LVMH to open Charles and Keith stores

French luxury house Louis Vuitton Moet Hennessy (LVMH

) will invest $25 million in the development of premium fashion shoe brand Charles and Keith in Indian cities like Chennai, Kolkata, Bangalore, Lucknow and Ludhiana. About 40 to 50 Charles and Keith stores will be opened across the country. It may be noted that Charles and Keith is 20 per cent owned by LVMH.

Recently LVMH has launched a private equity fund of $650 million dedicated to investments focused on markets like China, Southeast Asia and India. Besides, The Wong brothers, who own the company, sold a 20 per cent stake to L Capital Asia, the private equity arm of LVMH, for more than $30 million. The deal will give Charles and Keith access to the branding expertise of LVMH, owner of the world’s top fashion labels including Marc Jacobs, Dior and Givenchy.

Shoe brand Charles & Keith is based in Singapore. Launched in 1996, it focuses on women’s footwear and currently has a retail network of over 230 stores in 29 countries, most of them in Asia and the Middle East. The brand is dedicated to the young and trendy and offers a range of luxury-made, affordable yet contemporary women’s footwear.