Big retail chains are founded with the objective of providing comprehensive range of products and services to consumers at low price. Compared to other centres, hypermarkets do offer around the year products and services at lower price and they are also known, for this very reason, as discount chain. In addition to their general trait of low price, hypermarkets also observe special discount policies, which, in turn, result in making them the most popular centres among consumers.

High viability of hypermarkets in India is due to the fact that these formats translate best the aspirations of today's consumers and fulfil their needs in the way they want. Of the retail biggies that operate mega retail formats in the country, Reliance is a leading company. Today, Reliance operates 240 Reliance Fresh outlets around the country and one Reliance Digital store in the NCR. Of late, the company has launched RelianceMart, its third format discount chain, at Ahmedabad. Reliance plans to open 30 RelianceMart outlets this year and looks to scaling up the size of the chain to over 500 by 2010-end.

RelianceMart, Ahmedabad 
Reliance's RelianceMart at Iskon Mall, SG Highway, Ahmedabad is one of the largest hypermarkets in India. After the successful launch of 'Reliance Fresh (supermarket format) and 'Reliance Digital' (consumer electronics concept mega store), RelianceMart (hypermarket) marks another landmark achievement of the company. Spread across 1.65 lakh sq. ft of shopping area, RelianceMart will offer over 95,000 products and provide choice-option in various categories. Varying over fresh produce, food & grocery, home care products, apparel and accessories, non-food FMCG products, consumer durables and IT, automotive accessories, lifestyle product, footwear and many more, categories of products at RelianceMart are comprehensive and wholesome. Under its roof, the hypermarket would house various new services like tailoring, shoe repair, watch repair, laundry service, ATM, pharmaceutical and health-related products and 'hot off the oven' bakery. It will also provide home delivery service to its customers.

Mr Mukesh Ambani, Chairman, Reliance Industries Ltd, said, “The launch of RelianceMart is yet another step by Reliance Retail towards providing an international shopping experience to all our customers at unmatched affordability, guaranteed quality and choice of products and services. RelianceMart marks the achievement of another milestone in our effort to unleash a retail revolution in India” As regards competition prevalent in the market, Mr Raghu Pillai, President and CEO, Reliance Retail, said, “We are not scared of competitions as our strength and confidence are well above any competition. Satisfying customers is our foremost concern or challenge.” Though the company is in contact with the government for extending subsidy on food processing, no such concession has been given so far.

The discount world today
Today, the concept of discount is prevalent in every sphere of retail industry. Discount offers in air, railway and hotels sectors have become a regular feature. Incorporating the concept of discount offer has become, indeed, a necessity. Hypermarkets play a vital role in bringing quality service at affordable price to the Indian mass. These superstores or discount chains have changed Indian retail landscape in many ways including its infrastructure aspect. In this context, launching of RelianceMart is highly commendable and exemplary.