Reliance Retail has surpassed the 2000-store mark, posting its best sales quarter yet.

Included in its parent’s operating results released Tuesday, Reliance Retail showed 20 per cent year-on-year sales revenue growth in the second quarter to to 41.670 billion Indian Rupees, or US$682.33 million. That despite persistent inflation and slow consumption growth, the company said.

As at September 30, Reliance Retail operated 2006 stores in 155 cities across India.

All of its retail formats grew through store additions as well as consistent like for like growth as high as 21 per cent.

By division:

• Value Formats completed the Reliance Fresh store portfolio optimisation and began to augment its network of stores in core cities, which it says will further strengthen market share and enhance efficiencies. Its own brand portfolio continued to post sales growth in the quarter and now includes products in FMCG, staples and dairy categories.
• Reliance Market continued to consolidate its leadership position with the opening of three new stores in the quarter. The format now serves over 1.5 million registered members.
• The Digital sector added 262 stores in the quarter taking the total to 689. Reliance says “extensive product assortment, highly trained staff, effective and trustworthy service capabilities delivered through a large network of stores, has firmly established the leadership position of this sector”.
• Reliance Trends introduced an in-house design studio and sampling facility in the quarter. “These facilities will enable sustainable superior fashion quotient and a significantly higher speed to market for its own brand products that contributed 67 per cent of sales in the quarter.
• The first Payless Shoesource stores were opened during the quarter. Payless is the largest specialty family footwear retailer in the Western hemisphere and boosts Reliance’s broader apparel offer.
• Shoe chain Reliance Footprint continued expansion and crossed an important milestone in the quarter – the format now operates in over 100 cities in India.

As in the previous quarter, gross margin improvement with variable expense control and leverage of fixed expenses contributed to the strong PBDIT performance.