289.html">users</a> also makes it easier for Ambani to penetrate the market and take advantage of its strong customer engagement — reportedly with 10.9GB of average day consumption per user. Ambani’s plan also factors in the rural users — one segment of the population that Amazon and Flipkart have been having a hard time bringing online to shop. Jio Point Stores are being put up in over 5,000 towns to bring in last mile connectivity for shoppers who live in rural areas. Not only will that increase connectivity but allow Reliance to cater to new customers that are first-time users or don’t have an internet connection at all. Reliance Retail has already been testing the e-commerce portal in Gujarat where it already has an offline network of 1.2 million local shopkeepers. It has also been <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambani-versus-amazon-walmart-in-india/articleshow/68918092.cms">pulling its brands</a> from the shelves at Amazon and Flipkart in preparation for the launch of its online avatar. Ambani’s home field advantage over Amazon and Flipkart also extends to the new e-commerce rules implemented by the Indian government in February. Not only do the laws around e-commerce <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Mukesh-Ambani-may-be-the-surprise-winner-from-Indias-new-rules-hurting-Amazon-and-Walmart/articleshow/67751026.cms">play in its favour</a>, but having been an offline entity for more than 10 years, the brand already has a network of 3.5 million weekly customers that are spread across 6,500 cities in India. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/mukesh-ambani-versus-amazon-walmart-in-india/articleshow/68918092.cms">Mukesh Ambani is clearing the way for the launch of his e-commerce business</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/Mukesh-Ambani-may-be-the-surprise-winner-from-Indias-new-rules-hurting-Amazon-and-Walmart/articleshow/67751026.cms">Mukesh Ambani may be the surprise winner from India's new rules hurting Amazon and Walmart</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/e-commerce-wars-amazons-jeff-bezos-vs-mukesh-ambani-in-india/articleshow/67620116.cms">Amazon's newest challenger may be the richest man in Asia</a>

Mukesh Ambani’s e-commerce app is being tested within the company

<ul><li>India’s new e-commerce rules may be a setback for global players like Amazon and Flipkart. </li><li>The biggest beneficiary will be large Indian retailers and the largest of them all is Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Retail. </li><li>While his physical stores benefit from less pricing pressure, his e-tail venture will get a level playground to fight established giants, at no extra cost. </li></ul>E-commerce in India is gearing up for some <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-new-e-commerce-policy-has-rivals-flipkart-and-amazon-teaming-up-to-counter-the-new-directive-and-the-republic-day-sale-will-probably-be-their-last/articleshow/67366996.cms">massive changes</a> from February 1. Foreign e-commerce players — like Amazon and Flipkart — will no longer be able to offer consumers ‘deep discounts’ or sell their own brands through their respective platforms. It’s a big blow to Jeff Bezos’ and Walmart, and not the best news for consumers in India. Local vendors are voicing their support for the new policy, hoping they can regain some market share, without having to lose more money by offering discounts. 
	
	
	
	
	
	<div type="twitter" handle="1kunalbahl" handlename="Kunal Bahl" image="http://pbs.twimg.com/profile_images/785022133860638720/pBp2lRBx_normal.jpg" favoritecount="99" retweetcount="31" status=".@Snapdeal welcomes updates to FDI policy on e-commerce. Marketplaces are meant for genuine, independent sellers, m… https://t.co/aQ8H4LDw13" createdat="1545832500000" id="1077925752090300416"></div>













