Reliance Retail fills GAP: US brand opens its own store in Mumbai

American clothing and accessories retailer GAP Inc has made its second entry into India, this time with Reliance Retail, with a big expansion plan and more choices at affordable prices.

It has opened its first store in Mumbai and intends to take its store count to 50 by the end of this (calendar) year.

“After opening over 50 Gap shop-in-shops since last year, Reliance Retail now initiates the second phase of the launch with the new GAP store in Infiniti Mall (Mumbai),” it said in its release.

In a conversation with Business Standard, Akhilesh Prasad, president and chief executive officer, fashion & lifestyle, Reliance Retail, said Gap continues to be a mid-premium price point and that was the way the brand was positioned. “But I think the size of the mid-premium market in India has increased drastically. And that is perhaps something which will continue to grow faster than the value segment of India,” Prasad said.

He added the premium segment apparel category was growing at 14-15 per cent while the mass and value segment in the country was increasing at 11-12 per cent.

In terms of pricing, while it will cater to the premium segment, it will have wider offers at affordable price points.

Its pricing for men’s wear will start at Rs 999.

In 2014, GAP had entered India with Arvind Fashions through a franchisee agreement and then parted ways with the latter in 2020.

Reliance Retail had announced its partnership with GAP last year in July and then said it would have a mix of exclusive brand stores, multi-brand store expressions, and digital commerce platforms.

“We are ensuring that merchandise is relevant (to the Indian consumer) and Indians also by nature wear a lot of colour and you will see that GAP in India has made merchandise which adds colour to life,” Prasad said.

Adrienne Gernand, managing director of International, global licensing and wholesale at Gap Inc, said in the release: “Growing Gap’s brick-and-mortar business through the launch of freestanding stores and multi-brand store expressions enables us to increase accessibility for Indian customers and meet them where they are shopping.”

The brand was founded in San Francisco in 1969, and it continues to build on its heritage grounded in denim and khakis. In India, it will cater to men, women, and children. 

“On visiting the new Gap stores, customers will not only discover a brand new retail identity, but a tech-enabled shopping experience including smart trial rooms, express check-out, and an omni experience, along with a better price value. While the opening of freestanding stores is an important driver of Gap’s long-term growth plan in India, it also gives us yet another opportunity to bring world-class brands and a differentiated shopping experience to our discerning Indian consumers,” Prasad said in the release.

Reliance Retail, through its subsidiaries and affiliates, operates an integrated omni channel network of 17,225 stores and digital commerce platforms across grocery, consumer electronics, fashion and lifestyle, and pharma. It has partnered over two million merchants through its new commerce initiative.