India's Reliance Brands in talks to acquire stake in Prabal Gurung

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Dec 2, 2022

Reliance Industries Limited’s Reliance Brands is in talks to acquire a stake in designer Prabal Gurung’s eponymous brand. The retail giant could open brick-and-mortar stores for the label in India in its Jio World malls. 

“Reliance Brands is adopting a flanking strategy, by partnering with fashion labels across ethnic wear, western wear, and wedding lines,” an anonymous executive close to the matter told the Economic Times. “The labels will straddle its physical stores and e-commerce platforms… These partnerships are being built to also feed aspirational demand from affluent Tier 2 markets.”
 
Reliance Brands has not made an official statement on the matter. The business has entered into a number of strategic partnerships with luxury clothing brands recently, including labels Manish Malhotra and Anu Jani Sandeep Khosla among others. 

The business’ strategy has been to partner with labels known for their couture and give them the financial backing they need to expand into ready-to-wear and casual wear categories to expand their customer bases. This taps into the increasing purchasing power of Gen Z shoppers and increasing demand for branded apparel in India. 
 
Nepalese- American designer Prabal Gurung launched his eponymous brand at New York Fashion Week in 2009. Known for his glittering evening wear, Gurung has dressed US celebrities including former US First Lady Michelle Obama and actress Anne Hathaway among others.