Reliance to partner with Gap for India stores

ARVIND FASHIONS

06/07/2022 13:46

BENGALURU, July 6 (Reuters) - Reliance Retail, part of
billionaire Mukesh Ambani's conglomerate Reliance Industries
 RELI.NS , on Wednesday tied up with Gap Inc  GPS.N  to bring
the American clothing retailer's brands to India.
    Gap's previous attempt to woo Indian customers turned sour
after the jeans and casual clothing retailer terminated its deal
with a unit of Arvind Fashions  ARVF.NS  in 2020, when strict
lockdowns in the country resulted in near-zero footfalls across
malls and shopping centers. (https://bit.ly/3nGulEW)
    For Reliance, the deal with Gap is the latest among many
ventures by the conglomerate, and comes days after announcing a
plan to open outlets of popular British sandwich and coffee
chain Pret A Manger in India. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL1N2YH17Q
    The various partnerships also come as Mukesh Ambani, among
India's richest men, is all set to trigger leadership changes in
his conglomerate, with daughter Isha rumored to be the next
chairperson of the retail business. urn:newsml:reuters.com:*:nL4N2YF24X
    The unit already has partnerships with luxury brands
Burberry and Jimmy Choo.
    Reliance Retail will sell Gap merchandise in the country 
through a mix of exclusive brand stores, multi-brand store
expressions and digital commerce platforms, the company said.
    Financials terms of the deal were not disclosed. Reliance
and Gap did not immediately respond to requests for details.
    It already sells Gap clothes on its fashion ecommerce app,
Ajio. 

 (Reporting by Tanvi Mehta in Bengaluru; Editing by Maju Samuel)
 ((tanvi.mehta@thomsonreuters.com; https://twitter.com/TanviMehta710;))