INSUBCONTINENT EXCLUSIVE:
Future Retail has suspended its supermarket operations as Reliance plans takeoverFuture Retail Limited, India's second-largest retailer,
suspended most of its online and offline operations as stores remained shut on Sunday, after rival Reliance bid to take over its flagship
supermarkets for missed lease payments.Reliance Industries Limited will rebrand the Future stores after the company failed to make payments
for them to Reliance, sources told Reuters on Saturday, closing most outlets of the popular Big Bazaar chain.Though Future has more than
1,700 outlets, all the 200 stores that Reliance will rebrand as its own will be Big Bazaars, which was started around two decades ago by
Kishore Biyani, dubbed as India's retail king for transforming the sector.Future and Reliance did not respond to requests for comment
Future told stock exchanges on Saturday the company was "scaling down its operations."Future's stores across India remained shut across
India as Reliance did stock-taking ahead of a rebranding, people familiar with the plans said."We regret to inform you that currently stores
are non-operational for 2 days," Big Bazaar told a Twitter user who complained about a closure.Future's e-commerce mobile app and website
were also not available for online ordering.Reliance's move assumes significance as it follows failed efforts since 2020 to close a $3.4
billion deal to acquire the retail assets of Future, whose partner Amazon.com Inc has blocked the transaction by citing violation of
Future denies any wrongdoing.Reliance had transferred leases of some stores of debt-laden Future to its name and sublet them to Future, but
is now taking over as Future did not make payments
Reliance has offered store staff jobs on existing terms."All employees, consumers, and everyone in India - we are all attached to the Big
Bazaar brand," a Big Bazaar employee on Sunday
"So you feel sad this is happening."In blocking the Future-Reliance deal, Amazon has long argued that Future violated the terms of a 2019
deal in which the US giant invested $200 million in the Indian company
Amazon's position has been backed so far by a Singapore arbitrator and Indian courts.
