FIPB nod to Brook Brothers, Damiani

Along with Pavers England, two other single-brand retail

ventures including Brook Brothers, America’s oldest clothing retailer and Italian jewellery brand Damiani have got the clearance by Foreign Investment Promotion Board (FIPB) to enter the Indian market. While Brooks Brothers has entered into a 51:49 joint venture with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Brands, Damiani has set up a venture with Eurostar. While Reliance refused to disclose details, the investment is estimated to a little over Rs 6 crore. Brooks Brothers spokespersons were unavailable for comment.

After the government approved 100 per cent FDI in single-brand retail, the industry expected a flurry of foreign retailers into India but there was no action since mandatory clauses like 30 per cent sourcing from Indian small and medium enterprises held back their plans. Now the government has diluted the clause, deciding to take a call on case to case basis.

There are several other global players such as Marks & Spencer to Zara and Mothercare present in India through joint ventures and many of them are keen to increase their stake to 100 per cent. There are others like Swedish furniture retailer IKEA and US fashion player Fossil that have approached the government to set up new wholly-owned ventures. While Fossil is expected to invest around Rs 20 crore, IKEA is planning an investment of around Rs 10,500 crores over the next few years.