Before dawn in Mumbai, couriers zip across chaotic streets delivering groceries stocked in a basement mini-warehouse operated by Reliance Industries’ ecommerce platform, JioMart. “I make between 20 and 30 deliveries in a day,” said Kashif Sameer, a 25-year-old courier. “It is very popular with customers.” This activity is part of the conglomerate’s renewed push to dominate India’s retail market, Asia’s richest man Mukesh Ambani’s latest effort to assert his company’s influence.
Reliance has opened nearly 20,000 physical outlets this year, almost double its pre-pandemic size, and added hundreds of dark stores, positioning itself against quick-commerce rivals such as Blinkit, Swiggy, and Zepto. Analysts caution that the market may face consolidation. “It’s a question of who runs out of money first,” said Arvind Singhal, chair of retail consultancy The Knowledge Company.
Despite its scale, Reliance has yet to capture the domestic consumer market the way it did in telecoms a decade ago. It faces entrenched competition from domestic giants such as Tata Group, global multinationals like Unilever and Nestlé, and millions of kiranas, or family-run convenience stores. Reliance Retail, which houses all of the company’s consumer-facing units, had previously shed tens of thousands of employees and closed underperforming stores after overexpansion during the Covid-19 pandemic and slowing middle-class spending.
The conglomerate, with a market value exceeding $225 billion, is expanding its retail reach once again. Reliance Retail reported revenue of about $10 billion and profit of $390 million in the quarter ending September, up 18 and 22 percent, respectively, from the previous year. “Reliance’s scale in retail now is unmatched in India,” said Devangshu Dutta, CEO of consumer advisory firm Third Eyesight.
Ambani’s daughter, Isha, 34, is leading the retail ambitions, with plans for the consumer brands subsidiary — which includes Lotus Chocolate and the revived Campa Cola soft drink — to reach $11.7 billion in revenue within five years. The long-term goal, she said, is to make Reliance “India’s largest FMCG company with a global presence,” according to reporting by the Financial Times.
Reliance continues to explore listing its telecom and retail units, but sources familiar with the company told the Financial Times that the retail arm is not yet ready for an IPO. Competition remains fierce, with new entrants challenging incumbents across discretionary retail categories.
Foreign brand partnerships, including West Elm, Pottery Barn, and Superdry, largely struggle to gain traction among Indian consumers, while Reliance’s joint ventures lost roughly $30 million in the financial year through March 2025. The high-profile partnership with fast-fashion retailer Shein has also underperformed, with the app downloaded just 11 million times and discounted prices matched by local rivals.
Reliance is investing heavily in quick commerce, aiming for deliveries within 30 minutes, a sector projected to reach $128 billion by 2030. While Reliance has built 600 dark stores over the past six months, it still lags behind market leader Blinkit, which operates around 1,800. “JioMart is making a late entry,” said Karan Taurani, executive vice-president at Elara Capital. “It will be very tough to disrupt players here.”
