Ralph Lauren enters into license agreement with ABFRL to open stores in India

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Jan 30, 2018

US fashion house Ralph Lauren has entered into a license agreement with India's leading fashion retailer Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited (ABFRL) forthe  opening franchisee Ralph Lauren brick-and-mortar outlets in India. 
 

The ABFRL board has approved the entrance into a store license and distribution agreement with Ralph Lauren Asia Pacific Limited (RLAPL) which offers apparel and accessories for both men and women under its brands Polo Ralph Lauren and Ralph Lauren, the company said in a Bombay Stock Exchange filing.
 
The partnership will give exclusive rights to ABFRL to open and operate retail store under the Ralph Lauren brand name across the country. The company is also expected to get into a separate agreement to sell the products on its e-commerce portal thecollective.in.

ABFRL said that it will be launching the retail stores for the brand later this year. The first Ralph Lauren store in India is expected to open in the Emporio mall at Chanakyapuri in New Delhi.
 
The exclusive partnership with ABFRL will also help Ralph Lauren tackle the counterfeit goods threat in India, where currently many counterfeit products are sold, mostly under its Polo brand. Last year Ralph Lauren conducted raids at several places and recovered counterfeit goods.
 
The US brand has filed as many as 60 cases in various courts over the years against companies and individuals that have manufactured or sold counterfeit Polo Ralph Lauren products in India.
 
Ralph Lauren products are currently available online in India on leading ecommerce sites like Amazon, Myntra & Jabong.
 
Aditya Birla Fashion owns the exclusive rights for international brands Forever 21, Ted Baker, Simon Carter among many others and is also in talks for acquiring rights for American Eagle. Currently, ABFRL has over 8,000 points of sale across India, which include more than 2,000 exclusive ABFRL brand outlets in India and abroad.