Reliance Fresh not to be a threat to small vendors

The Economic Times reports that the opening of 11 Reliance Fresh stores in Hyderabad marked the formal entry of Reliance in the retail industry. Officials assured small traders that Reliance Fresh stores would not be a threat to them. Raghu Pillai, President and CEO (operations and strategy) said that kirana store owners and small vendors can benefit by purchasing their stocks from the company’s wholesale stores, Ranger Farms at lower prices. He added that Reliance was:

"…not harming small retail players... the market is growing by 8 per cent which is 24-25 billion dollars (nearly Rs. 1125 billion) every year... we are aiming at revenues of only 25 billion dollars in four years... even if the market grows by 100 billion dollars by 2015, organized retail would be still less than 10-12 per cent of retail trade.”