Ramesh Tainwala-led Planet Retail, will completely exit the rights for apparel brands Nautica, Next, and Debenhams, which it holds. The company has finalised a deal to sell them to textile and apparel major Arvind. An announcement on this is expected in three to four days, said a source in the know.
Though Tainwala did not mention Arvind, he said he was currently in talks with a “friend” who has the capability to absorb the brands and provide it with backward integration support.
Sanjay Lalbhai, chairman and managing director of Arvind, declined to comment.
Earlier, Tainwala gave up rights of the US brand Guess in favour of Major Brands, which markets Mango, Aldo and so on.
"It is a business that I don't understand,” said chairman Tainwala, who bought a 48.5 per cent stake in Planet Retail last year. He is also the president, Asia-Pacific and West Asia, of luggage maker Samsonite. Tainwala has 40 per cent stake in the joint venture with Samsonite for its South Asia business.
As for the apparel brands, Planet Retail holds only the licensing rights. This makes it difficult for the company to align the product mix with the Indian market. For instance, the size requirements of Indian consumers vary greatly from those supplied by the brands. And in the absence of local sourcing, there is no clear resolution to the issue.
"All the three brands are doing business. It could be that Tainwala thinks he can not spend time on them," said a company source. While Debenhams has three stores, Next also has a couple of them in the country.
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Tainwala said he would rather focus on the accessories brands he currently holds such as Accessorize and Lavie and skincare chain The Body Shop. The company is also bringing UK brand Monsoon Accessorize and extend the Lavie brand to include footwear soon. At present, Tainwala's son handles the Accessorize business.
“Monsoon is a brand unlike any other apparel brand. Its designs find inspiration from the Indian ethos; even its name finds its roots in India,” he said.
He, however, plans to stay away from any distribution or licensing deals. “I would like to work with brands that don't have India just on their intention list but are willing to commit to building the brands over a long-term. I need a proper marriage,” he said.
Harminder Sahni, managing director of Wazir Advisors, said, “Earlier, the plan was that when brands were brought in, those would take over and he would exit. Since multi-brand retail was an issue, he has realised he can not hold them indefinitely and it is not a strategic area,” said Sahni.