Mumbai: Group’s retail arm Reliance Industries has acquired a 52% stake in the popular designer label of Ritu KumarIn a fresh bet on the country’s fast growing luxury designer market, the company said on Tuesday.
Reliance Retail did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, but said its majority stake acquisition would include buying Everstone Capital’s 35% stake in India’s Ritika Pvt Ltd, the company that is owned by Ritu Kumar Brands.
“We are looking at the top 20 million customers in India. Not 1.3 billion. Discretionary wallet spending on products from the top 20 million customers is what we focus on,” said Darshan Mehta, CEO Reliance Brands, which manages such luxury partnerships for the group, told Reuters in an interview.
“If nature has an opportunity to make an acquisition and as a whole, things are right, then we are there.”
Kumar – best known for his ethnic designs – runs his flagship name brand with a list of clients including Bollywood’s top actors Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra.
According to his website, some of Kumar’s wedding dresses cost up to Rs 800,000 ($10,660).
just last week, Reliance Bought a 40% stake in a fashion house run by another popular Indian designer Manish Malhotra. And in January, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail bought a 51% stake in the Sabyasachi brand, which is known for its high-end wedding wear.
After being stricken by the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s retail and luxury market is making a comeback. With the reduction in high demand, Darshan said India’s current festive season is “probably going to be the best” as consumption will pick up in the next four to five months.
Reliance Retail, the country’s largest retailer run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has also partnered with global brands such as Burberry and Jimmy Choo through joint ventures and franchises.
Reliance Retail did not disclose the financial details of the transaction, but said its majority stake acquisition would include buying Everstone Capital’s 35% stake in India’s Ritika Pvt Ltd, the company that is owned by Ritu Kumar Brands.
“We are looking at the top 20 million customers in India. Not 1.3 billion. Discretionary wallet spending on products from the top 20 million customers is what we focus on,” said Darshan Mehta, CEO Reliance Brands, which manages such luxury partnerships for the group, told Reuters in an interview.
“If nature has an opportunity to make an acquisition and as a whole, things are right, then we are there.”
Kumar – best known for his ethnic designs – runs his flagship name brand with a list of clients including Bollywood’s top actors Aishwarya Rai and Priyanka Chopra.
According to his website, some of Kumar’s wedding dresses cost up to Rs 800,000 ($10,660).
just last week, Reliance Bought a 40% stake in a fashion house run by another popular Indian designer Manish Malhotra. And in January, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail bought a 51% stake in the Sabyasachi brand, which is known for its high-end wedding wear.
After being stricken by the Covid-19 pandemic, India’s retail and luxury market is making a comeback. With the reduction in high demand, Darshan said India’s current festive season is “probably going to be the best” as consumption will pick up in the next four to five months.
Reliance Retail, the country’s largest retailer run by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, has also partnered with global brands such as Burberry and Jimmy Choo through joint ventures and franchises.
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