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Smart Bazaar

Reliance Smart Bazaar, formerly known as Big Bazaar, is an Indian retail chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. The retail chain was founded by Kishore Biyani under his parent organisation Future Group,[3] which is known for having a significant prominence in Indian retail and fashion sectors. Big Bazaar is also the parent chain of Food Bazaar, Fashion at Big Bazaar[4] (abbreviated as fbb) and eZone where at locations it houses all under one roof, while it is sister chain of retail outlets like Brand Factory, Home Town, Central, eZone, etc.

Founded in 2001,[5] Big Bazaar is one of the oldest[6] and largest hypermarket chains[7][8] of India, housing about 300+ stores in over 120 cities and towns across the country.[9] In February 2022, Reliance Industries took control of over 200 Future group stores and rebranded Big Bazaar as Reliance's Smart Bazaar Stores and rest of them were shut down.[10]

History

Big Bazaar was founded in 2001 by Kishore Biyani, the founder and CEO of the parent company, the Future Group.

Acquisition

In 2020, Big Bazaar was acquired by Reliance Retail, the retail division of the Reliance Industries, as part of a ₹24,713 crore ($3.36 billion) sale transaction of Future Group. However, the deal was called off on 23 April 2022 after FRL's creditors voted against going forward with it.[11][12] Reliance Retail launched its new retail format by the name of Reliance Smart Bazaar, that cater to consumer needs. It offers online and offline services to the customer. Online shopping services can be availed using the JioMart platform.

Controversy

According to a September 2022 report by The New Indian Express, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) fined Reliance Smart Bazaar Rs 1.5 lakh for allegedly putting up posters and hoardings without permission. The fine included Rs 1 lakh for kiosk advertisements and Rs 50,000 for hoardings. The advertisements, placed between September 2 and 8, violated the BMC Advertisement Regulations 2006 and were deemed a public nuisance.[13]

See also

External links

References

  1. Future Retail CFO sees double-digit sales growth in Q2 of FY18 Moneycontrol, retrieved August 24, 2017^
  2. Big Bazaar company snapshot and profile Bloomberg, retrieved April 10, 2018^
  3. Big Bazaar owner Future Retail, India’s biggest department store, gains steam as Kishore Biyani rides demonetisation The Financial Express, 18 April 2017, retrieved 21 April 2017^
  4. Fbb to go Omnichannel: To launch fbbonline.com, open 40 stores every year Indiaretailing.com, 29 March 2017, retrieved 21 April 2017^
  5. Demonetisation: Cash dispensed at Big Bazaar isn’t withdrawn from bank, says founder Kishore Biyani The Financial Express, 24 November 2016, retrieved 22 April 2017^
  6. Big Bazaar: Bigger & better? Business Standard India, 17 March 2013, retrieved 22 April 2017^
  7. Big Bazaar completes integration of Easyday stores The Hindu Business Line, 11 July 2016, retrieved 24 April 2017^
  8. Big Bazaar aims for over Rs 210 cr sales from R-Day sale offer - Times of India The Times of India, 24 January 2010, retrieved 24 April 2017^
  9. Modi Announces Money-Withdrawal Option At Big Bazaar Outlets, Kejriwal Asks 'What's The Deal' indiatimes.com, 23 November 2016, retrieved 21 April 2017^
  10. After Reliance’s takeover of Future stores, shoppers left with Big Bazaar vouchers and no option to redeem Times Now, 9 May 2022, retrieved 7 June 2022^
  11. Lost Rs 7,000 cr in 3-4 months of COVID, had no choice but to sell biz: Kishore Biyani The News Minute, 2020-10-15, retrieved 2020-10-15^
  12. Kishore Biyani’s Future Retail Seals Deal With Reliance Retail BloombergQuint, retrieved 2020-09-02^
  13. BMC slaps Rs 1.5 lakh fine on Reliance Smart Bazaar for allegedly erecting posters, hoardings The New Indian Express, September 10, 2022, retrieved July 3, 2024^