Christian Louboutin Forges JV in India
Christian Louboutin has partnered with one of India’s foremost retail chains, transferring his current business in the Asian nation into a joint venture with Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd., or ABFRL.
Terms were not disclosed, but the partners are to hold an equal stake in a newly incorporated subsidiary of ABFRL.
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The French footwear and accessories designer has boutiques in New Delhi and Mumbai, which opened in 2012 and 2013 respectively. At present, there are no shop-in-shops, and no wholesale.
ABFRL operates almost 4,000 stores in India, including fashion banner Pantaloons, and distributes its brands in thousands more multibrand doors and department stores.
Its stable of in-house names include Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England, and it has partnerships with such international names as Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Ted Baker, Fred Perry, Forever 21, American Eagle, Reebok and Galeries Lafayette.
“We are excited to partner with ABFRL’s team and look forward to working with them to manage and develop the business in India, which is an extremely important market for us,” Alexis Mourot, Christian Louboutin group chief executive officer, commented in a statement.
Ashish Dikshit, managing director of ABFRL, said the partnership “reflects our commitment to offering our discerning customers the very best in elegance and style. It also exemplifies our ambition to develop and shape the future of the luxury market in India.”
India is heating up as a market for Europe’s heritage houses.
Last month what was billed as first upscale, dedicated luxury mall in Mumbai opened its doors at the Reliance Industries Ltd.-owned Jio World Plaza at Bandra Kurla Complex. It houses the largest Louis Vuitton store in the country, as well as flagship stores for Gucci, Cartier, Bally, Giorgio Armani, Dior, Saint Laurent and Bulgari.
Retail in India has been growing in double digits, having missed the $1 trillion estimate for 2021 as the pandemic hit. Industry estimates are that 2023 will close at $950 billion, with luxury accounting for an estimated $8 billion.
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