India's war of the vegetables

Photo: Planet RetailMarket traders are ready to wreck a retail revolution.

The Indepdent (UK), 17 June 2007. Story by By Richard Orange in Mumbai

"A riot will happen. In Jharkand, it was only one shop. In Mumbai, we could destroy 100 shops."

Ever since mid-May, when an angry crowd of vegetable vendors tore apart a newly-opened Reliance Fresh supermarket in India's Jharkand state, young men like Shamrao Patil at the Vashi vegetable market in Mumbai have been waiting for Reliance Industries to bring its retail revolution to town.

The rumour among the traders is that Reliance will be there within weeks.

"Everybody here's talking about Jharkand," says Sanas, a tomato wholesaler, "and, yes, when Reliance opens in Mumbai we will do the same."

In November Reliance Industries, India's largest private company, began the most rapid roll-out of a supermarket chain in history. In three to four years, Mukesh Ambani, the billionaire behind the chain, plans to have 4,000 to 5,000 shops - twice the number of Tesco's UK supermarkets. Together they will cover 10 million square feet - an area that Reliance says has historically taken 30 to 40 years to achieve in the US or Europe.

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