Big Bazaar, is an Indian retail chain of hypermarkets, discount department stores, and grocery stores. The retail chain was founded by Kishore Biyani under his parent organisation Future Group,[3] which is known for having a significant prominence in Indian retail and fashion sectors. Big Bazaar is also the parent chain of Food Bazaar, Fashion at Big Bazaar[4] (abbreviated as fbb) and eZone where at locations it houses all under one roof, while it is sister chain of retail outlets like Brand Factory, Home Town, Central, eZone, etc.
Founded in 2001,[5] Big Bazaar is one of the oldest[6] and largest hypermarket chains[7][8] of India, housing about 300+ stores in over 120 cities and towns across the country.[9] In February 2022, Reliance Industries took control of over 200 Future group stores and rebranded Big Bazaar as Reliance's Smart Bazaar Stores.[10]
Big Bazaar Converting to Smart Bazaar at Avani Riverside Mall.
In 2020, Big Bazaar was acquired by Reliance Retail, the retail division of the Reliance Industries, as part of a ₹24,713 crore ($3.36 billion) sale transaction of Future Group. However, the deal was called off on 23 April 2022 after FRL's creditors voted against going forward with it.[11][12] Reliance Retail launched its new retail format by the name of Reliance Smart Bazaar, that cater to consumer needs. It offers online and offline services to the customer. Online shopping services can be availed using the JioMart platform.
According to The New Indian Express report in September 2022, the Bhubaneswar Municipal Corporation (BMC) fined Reliance Smart Bazaar Rs 1.5 lakh for allegedly putting up posters and hoardings without permission. The fine included Rs 1 lakh for kiosk advertisements and Rs 50,000 for hoardings. The advertisements, placed between September 2 and 8, violated the BMC Advertisement Regulations 2006 and were deemed a public nuisance.[13]
^Raghavendra Kamath (17 March 2013). "Big Bazaar: Bigger & better?". Business Standard India. Mumbai. Archived from the original on 23 April 2017. Retrieved 22 April 2017.
