New Delhi: Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL) plans to rapidly expand its online business in the next three years. The company will focus on strengthening JioMart, increasing the number of dark stores and further improving its omni-channel capabilities.
The company believes that the impact of these investments will be visible in the form of better profits and earnings growth in the coming years.
Giving a three-year roadmap after the announcement of quarterly results, the company’s Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Dinesh Taluja said that the company will invest in JioMart’s infrastructure and expanding omni-channel reach across platforms. However, he also said that there is pressure on its margins due to technology and dark store investments.
He said, “We plan to expand our online business rapidly this year. We will expand the dark store. Will further expand its omni-channel platform. Will accelerate the growth of JioMart.
He said that the company is focusing on positive ‘unit economics’ (profitability per unit) in every market. Unit economics is the process of finding out how much a company is making or losing by selling one item.
He said that on this basis the investment strategy is being decided by evaluating each market. Besides, the availability of products, speed of delivery and reliability of service will also be improved.
According to Taluja, the company aims to convert its current expansion into better value by FY 2027-28 and 2028-29. For this, work will be done on repeat purchases of customers and increasing the average purchase amount. The company aims to double its operating pre-tax income in the next three years.
He said the investments being made in the current year will yield results in the form of better margins and stronger cash flows in the next two years. Apart from this, profitability will be enhanced by increasing the share of private brands, generating more revenue from the marketplace and improving operational efficiency.
Taluja said that the company’s emphasis will not only be on increasing the number of orders but on improving the quality of business.
He also informed that the omni-channel strategy is yielding positive results. Customers who purchase both online and offline spend an average of 2.7 times more than offline customers. Also, an annual increase of 20 to 25 percent has been recorded in their purchases.
