Companies such as Reliance, Udaan and Amazon are racing to bring millions of India's mom-and-pop stores, known as kiranas, into their supply chains. © Nikkei illustration

Mom-and-pop stores at center of India's $850bn retail evolution

Reliance, Amazon and others race to attract kiranas to expand supply chains

MEGHA BAHREE, Contributing writer

April 23, 2021 05:41 JST

NEW DELHI -- Anil Kumar Bhadra, who has a tiny retail business in a nondescript Indian neighborhood, is a wanted man. Amazon.com, Reliance Retail and other leading companies are all after Bhadra and what he represents.

Flanked by large modern supermarkets on a busy street in the Airoli district of Navi Mumbai -- a planned city next to the commercial capital of India -- Bhadra sells a modest $300 a day worth of goods at his 23-sq.-meter shop. But the companies send salespersons regularly to him with deals on rice, lentils, soap and shampoos, aiming to replace the wholesalers that small retailers like Bhadra depend upon.