Future Group to exit more fashion businesses

Kishore Biyani’s Future Group is focusing on a clear agenda

 of growing its retail business by making it investor friendly, while exiting fashion brands like Biba, AND, Clarks, Celio and Turtle under its fold. Plans to divest stakes in Biba and AND were already announced earlier.

Future Group has a 50:50 joint venture with UK-based footwear maker Clarks since 2011. Though the British brand was present in India even before that, it was on a distribution model. In the India operations of French apparel company Celio, however, Future Group holds a 49.99 per cent stake. Celio has earlier expressed interest to hike its stake in the joint venture to 100 per cent. And in men’s apparel brand Turtle, the company has 26 per cent stake. Other fashion brands under the group’s fold include AND, Biba, IndusTree Crafts and Holii.

It was earlier reported that after relisting his as a Fast Moving Consumer Goods (FMCG) company on the stock exchange, retail baron Kishore Biyani's Future Group decided to focus on getting the business model right. Global private equity fund Warburg Pincus would now acquire Future Group’s stake along with Rs 350-crores minority stake in Indian ethnic fashion wear brand Biba and its 22.86 per cent stake in designer Anita Dongre’s AND Designs India would go to private equity fund General Atlantic for Rs 150-200 crores. The group is also busy looking for PE investments in it holding companies including grocery chain KB Fair Price, Home Town and sports retail company Planet Sports, where it plans to sell 49 per cent stake.