Reliance to roll out London Fog stores in India

After announcing that its retail business has crossed

the Rs 10,000-crores mark during 2012-13 with a growth of 42 percent owing to continued store expansion across all formats, Reliance is now looking to boost its business further. Iconix Lifestyle India, a joint venture between Iconix Brand Group and Reliance Brands has joined hands with North India-based retailer Kapsons to roll out stores of the 80-year old American fashion brand London Fog in India. The plan involves Kapsons opening 20 London Fog standalone stores pan-India in the next three years. The brand will also be available through multi-brand retail stores.

Reliance Brands, a unit of billionaire Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL), controls the India rights for more than 20 international fashion brands of Iconix as part of an equal JV partnership signed up last year. London Fog is known for its coats and jackets and boasts of its associations with Hollywood celebrities like Kevin Bacon, Eva Longoria, Gisele Bundchen, Christina Hendricks and Nicole Scherzinger.

The brand is going to wrestle against existing foreign labels like Tommy Hilfiger in India. A London Fog shirt in India will start at the price point of Rs 1,800 and is likely to be positioned a notch higher than Arrow and Van Heusen. Chandigarh-based retailer Kapsons is the pan-India licensee of Nike Action, Jordan kids and Levis kids along with retailing brands like Nautica, Tommy Hilfiger, Gant, Fcuk, Gas, Benetton and Calvin Klein Jeans, among others.