Raymond, Italian firm form joint venture
Raymond has entered into a 50-50 joint venture with Italian fashion company Grotto SpA on Friday. The JV will launch the Italian fashion brand, GAS, in the country.
Total investment in the venture is pegged at around Rs 50 crore. The company executives said the JV would target Rs 125 crore turnover in three years. GAS will be retailed through flagship stores, exclusive franchise outlets, large format stores and multi-brand outlets, and is expected to be present at 600 points of sale in three years.
Through this venture Grotto SpA will provide the design expertise, while Raymond will bring in its distribution experience. “Through this venture consumers will benefit from strengths of both the companies,” said Gautam Singhania, chairman and managing director, Raymond.
Aldo Palmeri, vice chairman and member of the board of Grotto SpA added that GAS can surely capture a much larger market share in the country because of its association with Raymond. GAS, a premium Italian apparel brand was launched in 1990 and is estimated to have close to Rs 800 crore of global sales across 56 countries and 3,000 points of sale.This is for the first time Raymond has introduced foreign fashion labels in the country. The company executives, however, refused to comment on whether Raymond was looking at more JVs like this.
Recently, other Indian apparel company Arvind Brands has also formed a JV with VF Corporation to expand its presence in the fashion and apparel space.
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