Reliance Retail Revolutionizes Indian Retail
Billionaire Mukesh Ambani once shared his ambition to revolutionize Reliance Retail’s business, aiming to boost consumption for 1.5 billion Indians, regardless of class. He envisioned a seamless omnichannel shopping experience, offering personalized products and services through both online and offline channels.
To realize this vision, Reliance Retail developed “New Commerce,” a business model built on a new commerce platform to serve the diverse needs of India’s 1.5 billion people. This involved establishing a comprehensive offline and online retail presence across modern trade (MT), traditional trade (GT), and e-commerce channels.
Reliance Retail has aggressively expanded its network, establishing nearly 20,000 supermarkets and minimarts to cater to the varied consumption needs of Indians. This vast network ensures that consumers can easily access a wide range of products and services, enhancing their overall shopping experience.
Managing a pan-India commerce platform requires a diverse range of quality products at competitive prices, coupled with a robust nationwide logistics system. To address this challenge, Reliance Retail ventured into consumer goods production, offering private label products to consumers and kirana stores. The company has also leveraged real-time technology in its store operations and supply chain, improving forecast accuracy, automation, and operational efficiency.
The “New Commerce” model empowers Reliance Retail to independently serve 1.5 billion Indian consumers through a seamless offline-to-online platform and a tech-driven logistics system. This strategy has contributed to the company’s remarkable success, with its revenue surpassing that of all other Indian retailers combined, resulting in a staggering valuation of up to $100 billion.
Which Vietnamese Enterprise Has What It Takes to Revolutionize Vietnam’s Retail Landscape?
Similar to India in the past, Vietnam’s retail market, according to Euromonitor, is still in the early stages of modern trade development (approximately 12% retail market share) and e-commerce (less than 3% retail market share). Consequently, Vietnam has witnessed the rapid growth of modern retail companies such as WinCommerce, The Gioi Di Dong, PNJ, FPT Shop, and Long Chau, as well as e-commerce platforms like Shopee, TikTok, and Lazada.
Vietnam’s modern trade market is comparable to Indonesia’s in 2010, when modern trade accounted for 12% of the country’s retail market share. Over the next five years, it grew at an impressive rate of 18% annually, reaching 17% of the retail market share. This growth was fueled by the expansion of Indomaret and Alfamart, the two leading retailers in Indonesia, who collectively opened 2,500-3,000 new stores each year, accelerating the modernization of the country’s retail sector.
So, which Vietnamese enterprise has the financial capacity, existing assets, and operational expertise to establish a “New Commerce” model in Vietnam and seize the opportunity to serve the country’s 100 million consumers?
One of Vietnam’s leading consumer retail companies, the Masan Group, possesses all the necessary attributes to create a “New Commerce” model that serves the needs of 100 million consumers through its extensive network of minimarts and supermarkets, led by WinCommerce, the country’s largest retail chain.
According to Statistics in 2023, India ranked 6th in the world for two-wheeler ownership. This characteristic is similar to Vietnam, which ranks second in the world for two-wheeler ownership, after Thailand. This has also shaped the strategies of both Reliance Retail and WinCommerce, leading them to faithfully adopt the “one-stop-shop” mini-supermarket model, catering to the prevalent culture of daily shopping trips made by consumers on their personal motorbikes.
Vietnam’s Largest Retail Network: WinCommerce currently operates nearly 3,700 minimarts and supermarkets nationwide. In 2023, WinCommerce introduced new store models targeting different customer segments in various regions. The WiN store model caters to urban consumers, while WinMart+ Rural serves customers in rural areas. Both models have demonstrated positive results, with like-for-like (LFL) growth of 6.3% and 10.7%, respectively, in Q2 2024. This contributed to the overall chain’s 9% growth and helped WCM achieve positive net profit in June. Notably, the company has announced consecutive net profits in June and July, marking the first time in ten years of operation that it has been profitable for two consecutive months.
WCM operates nearly 3,700 WinMart supermarkets, WinMart+ stores, and WiN marts nationwide
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Production Capacity and Strong Brand Building: Masan’s consumer retail ecosystem boasts leading FMCG and meat brands such as Chin-Su, Nam Ngư, Omachi, Kokomi, WakeUp 247, MEATDeli, Ponnie, and Heo Cao Bồi, as well as WinCommerce’s private labels. This portfolio enables Masan and WinCommerce to offer consumers high-quality, uniquely developed products and create a seamless connection from production and brand building to sales.
Nationwide Tech-Enabled Logistics: In early 2022, Masan established Supra, now a subsidiary of WinCommerce, to serve the group’s ecosystem and provide the most significant cost savings for consumers and partners. Currently, the Supra distribution center network comprises ten clusters (including six dry clusters and four cold clusters). Approximately 60% of WinCommerce’s total cargo volume is handled through the Supra distribution centers, which are being equipped with AI technologies to automate and enhance the accuracy of supply planning.
WIN Membership Program: In 2023, WinCommerce launched the WIN Membership Program, which now boasts ten million members, serving as a vital link between brands and consumers.
Masan and WinCommerce have successfully replicated the key elements of the “New Commerce” model in Vietnam, including a nationwide retail network serving both urban and rural areas, self-produced goods, a nationwide logistics system, and the WIN Membership Program, connecting products and brands to over 100 million consumers nationwide.
| In July, WinCommerce’s minimarts achieved a 4% like-for-like sales growth compared to June, leading to consecutive months of net profit. This indicates a significant opportunity for improving profit margins in Q3 and contributing to the overall profit of the Masan Group. |
“WinCommerce: Unlocking Retail’s Unique Advantage”
Masan Group’s retail arm, WinCommerce, has revolutionized the retail industry with its unique “New Commerce” model, leveraging its exclusive strengths in production, distribution, and in-house logistics. Within the Masan ecosystem, WinCommerce has transformed into a profitable venture, turning a decade of operations into a successful and thriving business.
“WinCommerce: Emulating the Success of India’s Billion-Dollar Retail Titan”
Reliance Retail, the largest retail conglomerate in India, ranks 53rd among the world’s top retail companies with a diverse portfolio spanning groceries, electronics, fashion, and pharmaceuticals. With its innovative approach, Reliance Retail has successfully revolutionized the Indian retail landscape. In Vietnam, which enterprises possess the same ingredients for success as this Indian powerhouse worth billions of dollars?