 However, the biggest beneficiary of the new policy may not be a broke Snapdeal or the now-jaded Shopclues. It is likely to be India’s <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/e-commerce-wars-amazons-jeff-bezos-vs-mukesh-ambani-in-india/articleshow/67620116.cms">largest retail chain operator</a> Reliance Retail, owned by Mukesh Ambani — the richest man, not only in India, but in Asia. The facts Physical retailers — with the brick-and-mortar stores— are the immediate benefactors. The new rules are expected to boost sales for offline vendors by taking away the discounts available to consumers online. CRISIL estimates that it could increase revenue for offline retailers by ₹100 billion to ₹120 billion by 2020. Just as the loss of business for e-commerce is the gain for retail chains, the advantage is usually with the larger players in the space — because of the sheer scale, reach and resources at their disposal. And the largest of them all is Reliance Retail. “The impact on e-tailers would be largely in the electronics and apparel segments, which account for a bulk of their revenues,” says Anuj Sethi, the senior director at CRISIL Ratings. Coincidentally, 34% of Reliance Retail’s revenue comes from its electronics arm — Reliance Digital. It’s also the largest holder of foreign brand licences for apparel in India. Some of its top brands include Diesel, Hamleys, Kenneth and Steve Madden. Reliance Retail’s offline avatar served 3.5 million customers a week through 9,146 stores across 5,800 cities as of September 2018. Brokerage house CLSA further estimates that the company’s revenue may grow nearly 12-fold to $138 billion in the next 10 years. 
 
 
 
 
 
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 If CLSA’s estimate were to come true, Reliance Retail alone will be making over a quarter of all revenue from retail — both online and offline — in India, expected at about $550 billion, in the next decade. The timing There is no doubt that online retail still has a lot of potential in India. Nasscom and PricewaterCoopers (PwC) estimate that the market will balloon to $150 billion by 2022. Online players still make for <a href="https://www.livemint.com/Industry/9iUxlQZ4iHwPiXRKscx3LK/Indias-ecommerce-market-to-grow-30-to-200-billion-by-202.html">only</a> 3% of the total retail market in India, and the prospects are still huge. So for Mukesh Ambani, as the chairman of Reliance Industries, it’s an unavoidable opportunity. One part of Reliance Retail— the apparel brand Ajio — is already online. Now, he is looking to expand the offerings beyond apparel, with a pilot programme in the state of Gujarat. Before Ambani’s entry, Amazon had <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/amazon-takes-the-fight-to-walmart-by-investing-another-27-billion-in-india/articleshow/65404423.cms">invested over $4.7 billion</a> in India over the last six years, primarily because it identified the potential of a market with a population of nearly a billion and half people. For the same reason, <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indian-unicorn-flipkarts-board-approves-15-billion-deal-with-walmart/articleshow/64027810.cms">Walmart bought Flipkart</a> in 2018 for a whopping sum of $15 billion, paying a heavy premium for joining the game late. Over the years, Amazon, Flipkart and other early birds have burnt billions of dollars giving discounts, getting people used to shopping online and creating a market. Then, the government revised its policy on foreign direct investment (FDI) in e-commerce on December 26, 2018, changing the rules of the game, which would bring the likes of Amazon and Walmart on a level playing field with new entrants. Less than a month later, Mukesh Ambani took the stage at the investor summit Vibrant Gujarat and unveiled his plan to expand his online retail business. The government’s new e-commerce rules are essentially trying to protect India’s retailers — including Reliance Retail — from the deep discounts offered by e-commerce giants. That is how Ambani’s physical stores gain. What’s more, as a new entrant to e-commerce, going against established players with equally deep pockets, Ambani will not have to burn money through discounts. In fact, he is not allowed to. He gets a level-playing field to fight established giants like Amazon and Walmart-owned Flipkart, at no extra cost. The spin Ambani had his own spin on why the change in rules was justified. "In this new world, data is the new oil. And data is the new wealth. India's data must be controlled and owned by Indian people and not by corporates, especially global corporations,” Ambani said at the Vibrant Gujarat Summit in January 2018. He was alluding to the fact that two biggest e-commerce companies in India are owned by foreigners, and they have access to priceless data on Indian consumer behaviour. Even people from the government echoed the ‘nationalistic’ spin to the story that Ambani offered. “We don’t want to build walls, but at the same time, we explicitly recognize and appreciate that data is a strategic asset,” Aruna Sundararajan, the nation’s secretary of telecommunications said last year at a press conference. The other view can be equally convincing to Ambani’s critics. John Elliott, the author of “Implosion: India’s tryst with reality” begs to differ. “The idea that Reliance is any safer at protecting Indian people’s data than Amazon or Walmart is ludicrous,” Elliott told Business Insider. See also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/indias-new-e-commerce-policy-has-rivals-flipkart-and-amazon-teaming-up-to-counter-the-new-directive-and-the-republic-day-sale-will-probably-be-their-last/articleshow/67366996.cms">India’s new e-commerce policy has rivals Flipkart and Amazon teaming up to counter the new directive — and the ‘Republic Day’ sale will probably be their last</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/the-indian-government-just-dealt-a-serious-surprise-to-amazon-and-flipkart-heres-what-that-means-for-online-shoppers/articleshow/67272151.cms">The Indian government just dealt a serious surprise to Amazon and Flipkart — Here’s what that means for online shoppers</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/e-commerce-wars-amazons-jeff-bezos-vs-mukesh-ambani-in-india/articleshow/67620116.cms">Amazon's newest challenger may be the richest man in Asia</a>

