Reliance’s JioMart is evaluating a dark store model to bridge the vacant space left after leveraging its existing kirana network model
Mumbai: JioMart is evaluating a dark store model to bridge the vacant space left after leveraging its existing kirana network model, said Sandeep Varaganti, CEO, JioMart, on Thursday at day 2 of the Phygital Retail Convention 2025.
“An internal team is evaluating options for the dark stores foray,” he said at the fireside chat on day 2 of the Phygital Retail Convention held here. The retail chain has its foot-print across 1,000 cities, but there are some wide spaces in some locations, despite its kirana stores network effectively delivering, though not as dark stores, he said.
“Kirana is a thriving ecosystem, but I won’t say they are not impacted”, Varaganti – a passionate biker and who formerly worked with Amazon, said at the conclave attended by several retailers from across the country as also overseas delegates.
JioMart is also pursuing Quick Commerce with the objective of doing it profitably. “We are pursuing that path hands down….We will not burn money….will make it profitable,” he said.
With too much synergies within Reliance Retail, which operates 18,000 stores across formats, the Reliance Group has a cash flow driven mindset and the Indian customer has evolved from a three-day delivery to a 10-minute delivery, he said.
“We believe that customers are not in a hurry, so 30 minutes delivery is fine and they won’t mind waiting for 10 minutes more”, Varaganti said, adding that JioMart has a basket value of INR 700 which was higher earlier.
It may be recalled that India’s Q-commerce space has witnessed significant investor interest with established players like Blinkit, Swiggy Instamart, Zepto and Flipkart among others but has been a loss making proposition due to high cost associated with dark stores and delivery infrastructure.
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