DLF gives fresh push to fashion biz

DLF Brands is prepping up its fashion retail business after

a long gap. The company is looking at fresh joint ventures with three international lifestyle brands — Forever 21, Beverly Hills Polo Club and Kiko. With a fresh look at its fashion retail business, DLF Brands is targeting revenues of Rs 1,000 crores in the next three years.

DLF is expected to form 51:49 joint venture with American fast fashion retailer Forever 21, which competes with its bigger Spanish rival Zara but has a more affordable price tag. While it may form a 74:26 JV with Beverly Hills Polo Club (BHPC), which is present in India through RPG group’s Spencer Retail. Details of its proposed alliance deal with Italian skincare and cosmetic brand Kiko are yet to be confirmed.

The Los Angeles-based Forever 21, along with DLF, plans to open between 30 to 40 stores in the next five years against Zara, which currently operates eight stores through a JV with the Tata Group firm Trent. Forever 21 entered India in 2010 through a Middle East based group Sharaf Retail but has just one store in Delhi.

DLF Brands currently operates 150 single brand stores for international brands — including Mothercare, Boggi, Ferragamo and DKNY, among others through JVs or long-term franchise deals. It also operates its own retail formats -- home furnishing chain Pure Home and Living and the recently launched department store chain Avenue.