Apr 03, 2007 04:14 PM
11373 Views
(Updated Apr 03, 2007 04:25 PM)
After gaining supremacy in Industry and Telecom sector, Reliance has put its foot in the least expected -The RETAIL MARKET! Mr. Mukesh Ambani following the foot steps of his father has decided to revolutionize the retail segment and literally finish off the existing Middlemen who normally play a major role in price factor.
RELIANCE FRESH has entered into the most dreaded segment of perishable commodity -the **VEGETABLES & FRUITS with a BIG BANG!
Since my childhood, we had our local Baniya who used to supply our monthly grocery. His words were vouched for, he would always recommend a new product since very few Stuff would be advertised on T.V. Most of the time, we never received any Free gifts on purchase of the selected items as the Baniya would have pocketed it and we really didnt care about it! It was a monthly affair to enquire about each others health, wealth and family and sometimes get the things onCREDIT TOO. It was thatHUMANE Touch that remained in our hearts!
Similar was the case, when we used to buy the sabzis(vegetables) & Phal(fruits) in a sabjimandi. The eternal BHAIYAS used to shout, addresses us as Saab/Memsaab/Bhabi/Beta/Beti et all to lure us into buying their TAAZA Bhajis( the colloquial word in Mumbai). It would always start and end with the debate on price, proper measurement and certainly not accepting the mix of both FRESH AND STALE stuff! The market used to be very much chaotic, dirty with the pile up of rotten mix, commuters all over and the Buffaloes and Cows finding their way to food!
In spite of all odds, I loved shopping over there which I missed in Bangalore. Here, I was exposed to countless swanky grocery malls having everything under the sun like the 2 major giants-THe FABMALL AND THE FOOD WORLD in 80feet road, Koramangala. As usual, they had their weekly bargains, many offers to safeguard their customer loyalty.
But the moment RELIANCE FRESH opened up just few paces away from them, the entire FLOCK of CUSTOMERS were clustered inside in a relatively smaller place. I couldn't manage to get in for the whole week, it was a nauseating site! Reliance succeeded in doing the same gimmick which it did in promoting its cellfones for Rs 500only years back!
Finally, when I did step in a less than 1500sqft shop, it was a rare sight to see. The vegetables and the fruits are extremely less priced, very fresh(thnx to the massive refrigeration facilities) and makes u buy immediately. Its a narrow area where more than 30 ppl cant be accommodated at a time. The staff are v courteous & helpful . Once we have picked up fruits/veg, we can weigh it in a nearby weighing scale. Since the prices of tomatoes are Rs 2.50/kg, okra -16 Rs/kg, watermelon 5Rs /kg etc, ppl are rushing from early morning.
Apart from this, they also sell sambhar mix( cut vegetables+curry leaf), Salad mix which has various options of grated carrot, some corns, yellow and red capsicum, Pulav mix(again ensemble of vegetables) etc neatly packed for less than Rs 10. This is indeed handy for the those who are always leading a FAST LIFE!
They also sell grocery items like rice, food grains and Health drinks, Cornflakes, Bread, Biscuits, Cheese etc. But these are not damn cheap and the variety is v limited. So far they are not into Detergents and Soaps, which will be added soon.
For ensuring the loyalty of clientèle, Reliance was distributing free 1/2 kilo sugar & ice-cream for every purchase of Rs 100 for the first few days. They have also introduced a RELIANCE CARD which u can get it FREE. U get 1 point for every 100Rs of purchase after 25 points they give a cash-voucher which can be used again! They also have a feed back form so that u give ur valuable inputs to them. But they dont have place for parking in this area.
After Reliance Fresh's entry, the Kirana shops and the hawkers, vendors are badly hit. As Reliance's margin of operations are very high, they procure the vegs and fruits directly from the SOURCE ., giving no chance to the Dalals and their Dalali. The good old gesture of the Shop-keeper is replaced by **PLASTIC SMILES of suit-boot wallas!
All said and done, being the age of CONSUMERISM, **THE CONSUMERS are KING and this has also made other food stores to slash their prices immediately.
If Reliance Fresh has rewritten the mindset of Indian consumers, Guess what will happen when the BIG BROTHER WALMART enters the Indian market next year?
