Arvind acquires Debenhams, Nautica and Next biz in India

Textile and apparel major Arvind’s subsidiary Arvind Lifestyle Brands has acquired business operations of British fashion retailers Debenhams, Next and American lifestyle brand Nautica in India from Ramesh Tainwala-led Planet Retail. Planet Retail

franchise agreements with all the three fashion brands as part of its business restructuring exercise.

Announcing the acquisition, Sanjay Lalbhai, Chairman & Managing Director of Arvind said, “This acquisition is a significant milestone as it signals our entry into the department store segment and also the globally fast growing apparel specialty retail segment. American sportswear lifestyle brand Nautica makes us the dominant player in the sportswear segment. With this move, we have taken a big step towards strengthening our position in the Indian fashion industry.” He goes on to say that “From a base of Rs 1,600 crores which we would achieve this year, we are aiming for a $1 billion business in the next five years. We are growing at 35 to 38 per cent and will double our current portfolio to Rs 3,000 crores in the next five years. The additional Rs 2,000 crores will come from new launches. We are tying up with many international brands. So we are confident that our vision of being a billion dollar company will be achieved,” he exclaimed.

J Suresh, Managing Director & CEO, Arvind Lifestyle Brands went on to explain “We have a strong menswear portfolio, which will get further strengthened with Nautica. Debenhams and Next will substantially strengthen our position in womenswear and kidswear segment. We plan to achieve Rs 500 crores revenue over next five years from current Rs 70 crores by investing Rs 150 crores in to these three brands”.

Acquisition of Debenhams signals the entry of Arvind into the ‘Bridge to Luxury’ department store segment. Arvind plans to increase the current number of Debenhams stores in India from two to eight in the next three years. Arvind will enter into the fast growing segment of apparel specialty retail through Next and plans to increase the number of Next stores from three to 12 in three years. The spokesperson from Debenhams said, “I’m very excited by the new chapter to be written together with Arvind, who are a very solid and experienced retail group with a fantastic reputation. I’m confident that within the next five years, we’ll have eight fabulous Debenhams stores in five of India’s biggest cities.”

Commenting on the acquisition, Next spokesperson said, “We are very positive about the new franchise partnership and are looking forward to Arvind Brands re-launching the next brand in India." The licensing arrangement with Nautica will strengthen Arvind’s already strong position in high potential sportswear segment of the market. The company plans to set up additional 30 Nautica stores taking the tally to 41 free standing Nautica stores and 70 shop-in-shops in the next three years.

Arvind Lifestyle Brand already holds licensing relationships with several international brands like Gant, Arrow, Izod, Energie, US Polo Association, Elle, Cherokee, Mossimo and Geoffrey Beene. It also has a portfolio of 12 of its own brands. Arvind has a JV with Tommy Hilfiger for their business in India and runs India’s largest value retail chain, Megamart. The acquisition of the business operations of Debenhams, Next and Nautica is the first step in its inorganic growth strategy to cross the Rs 2,000 crores revenue mark in the next five years.

The company also has one of the strongest distribution networks in Indian apparel sector with over 1.3 million sq. ft. of retail space pan-India to its brands across 730 retail stores spread over 150 towns. This is in addition to Arvind Lifestyle Brands international doors in the Middle East and South Africa. “We have a very aggressive strategy for brands and retail. We believe that by reinventing the DNA of Arvind, we will create the maximum shareholder value. Retail and brands are at an inflexion point as was telecom, refinery. Each of the wealth creation stories in India has revolved around getting into a business when it achieves an inflexion point,” Lalbhai sums up on a positive note.