Reliance Retail to launch first 7-Eleven store in India this week; Mukesh Ambani takes on Convenience stores
The first 7-Eleven store will open Saturday in Mumbai, and will be followed by a further "rapid rollout" starting across India's financial hub.
RIL’s Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) will launch 7-Eleven convenience stores in India, it said on Thursday. Mukesh Ambani’s company has entered into a master franchise agreement with 7-Eleven, Inc, and the first 7-Eleven store is scheduled to open on Saturday, 9 October 2021, in Andheri East, Mumbai.
This comes a day after the Future Retail and Texas-based convenience store chain, 7-Eleven decided to mutually terminate their franchise agreement as the Kishore Biyani company failed to meet the target of opening stores and payment of franchise fees.
The 7-Eleven stores will offer a range of beverages, snacks, and delicacies that will appeal to local tastes, along with daily essentials usually open on all days, 24×7. With a rapid expansion plan on the anvil, the company is expected to be a significant contributor to local employment and building the eco-system for convenient foods. SEI will also support RRVL in implementing and localizing the unique 7-Eleven convenience retail business model for India.
The move is part of the powerful tycoon’s wider ambition to seize India’s growing formalized retail space. Reliance is expanding its foothold at a rapid rate, adding 1,500 new stores last year to a total of nearly 13,000, Ambani said at a shareholders’ meeting in June. The shares of Reliance Industries rose as much as 1.6% Thursday.
“India is the second-largest country in the world and has one of the fastest-growing economies. It’s an ideal time for the largest convenience retailer in the world to make our entry into India,” president and chief executive officer of SEI, Joe DePinto, said.