Mukesh Ambani may be the surprise winner from India's new rules hurting Amazon and Walmart

“With the advanced internet infrastructure built by Jio, and a robust physical retail built by Reliance Retail, we will create a differentiated e-commerce model for India. This model will see seamless integration of online and offline while innovating across superior customer experience, delivery services and payment ecosystem.” 
 
When India’s biggest taxpayer in the Private Sector says this, eyes turn, jaws drop and calculators click into action. As of now Amazon, Snapdeal and Flipkart have been market leaders in the Indian e-commerce labyrinth. Reliance with its multi-channel integrated e-commerce strategy dares to challenge that. After all, nobody in India has that kind of a reach or money power. 
 
The end of year would see the launch of Reliance Trends website, and with the Jio service available in around 18,000 cities and towns, payment gateways and wallets would be accessible on smartphones. 
 
That’s all cool, but are the Ambanis catching up a little too late now that the Flipkarts are off to a flying start with overseas investors pouring in serious moolah? 
 
Experts beg to differ. “Reliance is in a far stronger position to retain the interests of the consumers in terms of the products and services they offer”, Arvind Singhal, Chairman, Technopak says. 
 
There have also been concerns that the Ambanis with their 3 quarters of a billion dollars investment might squelch the lower rung for good. After all, how do you compete with a giant that claims to have grown 30% in the last 5 years and sprouts 5 new stores every 2 days that sell 1, 50, 000 garments per day on an average? 
 
“Reliance will further expand the market for e-commerce and create new opportunities in the country. It will not kill the small players unless they’re looking to set up online marketplaces as well. In the current scenario there is no shortage of funding even for the smaller players”, Singhal says. 
 
The seeds of e-commerce have just been sown in the country’s fertile ground of $550 billion. While most players have bought chips worth a couple of billion dollars, there is no doubt Reliance would be a formidable player when the wheel spins. 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

