SuperGroup and Reliance Brands have entered a long-term franchise agreement to bring the British fashion brand Superdry to India. The brand offers T-shirts, jeans, sweaters, joggers, shirts, rugby shirts, polo shirts, bags, and accessories.
Commenting on the association, Theo Karpathios, CEO, SuperGroup’s Wholesale and International Division, said: “The new partnership between Superdry and Reliance is extremely exciting and forms part of our long-term strategy of partnering with market leading operators. India has been one of the key territories targeted for development by SuperGroup, and this announcement follows many months of research into the long-term potential of this market. Reliance resonates a great synergy with our brand and lifestyle, with their vision for Superdry being closest to our own.”
Speaking about the partnership, Darshan Mehta, President and CEO, Reliance Brands, said that capturing elements of both peppy and street wear design with a subtle combination of vintage American and Japanese imagery, Superdry has given birth to a whole new genre of fashion that will find wide appeal amongst the growing numbers of aspirational Indian fashion consumers. This coupled with the focus of SuperGroup on international and cosmopolitan markets makes the partnership super exciting.
SuperGroup, which employs over 2,000 staff, owns the Superdry brand. It has a total of 81 stand-alone stores in the UK and Ireland, plus 71 concessions in the House of Fraser, Harrods, and Selfridge’s. Over the past 18 months the group has established over 130 Superdry stores across mainland Europe, the USA, South America, Australia, and the Middle East and sells via its websites in 90 countries. The brand claims to be worn by celebrities from David Beckham and Ben Stiller to Ewan McGregor, Jamie Oliver, Shakira, Mariah Carey, Pixie Lott, and Helena Christensen.
Reliance Brands is a part of the Reliance Industries Group. The company began operations in October 2007 to launch and build international and domestic brand equity in the premium to luxury segment across apparel, footwear, and lifestyle business. Its current portfolio of brand partnerships includes Brooks Bros, Diesel, Ermenegildo Zegna, Hamleys, Iconix, Kenneth Cole, Paul & Shark, Quiksilver, Roxy, Steve Madden, Thomas Pink, and Timberland.
-IndiaRetailing Bureau
