Adani begins retail selloff to Reliance

Ahmedabad: It’s official now. The Adani group has begun the process of selling its retail venture to Reliance Industries as employees are being interviewed by the latter. While both companies continued to keep mum about the deal and its value, market sources say that it could be around Rs 200 crore.

The Adani group has already informed its retail staff about the sell-out. The Adani retail outlets which sell groceries and apparel have stopped sourcing new products from the market and are in the process of disposing of the existing stocks.

Adani Retail operates a total of 54 outlets across Gujarat. The Reliance group may not retain the entire staff of Adani Retail and it is in the process of shortlisting those they want to retain.

“Reliance is interviewing the executives and will retain the efficient candidates,” says a company source. Adani group chairman Gautam Adani was not available for his comment. While the company is not procuring products from the market, it is working on quickly clearing its existing stocks. It has also introduced several special schemes to attract buyers.

The acquisition formalities are expected to be fully completed in a couple of months. “All the existing outlets will be revamped by Reliance and the process will be completed in the next two-three months,” said the source. With the acquisition Reliance will get access to over 54 supermarkets and hypermarkets across nine cities in Gujarat. The acquisition will provide a ready infrastructure to Reliance. In fact, with over 60% of Adani’s retail outlets being company-owned, Reliance will stand to gain.