Real estate giant DLF Ltd is ramping up presence in the fashion retail industry after striking a licensing deal with Spanish brand Mango. This comes at a time when DLF Brands, which is a subsidiary of DLF Ltd, has unveiled two new retail formats, including a multi-brand store chain, of its own.
Mango, with over 1,700 doors worldwide, decided to sign up DLF as partner to fasttrack expansion after nearly a decade of operations in India. The Spanish clothing major has been in partnership with Major Brands through which it opened 15 stores. Sources said the existing stores will continue to be operated by Major Brands, while DLF will be spearheading the new store openings. DLF, which has already opened Mango’s travel retail store at the new terminal of New Delhi airport, plans to add six more stores in the current year, said DLF Brands CFO Dipak Agarwal.
"They are now looking to grow aggressively here in India having been around for so long. The company wants to concentrate on brand-building and leave the expansion to its franchisee," Agarwal added.
Mango, which battles other fashion brands like H&M and Topshop globally, wants to scale up briskly as competition is hotting up in India’s top-end fashion retail. Spanish rival Zara made a big push into the country last year.
DLF, which slowed down its fashion retail play in the wake of the economic turmoil in 2008, operates other global fashion names such as Armani, DKNY, Ferragamo and Mothercare.
DLF is set to launch a multi-brand retail store chain leveraging on its basket of international fashion brands, the company official said. These stores will also stock brands that are not part of DLF Brands and will be competing with the high-end retail formats like The Collective, a unit of Aditya Birla Nuvo.
"The multi-brand stores will be like a premium discount store stocking high-end fashion labels but at lower price. We felt there is an opportunity in the market for such a store which are hugely popular internationally. These stores will be done up elegantly and won’t look like the second stores or factory outlets which are present currently," Agarwal said. The first of the multi-brand stores spread across 10,000 square feet will open in Gurgaon.
The DLF group company has also launched, for the first time, its own brand, Pure Home and Living, a premier home decor and furnishing brand of retail stores. The first of the stores opened in Delhi two months back competing with Future Group’s Home Town and Landmark Group’s Home Centre. Spread across 16,000 to 18,000 square feet the group is looking to open 4-5 more stores in Mumbai, Bangalore and Pune by end of this year
Source : Times of India
