Reliance Retail is aggressively expanding its mid-to-premium fashion brand Azorte with plans to open up to 250 Azorte-branded stores in the next two-three years, according to two people in the know.
One of the persons familiar with the plans said Reliance Retail has “a big ambition” for Azorte and the company is looking at opening “at least 200-250 stores in the next couple of years.”
However, he said availability of real estate is a major challenge for such aggressive expansion plans.
“It depends on real estate availability as Covid has slowed down the real estate. But things are now opening up,” he said asking not to be named.
Azorte was launched in September 2022 with an aim to sell fashion and lifestyle products based on global trends as well as offering contemporary Indian fashion to the younger population. Azorte sells products including footwear, fashion accessories, home, beauty among other categories in both western and Indian styles.
Reliance Retail said Azorte is an eclectic mix of intuitive retail technology—to make the discovery-to-checkout journey seamless.
Currently, Reliance Retail operates seven Azorte stores in various cities including Mumbai, Pune, Kondapur in Telangana and Bengaluru.
Azorte boasts of several industry-first tech-enabled interventions including mobile checkout, smart trial rooms, fashion discovery stations and self-checkout kiosks, the company said in a press release at the time of launch.
Other features in the tech-heavy stores include RFID-enabled interactive screens placed strategically across the stores that double as virtual styling assistants and smart fitting rooms that help shoppers complete the look. Customers can request for additional sizes and other products at the touch of a button, the release added.
