Big Bazaar gets new lease of life from RIL as JioMart helps restock shelves

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New Delhi: Big Bazaar, Future Group’s flagship retail chain, got a new lease of life from Reliance Industries amid its ongoing legal battle with American e-commerce giant Amazon, which has challenged Future Group's deal with RIL to sell its retail and wholesale assets to Reliance Retail Ventures for around Rs 24,700 crore.

Big Bazaar, which was facing acute inventory crunch due to non-payment or late payment of dues to supplier, has received a fresh lease of life from JioMart, an arm of Reliance Retail. According to a report in the Times of India, a purchase order has been signed last week and goods from Reliance Retail are set to replenish shelves at Big Bazaar stores across India.

“RIL’s move to bail out Big Bazaar exudes the confidence both companies have in closing the deal despite Amazon’s legal moves against it,” the publication quoted a  person familiar with the development as saying. While Future Group did not comment on this matter, an RIL spokesperson, too, did not respond to an emailed query from ToI.

Amazon, which owns 49% stake in Future Coupons, one of the unlisted companies of Future Group, claimed that Future Group's deal with Reliance Retail violated contractual agreements between the e-tailer and Biyani’s conglomerate, which operates several retail chains across India, including, FBB, Foodhall, EasyDay and WHSmith apart from Big Bazaar. 

Meanwhile, Future Group has started talking to its old suppliers also apart from taking supplies from JioMart, the publication mentioned citing a  person close to the Future Group. “But Amazon’s legal proceedings have complicated things further for its lenders,” he added.