Reliance Retail | Ritu Kumar
Reliance Retail acquires 52 pc stake in Ritu Kumar's designer labels
Mumbai/IBNS: Reliance Retail Ventures Limited (RRVL)- the retail business of Mukesh Ambani-owned Reliance Industries acquired a majority 52 percent stake in popular designer labels of Ritu Kumar, according to media reports.
The acquisition includes majority stake acquisition included buying out the 35 percent stake held by Everstone Capital in India's Ritika Pvt Ltd, the company that owns Ritu Kumar brands, said the media reports.
Reliance Retail did not disclose the financial details of the transaction.
"Very few countries can match the sophistication, style and originality of design, especially in printing and painting of textiles and weaves, found in India. We are delighted to partner with Ritu Kumar, who possesses strong brand recognition, potential for scale, and innovation in fashion and retail - all key ingredients to build a complete lifestyle brand,'' said Isha Ambani, Director, Reliance Retail Ventures Limited.
''Together, we want to build a robust platform and customer ecosystem for our native textiles and crafts - both in India and across the world - so that our crafts receive the honor and recognition they deserve in international couture,'' added Isha Ambani.
"We are looking at the top 20 million customers in India. Not 1.3 billion. The discretionary wallet spend on products of the top 20 million customers is what we remain focused on," Darshan Mehta, CEO of Reliance Brands, which manages such luxury partnerships for the group, told Reuters in an interview.
"If there is opportunity to be acquisitive in nature and a whole host of things are right, we're there."
Ritika Private Limited owns- Ritu Kumar, Label Ritu Kumar, RI Ritu Kumar, aarké, and Ritu Kumar Home and Living.
"This very optimistic collaboration will further the work I started in researching and reviving India's textile history and wealth while highlighting our design ability. It's a story that needs to be told again. Once upon a time, India had 57 percent of the world's GDP dependent only on its textiles," said Ritu Kumar, the founder of the country's oldest fashion house.
This comes just a week after RRVL acquired a 40 percent stake in a fashion house run by popular designer, Manish Malhotra.
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