(The article was first published on BBC on November 21, 2021)
- India’s largest conglomerates have been snapping up stakes in high-end, homegrown designer brands to help them scale up and go global. The trend, experts say, points to a luxury retail market on the cusp of maturity. In October, Reliance Brands Limited (RBL), a subsidiary of the the oil-to-telecoms Reliance conglomerate, announced it was buying 40% equity in celebrity fashion designer Manish Malhotra’s eponymous label. A week later, the company bought more than 50% stake in Ritu Kumar, one of India’s oldest fashion houses. Malhotra, who has been dressing Bollywood’s biggest stars for the last 30 years, launched his label about 15 years ago. He has annual revenues in the ballpark of $30m (£22m), according to Forbes…