How Ambani’s Reliance can shake up e-commerce
in India

New Delhi, As the e-commerce battle intensifies in India, with <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword>'s JioMart being the latest major entrant with a massive potential to disrupt the space, the next big thing is the <keyword id="6355447" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="delivery">delivery</keyword> of <keyword id="389479" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="groceries">groceries</keyword> online and the market size is estimated to grow eight times in the next five years in the country. As companies from Reliance to BigBasket put their top dollar in serving daily grocery at your doorsteps, <keyword id="1640900" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Online-grocery">online grocery</keyword> is going to be the next battleground for growth, expanding to over $18 billion by 2024. The eGrocery market has grown 60% from the calendar year 2020 and is expected to grow 41-49 per cent by the first half of CY21, according to the latest data provided by homegrown consulting firm RedSeer. Another recent report by Bengaluru-based RedSeer and Bigbasket (Brand Intelligence) found that demand for comfort foods like noodles and cookies, immunity boosters such as lemon, and hygiene products like sanitisers picked up after the pandemic while essentials remained strong. Within snacks and branded foods, biscuits and cookies were the largest sub-category and grew the most. "We have observed that traditional brands which pivoted quickly to be digitally ready brands have seen 2x+ jump in sales compared to offline brands," said Anil Kumar, founder and CEO of RedSeer. Now, JioMart is set to take the pole position in online delivery of groceries. "Grocery is the largest retail category. This makes it an important category for retailers and one that is going to drive future growth of online retail sales. JioMart will definitely be a key player in the months to come," said Satish Meena, Senior Forecast Analyst with global market research firm Forrester. Driven by the uptick in online grocery adoption due to the Covid-19 pandemic, "online retail sales will grow at a CAGR of 30 per cent from 2019 to 2024 and reach $359 billion", Meena informed. India is witnessing a surge in demand for online grocery. The latest Reliance takeover of <keyword id="44949" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Future-group">Future Group</keyword>'s retail business is a major consolidation of organised grocery retail. In terms of grocery retail, the revenue of Reliance Retail in FY20 was Rs 346 billion and that of Future Retail's annualised revenue for FY20 was Rs 100 billion. According to Meena, grocery will also be the category where most marketplaces' investments will be made in the next five years. Reliance Jio's new commerce platform JioMart and Whatsapp will be working closely to create growth opportunities for millions of Indian small merchants and kirana shops, <keyword id="6355199" type="DOMAIN" weightage="20" keywordseo="reliance-industries">Reliance Industries</keyword> (RIL) Chairman Mukesh Ambani said recently. In India, there are more than 15 million monthly WhatsApp Business app users, and more than 400 million overall users. Reliance aims to integrate JioMart in WhatsApp within the next six months. The Covid-19 induced lockdowns and social distancing led to a surge in online orders for groceries, driven by utility as 80% of those who ordered online during lockdown did it for convenience as opposed to price and selection. According to a survey by LocalCircles, 52% online grocery shoppers found the e-commerce grocery apps useful during lockdown. As many as 32% online grocery shoppers placed one or more orders every week during the lockdown while 38% found fruits and vegetables delivered via e-commerce grocery apps to be of poor quality. A recent Bernstein report said that Reliance is "best positioned in new commerce, digitising neighbourhood stores, and e-commerce apps (JioMart and AJIO)". SEE ALSO: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/stock-market/news/mrs-bectors-shares-are-down-32-from-the-peak-post-listing-analysts-say-it-is-still-overpriced/articleshow/80430865.cms">Mrs Bectors shares are down 32% from the peak post listing — analysts say it is still 'overpriced'</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/policy/economy/news/recession-in-india-will-end-latest-by-march-says-a-top-economist/articleshow/80399198.cms">Recession in India will end latest by March, says a top economist</a> <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/tech/news/amazfit-smartwatch-gts-2-review-feature-rich-but-theres-still-room-for-improvement/articleshow/80398998.cms">Amazfit GTS 2 review – feature-rich, but there’s still room for improvement</a>

Online Grocery market estimated to grow eight times in 5 years in India, JioMart big gainer

Almost everything could be sold on Internet now. Keeping this development in mind, <keyword id="58448" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Reliance-Retail">Reliance Retail</keyword> is about to borrow Rs 4,500 crore to build its <keyword id="436047" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="Ecommerce">eCommerce</keyword> business. It also plans to open new stores to counter rivals’ expansion in the rapidly growing eCommerce business in India. 
 
The Mukesh Ambani-controlled retail company would borrow the amount through term loans and debentures. 
 
"Reliance Retail is growing rapidly and these are enabling provisions to fund a growing and profitable business," a spokesperson told the Economic Times. "The funds will be utilised, as appropriate, for business operations." 
 
Reliance Retail's revenue rose 21% to Rs 17,640 crore in FY15 with profit after tax of Rs 193 crore. The company became the country's largest retailer in FY14. 
 The company will avail term loans to the tune of Rs 2,500 crore from <keyword id="6354731" type="CITY" weightage="60" keywordseo="State-Bank-Of-India">State Bank of India</keyword> and raise another Rs 2,000 crore by issuing convertible debentures, it said in board resolutions filed with the Registrar of Companies last week. 
 
