Arvind Lifestyle Brands, subsidiary of Arvind Ltd, one of the largest players in the apparel brands and retail space, announced the acquisition of the business operations of British fashion retailers Debenhams and Next and American Lifestyle Brand Nautica in India from Plant Retail.
Announcing the acquisition, Mr. Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman & Managing Director of Arvind Limited said, “This acquisition is a significant milestone as it signals our entry into the Department Store Segment and also the globally fast growing apparel specialty retail segment. American Sportswear Lifestyle Brand Nautica makes us the dominant player in the sportswear segment. With this move, we have taken a big step towards strengthening our position in the Indian fashion industry. These acquisitions will accelerate our growth and contribute to our vision of achieving sales of Rs. 5000 crores over the next 5 years.”
“We have a strong menswear portfolio, which will get further strengthened with Nautica. Debenhams & Next will substantially strengthen our position in Womenswear&Kidswear segment. We plan to achieve Rs. 500 cr revenue over next 5 years from current Rs, 70 crores by investing Rs. 150 crores in to these three brands” said J. Suresh, Managing Director & CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd.
Acquisition of Debenhams signals the entry of Arvind into the Bridge to Luxury Department Store segment. Arvind plans to increase the current number of Debenhams stores in India from 2 to 8 in the next 3 years. Arvind will enter into the fast growing segment of apparel specialty retail through Next. Arvind plans to increase to increase number of next stores from 3 to 12 in the next 3 years.
The spokesperson from Debenhams said, “ I’m very excited by the new chapter to be written together with Arvind, who are a very solid and experienced retail group with a fantastic reputation. I’m confident that within the next 5 years, we’ll have 8 fabulous Debenhams stores in 5 of India’s biggest cities’.
Commenting on the acquisition, spokesperson from Next said, “We are very positive about the new franchise partnership and are looking forward to Arvind Brands re-launching the next brand in India."
The licensing arrangement with Nautica will strengthen Arvind’s already strong position in high potential sportswear segment of the market. The company plans to set up additional 30 Nautica stores taking the tally to 41 free standing Nautica stores and 71 shop in shops in the next 3 years.
“We are excited to be working with Arvind Lifestyle Brands on the further development of this market.” said Maria Vicari, President of Global Licensing, Nautica Apparel Inc. “As we continue to grow our brand footprint internationally with our licensed operators around the globe, we look to Arvind with their significant expertise in brand building in India, to grow Nautica’s presence in this important emerging market.”
Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd is a subsidiary of Arvind Ltd which is India’s largest integrated textile player and is one of the oldest and most respected groups in the Textile Business in India.
