India's Reliance Retail reports gross revenue of ₹58,554 cr in Q1 FY23

Reliance Retail’s cash profit for the quarter was ₹2,873 crore ($364 million), higher by 105.2 per cent YoY, the company said in a media release.

About 15,866 physical stores were operational and 792 stores opened during the quarter. The total area of operation was 45.5 million square feet as compared to 34.5 million square feet in the corresponding quarter of the previous year.

Reliance Retail consolidated its leadership position in fashion and lifestyle as it delivered a strong revenue growth of 3x over last year driven by regional festivities and promotions resulting in all time high average bill values and healthy conversions. Men’s formal wear, women’s western wear and footwear witnessed strong growth as offices, schools re-opened, and consumers resorted to refreshing their wardrobes.

Ajio continues to attract customers even as footfalls to stores returned to normative levels. The trust for loyal customers on Ajio continues to get stronger as they get access to some of the finest and most fashionable merchandise of high quality with an engaging shopping experience on the platform. This is reflected in the shopping value which is twice for >1-year customers compared to new customers who are on the platform for under 90 days, the release added.

In the merchant partner business, the platform added 660 new brands as it continued to strengthen its product offering. It introduced 14 new own brands during the quarter increasing the share of own brands to 30 per cent, an increase of 300 bps over last year. In the luxury/premium brands, the business grew close to 5x over last year driven by fully operational mall stores and in-store events. The business through Ajio Luxe scaled up >6x over last year with presence of nearly 400 brands and over 38,000 options on the platform.

With Amante, Clovia and Zivame as part of its portfolio, Reliance now caters to all the price segments across the lingerie business. The lingerie business grew nearly 5x YoY as the businesses scaled up their online offering and offline distribution.

Reliance Retail business witnessed its first quarter without any operating disruptions since the onset of COVID. Consumer spending got a boost as families indulged in leisure activities, socialising, festivities and shopping as COVID situation improved though sentiments remained cautious due to inflationary concerns.

Footfalls, recorded at 175 million for the quarter, were 19 per cent above pre-COVID levels as consumers returned to stores. The increased footfalls and digital visits have translated into over 220 million transactions in Q1 FY23, a growth of more than 60 per cent over pre-COVID levels.

Commenting on the results, Mukesh Ambani, chairman and managing director, Reliance Industries Limited, said: “In retail business, we continue to focus on enhancing our consumer touchpoints and building a stronger value proposition for our customers. Our strong supply chain infrastructure and sourcing efficiency is helping us maintain competitive pricing for daily essentials, thereby insulating consumers from inflationary pressures. Customer engagement on our Digital Services platform remains high.”

Fibre2Fashion News Desk (KD)