Mukesh Ambani on Monday introduced daughter Isha Ambani as the “leader” of the group’s retail business.
This conspicuous gesture came as a strong indication that the billionaire was gradually handing over key responsibilities in the conglomerate to the next generation.
“At a time when a bright future is beckoning Reliance, what gives me optimism is our huge reservoir of young, dynamic and best-in-class talent. Our next-gen leaders are confidently taking over the reins across businesses,” Mukesh Ambani said while
addressing the virtual meeting of the Reliance’s Annual General Meeting.
Earlier this year, son Akash Ambani was appointed as chairman of the Reliance’s telecom arm Reliance Jio Infocomm.
The business magnate also indicated the direction which the younger members of the leading business clan were taking. “Akash and Isha have assumed leadership roles in Jio and Retail respectively. They have been passionately involved in our consumer businesses since inception. Anant has also joined our New Energy business with great zeal. In fact, he is spending most of his time in Jamnagar,” Mukesh Ambani informed shareholders.
He added that all three were being “mentored” on a daily basis by senior leaders, including himself and those on the board of directors.
Addressing the virtual Annual General Meeting (AGM) of Reliance Industries, Isha Ambani announced that Reliance Retail will launch an FMCG (Fast Moving Consumer Goods) business this year.
“The objective of this FMCG business is to develop and deliver products that solve every Indian’s daily-needs with high quality products at an affordable pricing,” Isha Ambani said.
In her address, she said Reliance Retail had served over 200 million registered customers through brick and mortar stores as well as digital platforms.
“Our digital commerce platforms continued their growth with nearly six lakh orders being delivered every day, an increase of 2.5 times over last year. JioMart, delivering in over 260 towns, was rated India’s number one trusted brand for online grocery,” she said.
JioMart works on a hyperlocal delivery model, and is India’s largest deployment of omni-channel capabilities. “We invested in acquisitions and partnerships during the year to enter new categories, strengthen our service capabilities, and extend our reach to new markets. We continue expanding our reach to more customers through addition of store network and merchant partners,” she said.
Reliance Retail has achieved a record of Rs 2 lakh crore turnover and an EBITDA of Rs 12,000 crore is among the Top-10 retailers in Asia.