The Reliance Retail unit will be taking over the House of Ritu Kumar while picking up the stake of about 30% held by private equity firm Everstone Capital and a massive amount of the promoter’s holdings.
The fashion house owns four designer brands including Label, RI, Aarke and Ritu Kumar Home. The company has been in the market for about five decades now to raise money to fund expansion. Reliance on the other hand has been buying retail brands to hold up its superiority in a market against competitors Amazon and Flipkart. Reliance is expected to announce the deal by next week.
As per the deal, Everstone will quit the Indian designer brand that functions about seven dozen physical outlets. About ₹100 crores has been invested by Everstone in the New Delhi-based designer retailer to pick the stake in 2014.
Reliance Brands presently markets about four dozen global premium-to-luxury labels which included Burberry, Bally, Gas, Kate Spade, Diesel, Brooks Brothers and Steve Madden amongst others. In 2019 it acquired a small rival Genesis Luxury which gave it sway over Salvatore Ferragamo, Jimmy Choo, Michael Kors, Paul Smith among other luxury labels.
With the pandemic, it is observed that the best corporate houses out there have been bullish on Indian designers.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail has a partnership with Tarun Tahiliani for launch a men’s ethnic wear brand and will also be acquiring a 33% stake in The designer’s couture business. Earlier, ABFRL also purchased a 51% stake in designer brand Sabyasachi, and a 51% stake in Finesse International Design, running apparel label Shantanu & Nikhil, for ₹60 crores.
Reliance Retail has also been on a spree buying stakes in companies such as Netmeds, Urban Ladder and Zivame. In 2020, Reliance completed the largest fundraise exercise in the sector with ₹47,265 crores from global private equity funds for a 10.09% stake.
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