Workers unloaded hundreds of brilliant blue grocery crates belonging to India’s largest retailer Reliance at a major Future Retail supermarket in Mumbai last week.
Security pushed away potential shoppers, dissatisfied by the store’s shuttered state, which still bears the signage of Future’s biggest brand, Big Bazaar, but will most likely be relaunched as a Reliance branch soon.
Similar scenes are being played out across India as Reliance Industries, the country’s largest conglomerate and led by Mukesh Ambani, India’s richest man, moves forward with a surprise de facto purchase of valued retail real estate that Amazon.com Inc had been seeking to assume part-ownership of.
The Supreme Court of India is now hearing a high-profile contentious battle between business titans in which Amazon is attempting to halt Reliance’s proposed $3.4 billion purchase of Future Group’s retail holdings.
The takeover began quietly on the night of February 25, when Reliance’s employees began appearing at Future outlets. According to those with direct knowledge of the situation, many in Future’s management were unaware of the intentions when store employees from throughout the country began calling anxiously.
“It was tense, and everyone was nervous. We had no idea who they were. They desired access, and the elders were unaware of it “According to a New Delhi Big Bazaar store employee, the incident occurred at 8 p.m. that day.
One source reported that after Reliance took possession of a Future store in Sonipat, Haryana, announcements were made requesting customers to leave. Future employees arriving for work the next morning in Vadodara, Gujarat, were told to go home without explanation, according to another source.
Reliance has taken control of the operations of about 200 Big Bazaar stores and plans to seize another 250 of Future’s retail outlets, citing unpaid payments. They make up the crown jewels of Future’s retail network, accounting for almost a third of all Future locations.
Although Reliance had not taken a prominent role in the legal battle, insiders said it had taken over many of the leases owned by cash-strapped Future, India’s No. 2 retailer and Amazon’s estranged business partner, for several months.
Reliance’s rapid acquisition of the stores looks to have delivered a coup de grace, sabotaging Amazon’s ability to untangle the transfer of Future’s assets to Reliance, according to several experts. Despite the fact that the US e-commerce behemoth has won a series of court challenges to date, the two Indian companies have announced a 2020 partnership.Follow and connect with us on Facebook, LinkedIn&Twitter
