Coke’s James Quincey talks retail tieups with Mukesh Ambani

Coca-Cola

Beverages maker Coca-Cola’s global chief executive James Quincey has met Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani and discussed a potential partnership of sorts that includes accelerating their retail association, people privy to the development said.

While Coca-Cola products are already distributed extensively across Reliance Retail outlets, the meeting between the leaders on Monday was to explore an escalation of partnership and driving more synergies, they said.

“The discussion was about how Coca-Cola could come on board with Reliance for various sponsorships and furthering their retail association,” one of the officials said. “Typically, such associations drive higher footfalls for the retailer and in-store visibility for the brand.”

An email query sent to Coca-Cola India‘s spokesperson remained unanswered as of press time Tuesday.

A Reliance spokesperson said in an email revert: “Reliance Retail continues to be a preferred partner for national and international brands and small merchants alike. As India’s largest retailer, Reliance Retail offers a potential hyper growth platform, catering to Indian consumers’ increasing demand for products and services that are at par with the best in the world.”

Coca-Cola has earlier backed Reliance Retail’s special day sales across its grocery stores through adsharing and co-promotion deals, besides supplying the retailer at discounts in return for high visibility instore placements, industry insiders said.

Quincey told reporters at a press meet in Mumbai on Monday that the maker of Thums Up and Coke soft drinks and Minute Maid juices has done one billion-unit case sales in 2019, with plans to double sales volume in India in five years. He said Coca-Cola plans to make India its third-largest market, but set no specific timeframe for the same.

The largest retailer in India, Reliance Retail topped the list of 50 fastest-growing retailers during 2012-13 to 2017-18, according to consultancy firm Deloitte’s Global Powers of Retailing 2020 index. In the third quarter of 2019, Reliance’s pure retail revenue, inclusive of grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, increased 36% year on year.

Grocery for billionaire Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Retail is now a $4 billion-plus business in sales.

The group is working out a kirana-driven delivery model for grocery under its new commerce strategy, according to a report by Credit Suisse last month.

RIL’s new commerce initiative involves on-boarding kirana stores and digitising them, linked to JioMart, which is RIL’s food and grocery ecommerce venture.

Source:- Economic Times

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