Apparel Group India is aggressively planning to expand its department store chain R&B in India amid a major focus on affordable fashion by various corporate giants, a senior representative of the group told IndiaRetailing.
Apparel Group currently operates eight R&B outlets in India and plans to open another 20 such department stores in the country in the next one year.
“We are super aggressive and bullish on R&B in India,” Tushar Ved, president of Apparel Group India told IndiaRetailing. “R&B’s price point is right for India and is one of the best brands for us to grow here. There is a huge consumer segment at that price point,” he added.
Apparel Group launched R&B in October 2012 at the Muscat Grand Mall in Oman and currently operates around 70 stores across seven countries including India, Oman, UAE, Qatar, Bahrain, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia.
According to the brand’s website, the name R&B is a combination of two words, Rare and Basics. While Rare stands for fast fashion, Basics denotes products that never go out of stock. A typical R&B store houses six sections: Kids fashion, women’s fashion, men’s fashion, lingerie, footwear, accessories, and impulse-buy products.
Ved said the Apparel Group has also introduced beauty products at one R&B store in India and plans to ramp up beauty and cosmetics offerings here as well.
In India, R&B is currently present at Forum Sujana Mall and L&T Musarambagh in Hyderabad; Commercial Street, Lulu International Shopping Malls, and Mantri Square Mall in Bengaluru; and L&T Punjagutta in Hyderabad, Telangana among other locations.
IndiaRetailing reported last month that R&B had opened an outlet at City Centre Mall in Mangalore, Karnataka.
Apparel Group markets a host of global brands in India including Charles & Keith, Aldo, Victoria’s Secrets, Bath & Body Works, La Senza among other labels.
Last year, Apparel Group added a food and beverage segment to its portfolio in India and opened a chain of Canada-based coffee stores Tim Hortons. Currently, the Group operates about eight Tim Hortons stores in India.
Earlier this month, Tim Hortons opened a new outlet at Vasant Vihar in New Delhi. The outlet is located at Basant Lok Community Center in Vasant Vihar.
Value retailing has been a major focus area for India’s large conglomerates including Tata Group and Reliance Industries Ltd.
Last month, IMAGESBoF reported that Tata-owned affordable fashion brand Zudio is planning to add around 130 stores this calendar year, taking the overall store count to slightly shy of 500 by the end of 2023. READ MORE
Similarly, Reliance Retail has been aggressively expanding Reliance Trends and the Mumbai retailer is also planning to create more value brands as millions of Indians are currently graduating from non-branded to branded apparel, creating a huge opportunity for India’s modern retailers.
