Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL), which owns brands such as Louis Philippe, Peter England and Van Heusen, on Monday said it has acquired a 51% stake in Finesse International Design that retails bespoke ceremonial wear and contemporary apparel for men and women under the Shantanu and Nikhil brand for ₹60 crore.
The acquisition comes a month after ABFRL acquired ethnic apparel and lifestyle retailer Jaypore for ₹110 crore. The latest acquisition will help ABFRL expand its presence in the branded ethnic apparel and accessories market covering both bespoke ceremonial wear and prêt lines.
“Indian ethnic wear is a large segment in the Indian fashion market and we have identified it as an important growth opportunity for us,” said Ashish Dikshit, managing director, ABFRL. Indian consumers are increasingly seeking contemporary India-inspired designer wear, he said.
The acquisition of Finesse International Design is a combination of primary equity infusion and secondary share purchase, ABFRL said in a filing to BSE.
ABFRL will grow the brand’s existing couture business but also launch new ready-to-wear collections to extend the reach of the brand across more consumer and market segments, the company said, indicating that there could be a more affordable range coming from the brand that has been worn by celebrities such as Kareena Kapoor, Amitabh Bachchan, Serena Williams and Priyanka Chopra.
Finesse was set up in 2007 and runs five stores selling bespoke ethnic wear and contemporary Indian designs by Nikhil Mehra and Shantanu. It owns the brand Shantanu and Nikhil under which it also sells apparel, footwear and accessories. In FY19, it reported a revenue of ₹35 crore.
“Branded ethnic wear that addresses the aspirations and design quotient of working millennials is a great way of creating expansive growth,” said Debashish Mukherjee, partner and head, consumer and retail, India, at AT Kearney. The deal is likely to provide the brand scalability across multiple locations, he said.
India’s domestic apparel industry stood at ₹5.41 trillion in FY18, growing at an average pace of 13.8% since 2010.
Source: Mint