Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) has announced its foray into the branded ethnic wear or indutva market through 100 per cent acquisition of Jaypore—an Indian online and offline retailer, that offers curated collections of handmade, handwoven and handcrafted apparel, jewellery, home textiles and accents, based on craft forms, from all over India.
“The Board of Directors of ABFRL today approved the signing of share purchase agreement to acquire Jaypore. The business comprises online and offline operations. The proposed acquisition is subject to necessary statutory approvals and signing of definitive agreement(s),” the company said in a BSE filing.
“Ethnic wear is the largest segment in the Indian fashion apparel market. While ABFRL has built a diversified portfolio of brands across different segments, ethnic wear space is currently under-represented in our bouquet of offerings to consumers. The proposed acquisition is, therefore, a great strategic addition to our portfolio and gives us a strong footing in a segment that is growing in double digits,” said ABFRL Managing Director Ashish Dikshit.
“Jaypore is a brand with strong equity and with a differentiated offering of products based on Indian crafts. It provides a great platform for us to build a strong presence in the ethnic segment and in accessories and home segment. This acquisition will further strengthen leadership position of ABFRL in the branded fashion space,” Dikshit added.
A part of $44.3 bn Aditya Birla Group, ABFRL is India’s first billion-dollar pure-play fashion powerhouse with an elegant bouquet of leading fashion brands and retail formats. As on March 31, 2019, the company had a strong network of 2,714 brand stores across 750 cities in the country. It is present across 18000+ multi-brand outlets and 5000+ point of sales in department stores across India. It has a repertoire of leading brands such as Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England established for over 25 years.
