Reliance Retail may launch IPO by June as Mukesh Ambani bets big on consumer businesses: report

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd, the retail unit of Reliance Industries, could launch its IPO by June this year as Mukesh Ambani-led company's betting big on his consumer businesses, including Reliance Retail and Reliance Jio. The company is also expecting a good response to the public offering as the growth projections of the retail business of Reliance Industries have fanned high hopes for the RIL investors. Recently, global brokerage firm CLSA also predicted the next leap of growth for Reliance Retail and Jio.

Reliance Industries, India's largest company by market valuation, operates retail consumer businesses under Reliance Retail Ventures, which further operates under two different retail ventures, Reliance Brands and Reliance Retail Ltd. While Reliance Brands handles joint ventures with global fashion brands, Reliance Retail Ltd has over 9,900 stores in over 6,400 cities across India.

"It (IPO) may be after June and the company expects a good response," reported Mint. The development bears significance as RIL Chairman Mukesh Ambani in his 2017 shareholder meeting had said Reliance Retail was a business with significant growth possibilities. "I have set our leadership a target of 30 per cent growth each year over the next decade," he said. He had also promised the shareholders that Reliance Retail Ventures would be aggressively expanded in rural and semi-urban markets for achieving the 30 per cent growth annually over the next 10 years.

The retail business, which completed 11 years of full-fledged operation in 2018, had recorded revenues of Rs 69,198 crore in the last financial year, a 105 per cent growth compared to the previous year. A year before that, the company grew 60 per cent.

In its previous report, CLSA had said the Indian retail market would rise three times to $2.2 trillion in 10 years while the organised retail business would witness a nine-time spike to $550 billion with online making up 48 per cent. "While organised retail may become a highly consolidated market, RIL's omnichannel strategy has all the ingredients to make it a leader," CLSA had said.

Also read: Can Reliance Retail grow 12 times to Rs 10 lakh crore in 10 years?

Reliance Retail's e-commerce venture plans to tap the 5,000-plus Jio Point stores: report