Five years after planning to bring most luxury brands into India, Mukesh Ambani is finally walking the talk.

No wonder after opening Hamleys and Diesel stores in the last two months, Reliance Retail is now in talks with US fashion brand Kenneth Cole and Italian bag maker Mandarina Duck to open their exclusive outlets in India.

Dheeraj Dogra, CMO of Express Infrastructure, said, “Reliance has signed up with Timberland, Diesel, Zegna, a number of international brands and last we heard it is also in talks with Kenneth Cole.”
That’s almost half a dozen international brands in Reliance kitty so far.

But now, the company wants to expand further. However, experts say it will take a while for these brands to mop up enough revenues.

Susil Dungarwal, Founder of Squarefeet Management, said, “These brands will not contribute significantly on its topline or bottom line, even if they sign with ten brands, not at least in the next five years.”

So this changing focus, experts feel, is because even its cash cow, food and grocery retailing, isn’t performing as per expectations.

That’s precisely why Reliance wants to focus on international brands like these, especially when the segment is less competitive and can offer much higher margins than its other formats.

Tags: Mukesh Ambani, Reliance, Reliance Retail