Reliance Retail IPO Likely in 2028, Plans 2,000 New Stores a Year

Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance Industries is reportedly planning to list its retail arm, Reliance Retail, about two years after the planned listing of its telecom unit, Reliance Jio Infocomm Ltd. Ambani earlier announced that the conglomerate intends to list Jio in 2026.

According to a new report in The Economic Times (ET), the conglomerate aims to list Reliance Retail by 2028. The report cited an unnamed company executive saying, “The focus currently is on Reliance’s telecom business IPO, which is planned next year, and two years after that will be the IPO of the retail business.”

Reliance Retail, India’s largest retailer, operates 19,821 outlets across the country as of the September quarter. During the period, it reported gross revenue of ₹90,018 crore and a profit of ₹3,439 crore.

The company plans to prioritise profitability even as it adds around 2,000 stores annually. The aim is to expand its network in a manner that strengthens valuations and ensures new outlets contribute positively to the bottom line.

Reliance Retail is also sharpening its focus on quick commerce, currently handling about one million orders a day, 90% of which are delivered within 30 minutes. Smart Point grocery outlets in major cities are being converted into dark stores to support this push, the report said.

Separately, the conglomerate has carved out Reliance Retail’s FMCG business into a direct subsidiary of Reliance Industries as part of wider restructuring efforts ahead of the listing.

The large-scale consolidation seen over the past two years, with many loss-making stores shut, is now largely complete. While closures will continue, they will be part of routine operations, the newspaper reported.

The company also appears to be moving away from the aggressive expansion of FY22 and FY23, when rapid additions were followed by significant pruning in FY24 and FY25. Net additions fell from 2,844 stores in FY23 to 796 in FY24, and further to 504 in FY25.

Reliance Retail has also begun reducing debt as part of a broader balance-sheet clean-up ahead of its planned IPO. Non-current borrowings dropped to ₹20,464 crore in FY25 from ₹53,546 crore a year earlier, mainly due to a steep reduction in inter-corporate deposits from the parent. The remainder consists largely of bank loans.