Reliance Retail has reportedly brought on board RS Sodhi, the former Managing Director of Amul, to provide advisory services. Mr. Sodhi’s role will involve building Reliance’s fresh fruit and vegetable vertical and integrating it with the company’s grocery business, as per executives with knowledge of the matter.
“This is an advisory role, aimed at farmer’s integration in the fruit and vegetables vertical. It will be directly linked to the grocery business,” said one of the executives.
Attempts to reach Sodhi for comment were unsuccessful, and an email sent to Reliance did not receive a response.
RS Sodhi has been associated with the dairy cooperative for more than four decades and previously served as the head of the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation (GCMMF), which is responsible for selling Amul, India’s largest dairy brand.
According to executives familiar with the matter, Sodhi’s appointment at Reliance Retail Ventures (RRVL), the grocery division of Reliance Industries, is considered critical to advancing the company’s ambitious plans in the grocery sector.
Reliance is establishing a distribution network through an omni-channel strategy.
Reliance Consumer currently possesses a range of products, such as Lotus chocolates, Maliban biscuits, and its own Independence and Good Life brands, as well as Campa cola and Sosyo Hajoori soft drinks that it has acquired.
Reliance Retail Ventures announced a consolidated turnover of INR 1,99,704 crore and a net profit of INR 7,055 crore for the fiscal year that ended on March 31, 2022.