The eCommerce business is expected to grow fourfold to almost $70 billion, or about Rs 4.34 lakh crore by 2019. Reliance Retail is piloting an online site for food and grocery products. 
 "The potential of ecommerce combined with the network of physical store locations will offer tremendous choice and convenience at a great value to the consumer," parent <keyword id="6355199" type="CITY" weightage="80" keywordseo="Reliance-Industries">Reliance industries</keyword> said in its latest annual report. 
 The move is part of <keyword id="3820" type="PERSON" weightage="60" keywordseo="Mukesh-Ambani">Mukesh Ambani</keyword>'s wider strategy of placing its communications venture Reliance Jio Infocomm at the intersection of "telecom, web and digital commerce" as he said at the company's annual general meeting last year. 
 The ecommerce business is booming in India, with companies such as Flipkart, Amazon and <keyword id="541988" type="COMPANY" weightage="80" keywordseo="SnapDeal">Snapdeal</keyword> winning Indian consumers by offering heavy discounts across products. 
 
Experts said Reliance Retail's deep pockets and existing logistics infrastructure will help it in the ecommerce space. 
 
Increase in Internet access through affordable smartphones and efforts by online retailers to develop payment channels such as cash on delivery, mobile wallets and streamlined logistics infrastructure are expected to boost ecommerce growth in the country. 
 
(Image: Indiatimes)

Mukesh Ambani is going for the kill in eCommerce with a whopping Rs 4500 crore funding

New Delhi, Apr 22 () Facebook's move to pick up about 10 per cent stake in Jio Platforms will accelerate Jio's digital monetisation drive and put Reliance Industries (RIL) on course to turn net debt-free by March 2021, analysts said on Wednesday. "RIL had restructured its digital business into one consolidated wholly-owned subsidiary - Jio Platforms - which would host all the digital initiatives of the firm, including Jio digital services (mobile, broadband), apps, tech capabilities (AI, Big Data, IoT) and investments (like Den, Hathway)," Credit Suisse said in a note. It said that Facebook's investment into this entity will further Reliance Industries' digital initiatives and will help in deleveraging. "...The deal will aid in achieving net debt-free (target) by March 2021. As of December 31, 2019, net debt for the group stands at Rs 1,531 billion (Rs 1.53 lakh crore) and with Facebook's investment, this should put RIL on course to be net debt free by Mar-2021," it said. The announcement includes commencement of a partnership among JioMart (platform of RIL's new commerce initiative), Reliance Retail and WhatsApp, it noted. "Currently, new commerce is under purview of Reliance Retail and outside of Jio Platforms. The partnership will entail leveraging the messenger platform to facilitate new commerce transactions between a consumer and a kirana store," Credit Suisse said. In similar vein, Bernstein said the partnership is strategic for both companies. "The investment in Jio is one of the biggest investments Facebook can make. The transaction fits with their recent push to build themselves and experiment more and provides a closed network of 388 million users to test on, proof point around the already announced partnership to build and test a WeChat like app," it said. "Facebook has already launched WhatsApp as customer service/social commerce tool in India allowing brands and retails to talk directly to customers/prospects, this can strengthen that offering both for 60 million small merchants on JioMart but also for Reliance Jio itself," Bernstein added. Facebook on Wednesday announced an investment of USD 5.7 billion (Rs 43,574 crore) to buy a 10 per cent stake in the firm that houses billionaire Mukesh Ambani's telecom arm Jio as the social media giant looks to expand presence in its largest market in terms of subscriber base. "Today we are announcing a USD 5.7 billion, or Rs 43,574 crore, investment in Jio Platforms Ltd, part of Reliance Industries Ltd, making Facebook its largest minority shareholder," the company said in a statement. Reliance in a separate statement said the investment by Facebook values Jio Platforms at Rs 4.62 lakh crore pre-money enterprise value (USD 65.95 billion, assuming a conversion rate of Rs 70 to a US dollar). "Facebook's investment will translate into a 9.99 per cent equity stake in Jio Platforms on a fully diluted basis," it said. Jio Platforms, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Industries Ltd (RIL), houses digital services of the group. Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd, with 388 million subscribers, is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Jio Platforms. The Facebook deal is part of value unlocking by RIL to cut debt. RIL has been seeking strategic partnerships across its businesses while targeting to deleverage its balance sheet. MBI ANSANS

