Healthy sales across small-town stores and significant traffic on JioMart saved the April-June quarter for Reliance Retail Ltd, as the second wave of covid-19 infections wreaked havoc, said Dinesh Thapar, group chief financial officer, Reliance Retail. During the second wave of covid-19, Reliance Retail could operate only 123-odd stores , instead of around 1,000 stores it had planned to open in the first quarter. The company also said that “retail stores and digital commerce could sell only essentials for the most part of the quarter". JioMart is now present in 218 cities, while Reliance Retail’s kirana partnerships were up by a third during the quarter. Reliance Retail has also invested in online pharmacy Netmeds, furniture e-tailer Urban Ladder and online lingerie retailer Zivame, to expand the company’s offerings in the fast-growing e-commerce segment.

Source: Mint July 25, 2021 18:33 UTC