(T.E.T)
Reliance Industries has effectively taken over the operations of Future Retail stores and has offered jobs to its employees, even as the Kishore Biyani-led group is locked in a bitter battle with e-commerce major Amazon at several judicial forums over the sale of its business to the retail arm of the oil-to-telecom conglomerate. Reliance Retail has started to take possession of the premises in which Future Retail is operating its stores such as Big Bazaar and replaced them with its brand stores, said sources close to the development. It has also started to offer jobs to employees of Future Retail stores and bring them on Reliance Retail’s payroll, they added. When contacted, Amazon declined to comment on the development. After the deal was announced in August 2020, several landlords approached Reliance as Future Retail was unable to pay the rent.
If this had continued, then the scheme would have been jeopardised and the value of FRL would have been destroyed, pushing the company towards insolvency proceedings. The step is in the interest of all stakeholders of FRL including banks, creditors and employees as its business continues and its value is preserved, the source said. As part of the deal, Future Enterprises Limited is the transferee company to Reliance Retail. Future Group’s 19 companies operating in retail, wholesale, logistics and warehousing would be consolidated into one entity — FEL — and then transferred to Reliance