Facebook investment to accelerate Jio's digital monetisation drive: Analysts

<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div><ul class="summary-list"><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/amazon">Amazon</a> has a huge market opportunity in <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/india">India</a>. </li><li>But government regulations and customer familiarity is favoring local giant <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/category/reliance-retail">Reliance Retail</a> to take hold of the still-fragmented e-commerce market in the massive country.</li><li>That's why Amazon is reportedly in talks to buy a stake in Reliance. </li><li><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/?hprecirc-bullet">Visit Business Insider's homepage for more stories</a>.</li></ul>Amazon <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-in-talks-to-buy-stake-india-reliance-retail-2019-8">is reportedly in talks to buy a 26% stake</a> in Reliance Retail, India's largest brick-and-mortar retailer. Reliance Retail is rolling out an e-commerce service, and that could seriously threaten Amazon's growing presence in what's on track to become the second-largest e-commerce market in the world. Neither Amazon nor Reliance commented for this story.India is a massive business opportunity - particularly in e-commerce. The e-retail market in India <a href="https://www.ibef.org/industry/ecommerce-presentation">is only worth $38.5 billion now</a>, but it's slated to become an even larger online shopping market than the US by 2034. And, perhaps more importantly, Indians haven't determined their e-retailer of choice. It's <a href="https://www.ibef.org/industry/ecommerce.aspx">still a fragmented marketplace</a> with Amazon, Walmart-owned Flipkart, and local giants like Reliance and Paytm Mall all claiming some of the pie. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>With 10,000-plus physical locations, five million customers a week, and the blessing of the Narendra Modi administration, Reliance Retail has a serious potential to become India's Alibaba - a domestic retail giant that fends off Amazon from gaining serious market share. And Amazon, which has already lost out on China and spent billions in India, can't afford to fall behind in this region of the world. <h2>Modi is fighting the threat of 'data colonialism' </h2>The Modi government is making it challenging for companies outside of India to take advantage of the explosive growth in consumer spending, with a slew of new laws that restrict <a href="https://qz.com/india/1534828/its-reliance-vs-amazon-vs-walmart-flipkart-in-indian-e-commerce/">foreign direct investment</a> in e-commerce. Several other rules, like barring companies from offering special prices on certain websites, are <a href="https://qz.com/india/1558186/whom-does-indias-draft-e-commerce-policy-really-help/">intended to keep brick-and-mortar healthy</a> as e-commerce booms.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>These laws are aimed at fighting what Indians are calling "<a href="https://www.businesstoday.in/magazine/special-reports/defence/break-free-from-data-colonialism/story/332828.html">data colonialism</a>" - the fear that American tech giants will reap profits from Indian consumers and their data. "As a country, we have to all grow up and say that, you know, enough of this," Vinit Goenka, an official in the Modi government, <a href="https://www.nytimes.com/2018/08/31/technology/india-technology-american-giants.html">said last year</a>.American retailers have balked at the rules, particularly Walmart, which owns a $16 billion majority stake in retailer Flipkart. "This is a major change and a regressive policy shift," a senior director in government affairs at Walmart told the Office of the United States Trade Representative in an e-mail on Jan. 7, <a href="https://www.reuters.com/article/us-walmart-india-exclusive/exclusive-walmart-told-u-s-government-india-e-commerce-rules-regressive-warned-of-trade-impact-idUSKCN1U620R?feedType=RSS&amp;feedName=topNews">Reuters reported</a>.<h2>Those roadblocks are bad news for Amazon</h2><a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-q2-2019-earnings-aws-advertising-retail-prime-2019-7">Growth at Amazon Web Services</a> - the company's cash cow - has slowed, so investors are hoping that Amazon can dominate in new international markets like India to boost revenues."Amazon has several drivers that should yield robust global revenue growth with rising margins the next several years, namely ... significant opportunity in existing and newer international markets like India, Mexico, and Australia," Cowen analysts wrote to investors in July. Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-van-order-worry-usps-ups-2019-7" data-analytics-position="5">Amazon has quietly ordered 2,000-plus vans to deliver your Prime packages - and UPS and the Postal Service should feel stressed</a>Amazon has been rolling out in new markets around the world for years, but the payoff hasn't established itself yet. Amazon loses money when it comes to the international sector - to the tune of $690 million in 2019 and $1.1 billion for the first six months of 2018.Growth in sales abroad is also slowing in 2019. In the first half of 2019, Amazon saw 10% year-over-year growth in net sales outside of North America, compared to a 31% net sale boost during the same period last year.<div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Those pressures to actually turn a profit abroad are only further challenged when the foreign government doesn't look kindly upon outside businesses attempting to gobble up market share. Amazon recently reported its Prime subscription base in India has doubled over the past 18 months. But the Modi government's interest in protecting domestic, traditional retail channels will likely disrupt Amazon's further attempts to expand meaningfully in India. Analysts like Jason Helfstein of Oppenheimer <a href="https://markets.businessinsider.com/news/stocks/amazon-stock-price-analyst-reaction-to-quarterly-earnings-report-2019-2-1027917064#bmo-capital-markets-investment-up-but-margins-keep-expanding-5">have warned</a> that those regulations will put a damper on revenues for 2019 and 2020.The legal roadblocks are so intense, in fact, that Amazon grouped India in with famously-restrictive China in its most recent quarterly statement under the "Risk Factors" header of "Our International Operations Expose Us to a Number of Risks."<h2>But local players are set to flourish - and Amazon is likely to drop coin on them</h2>The Modi rules are creating winners and losers. Analysts say Reliance Retail, India's largest retailer which is now opening an e-commerce service, is a definite winner from the new laws. Two senior executives told <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/amazon-may-shop-for-stake-in-reliance-retail/articleshow/70474456.cms">The Economic Times</a> on Thursday that Amazon is in talks to purchase a 26% stake in Reliance. That would allow Reliance to become a Marketplace seller on Amazon, and would give Amazon an instant logistics and fulfillment network across India. However, the talks might not lead to a deal.<section>Read more: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/amazon-in-talks-to-buy-stake-india-reliance-retail-2019-8">Amazon is reportedly in talks to acquire a 26% stake in a huge Indian retailer, meaning it will dominate a $200 billion market</a></section>Reliance is India's biggest industrial conglomerate, and it has its fingers in oil, textiles, telecommunications, consumer electronics, and just about everything else. With $87 billion in revenue, it's one of India's most well-known corporations - lending it a name brand across India that's recognized more widely than Amazon. <div class="KonaFilter image-container display-table"><div><div class="image"></div></div></div>Along with a home-court advantage, Reliance is established on the brick-and-mortar side of India. There are already <a href="https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/reliances-e-commerce-dream-to-swallow-everyone-out-there/articleshow/69157234.cms?from=mdr" target="_blank" rel="noopener" data-saferedirecturl="https://www.google.com/url?q=https://economictimes.indiatimes.com/industry/services/retail/reliances-e-commerce-dream-to-swallow-everyone-out-there/articleshow/69157234.cms?from%3Dmdr&amp;source=gmail&amp;ust=1564770915771000&amp;usg=AFQjCNHYJeTVYGs51CzmVIagV95e9iGqUA">10,000 Reliance Retail outlets</a> nationwide. Some 97% of retail in India occurs in store."In retail/e-commerce, despite competition from well-funded global companies, RIL's wide footprint of physical stores along with its omnichannel focus, subscriber reach and regulations governing foreign e-commerce entities could help it gain a 300 basis point market share in high-growth, modern retail," UBS analysts wrote in a January note. <section></section>But for Amazon, losing out on India would be very costly. Amazon has already invested <a href="https://www.vox.com/2019/2/1/18205635/amazon-india-regulations-q4-earnings-prime-online-retail">at least $5 billion in India</a>. The company fumbled in establishing a meaningful presence in China, so losing out on India means that the retailer would not sell <a href="https://www.cnn.com/2019/06/19/health/india-china-world-population-intl-hnk/index.html">to roughly 37% of the world's population</a>.And as for Reliance, UBS analysts asked in their January report, "Can RIL evolve into India's Amazon/Alibaba/Walmart?" It then followed up: "Yes." <a href="https://www.businessinsider.com/intelligence/40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019?IR=T&amp;itm_source=businessinsider&amp;itm_medium=ctgr_bii&amp;itm_term=ctgr_leadgen&amp;itm_content=amazon&amp;itm_campaign=40-big-tech-predictions-for-2019-2"></a>

