NEW DELHI: Reliance Industries on Friday said Reliance Retail has become the country's largest retail chain and announced that the retail subsidiary's revenue went up 34% in the fiscal year ending March 2014 to Rs 14,496 crore. The company'sPBDIT or profit before depreciation, interest and taxes rose to Rs 363 crore. "Retail business has turned around and is now India's largest retail chain, " Reliance Industries chairman Mukesh Ambani said in a press statement.

Kishore Biyani's Future Group, the country's largest retail chain till now, had posted consolidated revenue from operations of Rs 20,186 crore and net profit of Rs 276 crore for the 18 months ended December 31, 2012. At an annualised basis, the retailer posted sales of Rs 13,457 crore including  Pantaloons department stores' Rs 1700 crore, which it subsequently sold to the Aditya Birla group. The Future Group will thus have to post revenue growth of more than 20% on an annualised basis for it to overtake Reliance Retail in 2013-14. The group has three listed entities: Future Retail, Future Consumer Enterprise Ltd and Future Lifestyle Fashion Ltd and it has not yet declared the financial results for the year gone by of these companies.

Reliance Retail also appears for the moment to have piped Future Group in number of stores as well. While Future runs slightly more than 1,000 stores nationwide, Reliance Retail has ended 2013-14 with 1,691 stores spread over almost 12 million sq ft in 146 cities. In 2013-14, Reliance Retail rolled out 225 outlets of various formats spanning a retail space of 2.7 million sq ft.

Source : economictimes.indiatimes.com