RIL at heels, Flipkart rushes to step up Reliance on local stores

NEW DELHI: As Reliance Retail prepares to roll out its “new-commerce” multi-channel retail play by bringing millions of kiranas or small neighbourhood stores on board, Walmart-owned Flipkart is also courting them in a big way.

To begin with, Flipkart plans to make 15,000 small convenience stores, beauty salons, bakeries and pharmacies, among others, sell something they normally don’t stock: smartphones. It plans to push other products in future, and also use these stores as last-mile delivery agents.