No 9, TMA Mahal,
Phone: 044-43585703
Reliance Retail, the 100% subsidiary of Reliance Industries, on October 28 unveiled Reliance Fresh, the first of its multi-format retail foray involving an investment of Rs 25,000 crore.
Reliance Fresh is the company’s brand for neighbourhood fresh-food outlets. It will also sell kitchen equipment and other edibles. Besides, it has planned hypermarkets, supermarkets, discount stores, department stores, convenience stores and specialty stores, to be unveiled shortly.
“These stores, ranging from 2,000 to 5,000 sq feet, will provide customers with a variety of fresh fruits, vegetables, staple foods and other products in a world-class ambience,” said Gunender Kapur, president, foods business, at the unveiling ceremony.
The strategy is to open one Reliance Fresh store in a radius of three to four km to serve 1,000-2,000 families. This means about 30-40 stores in the major metros. The air-conditioned stores recorded a combined sales of Rs 22 lakh on the inaugural day itself.
Reliance Fresh is selling vegetables and fruits sourced from farmers through the company’s agri hubs.
One fine evening my door bell rang, and I opened to find 2 men holding a tray with and an invitation card. I was invited to a grand opening of a new fruit and veggie shop in Nanganallur called Reliance Fresh. The invitation talked about some membership and the benefits also. I could not resist visiting the shop, which I did a day later.
As I entered, I was greeted with a “vanakkam” with folded hands. I was given a basket for collecting my goodies, and guided through the racks and racks of the fresh greeneries inside. There were stands at a few points where you can tear away a plastic cover and each item is to be taken in separate covers. If you want to weigh them, turn around and you will find a weighing machine perched on a stand. I found that the fruits and veggies were at a much lesser price than available in the market, which gives it an edge over the other veggie shops.
At one point there were some non-seasonal and imported fruits like the strawberries and kiwis, apart from apples and pears. You can also find many English veggies like the yellow and red capsicum, celery and broccoli. And then there are cut veggies, packed together for making sambar or a spicy corn soup. The pineapples are available in full version, peeled version and also sliced versions.
As you enter the veggie section, there are about 4 to 5 varieties of beans waiting to be picked up in separate covers perched on the top of a nearby stand. Brinjals, cabbages, and cauliflowers follow the trend. Potatoes, onions and tomatoes are available in 1kg packs as well as in the loose.
The spread of a variety of breads is worth mentioning as they bring in new and fresh stock everyday. There are white breads, sandwich breads, brown breads, and atta shakti breads. The presence of Buns and Croissants make a pretty sight here and you can’t resist picking one of them for your basket.
A few shining, stainless steel cutlery items add to the beauty of the racks. Priced reasonably, they make a good gift item for your relatives and friends; why, even for your own kitchen.
The chill food section is a must visit place as they stock a range of bottled flavoured milks and lassis. The carton version of the same is available. The frozen foods include the ready-to-make items like veggie cutlets, samosas, parathas, French fries and so on. It goes without saying that a freezer full of ice creams is also there.
After filling your shopping basket(s) with all these, you go to one of the counters for billing. As you stand there, you are tempted to lay hands on the range of chocolates from all over the world, arranged just near the billing counter.
The billing is very fast as each counter is computerized to weigh the goodies. The billing is done by well trained employees who operate the touch-screen systems. If you have a membership card, you can reap reward points according to the amount purchased.
There is a counter where a customer can approach for queries, suggestions and grievances too.
All's well that ends well, isn’t it? Well, come home after the shopping, and you don’t have to sit and sort out the veggies to refrigerate them. Just throw the plastic bags into the veggies tray and relax.
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