Arvind Lifestyle, which acquired the Indian franchise rights of UK retail chain Debenhams in 2012, is planning to shutdown the Debenhams stores in India and work on a new strategy.
Arvind Lifestyle, a subsidiary of denim major Arvind ltd, had acquired the franchise for Debenhams along with other fashion brands like Nautica and Next from Planet Retail in 2012.
At the time of acquisition, Arvind Lifestyle had announced that it proposed to add six new Debenhams stores in India to the existing two with the intention to reach sales of Rs 500 crore by 2017.
However, Arvind could not add a single store as the price points of the range sold by Debenhams was too high.
Alongside, the existing Debenhams store network in India, one each in Bangalore and Mumbai, too were not doing well for the same reason as well as for not being in the right location.
According to media reports, Arvind Lifestyle believes that there is significant opportunity for Debenhams in India and is reviewing options for both stores and ecommerce.