The Alibaba of India is armed with Modi's blessing and is poised to knock Amazon out of the subcontinent - so now Bezos is considering spending billions to buy a stake in it

<ul><li>Indian e-commerce giant <keyword id="6354742" type="COMPANY" weightage="20" keywordseo="Flipkart">Flipkart</keyword> has partnered with 27,000 kirana stores across 700 cities.</li><li>Interestingly, Reliance Jio for its grand e-commerce debut too is working with kirana stores.</li><li>Flipkart hopes to reach out to Tier 2 and 3 cities faster with this partnership.</li></ul>Walmart-owned Flipkart brought 27,000 kirana stores onboard to ensure last mile delivery ahead of <keyword id="2546729" type="PERSON" weightage="20" keywordseo="Big-Billion-Day-sale">Big Billion Day sale</keyword>. Kirana stores are Indian equivalents of mom and pop stores. Flipkart is leveraging its in-house tech solution called the ‘Allocation Engine’, to help automate allocation of shipments to delivery agents and partners, including kiranas. “Our approach to inclusivity for last-mile partners is guided by the synergies we share. After digital payments, the next big revolution in Kirana is going to be ushered in conjunction with e-commerce,” said Kalyan Krishnamurthy, CEO of Flipkart Group in a statement. ‘Big Billion Days will re-invent kirana stores as convenience stores’ Krishnamurthy hopes this initiative will re-position and re-invent kirana stores as convenience stores from an e-commerce perspective, while offering them a new source of revenue, making it a win-win situation. But Mukesh Ambani, chairman of Reliance Industries too has his eyes on Indian kirana stores. Ambani has interests in retail and looking to launch e-commerce vertical too. “The main purpose of new commerce is to completely transform the unorganised retail market, which accounts for 90% of India's retail industry. The 30 million merchants and kirana shop owners, who generate direct and indirect livelihoods for over 200 million, form the backbone of India's commerce ecosystem.” he said at his annual general meeting in August this year. While Flipkart hasn’t yet announced the dates of its Big Billion Day sale, it might coincide with Reliance Jio’s e-commerce entry. Meanwhile for Flipkart, this latest initiative is a step towards reaching out to the cities where most of its consumers are – in Tier 2 and 3 cities. They had also launched a Hindi app to gain its next 200 million consumers. “Almost 50-60% of our business comes from Tier 2 and 3 cities. With Hindi content, the selection and range of offers has been updated and tens and millions of new consumers can access the app a preferred language,” Rajneesh Kumar, chief corporate officer told Business Insider in an interview, adding that he hopes the upcoming sale will surpass the previous highs. See Also: <a href="https://www.businessinsider.in/flipkart-big-billion-day-sale-2019-date-and-preparation/articleshow/70977185.cms">Big Billion Day sale is clashing with a severe slowdown but here's why Flipkart is confident</a>

Flipkart brings 27,000 kirana stores on board ahead of its Big Billion Day sale

The recent Reliance AGM saw Mr. Ambani announce that the new Fresh Direct website would be ‘scaled up’, and that the company’s retail sector has seen a whopping 30-50% growth. 
 Reliance Fresh and <keyword id="2900459" type="UNKNOWN" weightage="80" keywordseo="reliance-fresh-direct-website">Reliance Fresh Direct website</keyword> has been plagued with problems like sourcing and storage issues. With it comes the added burden of logistics and freshness issues. That however hasn’t stopped many a brave e-commerce retailer to enter grocery retail. 
 
“Food and grocery is the single biggest opportunity in Indian e-commerce today. It’s just a question of tactical execution”, Arvind Singhal, Chairman at Technopak says. 
 
Should other players like BigBasket and LocalBanya be worried about Reliance’s grand plans? 
 
“There is a $370 billion market out there and a lot of headroom for everybody to grow at this moment”, Singhal says. 
 
With the focus increasingly shifting from brick and mortar to grocery retail, many believe it’s high time for the Birla and Future Group to join the party as well. After all, why should they not get a slice of the pie? 
 
(Image credit: Indiatimes)

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