IndiaRetailBiz

Reliance Retail, which within 17 months of its launch, has rolled out ten general merchandise and speciality formats, is now looking at offering the facility of flexible financing products to its customers options for its customers.

The new service to be made available across the formats, to begin with to employees of Reliance Industries, will be known as MFT or Membership Financial Services and Travel. Over a period of time, the service, would ultimately be extended to all retail customers.

With this service customers will be able to spread the cost of their purchase over a number of equated monthly installments (EMI).

While, most retailers provide financial assistance to customers on purchase of expensive products like durables (electronics, furniture, jewellery, among others), Reliance may have to tweak the scheme for a while as Mukesh Ambani-led Reliance group has a non-compete agreement with younger brother Anil Ambani to not enter each others’ businesses for five years.

The idea of providing credit to group employees first may be on account of this agreement, which was signed between the brothers at the time of splitting the erstwhile group’s businesses in 2005.