Trent, the retailing arm of Tatas, today said it has entered into an MoU with Inditex Group of Spain to develop and promote Massimo Dutti stores in India.
Trent and ZARA Holding BV, a unit of Inditex Group, would set up a joint venture in which latter would hold 51% and Trent would hold remaining 49%.
Though the company did not say how many stores it would open or how much it will invest, sources in the know say that the company could look at opening at least 3-4 stores in the first year of operations.
Massimo Dutti has 542 stores in 50 countries and offers a variety of collections from high end fashion to easy-going casual wear.
This is the second joint venture for Trent and Inditex in India, after both the parties started a joint venture which runs five Zara stores in the country. Trent has 49% while Zara has 51% in the JV.
The success of Zara has made Trent look at other joint ventures with Inditex group, says a person familiar with the development. In a recent interaction with Business Standard, Trent Vice Chairman Noel N Tata had indicated that the company was exploring possibility of bringing another retail format of Inditex group to India.
The Inditex group, which clocked revenues of 12.53 billion euros (Rs 80,192 crore) in 2010, is made up of more than 100 companies operating in textile, design, manufacturing and distribution. The group runs 5,000 stores in 78 countries and operates different formats such as Zara, Pull & Bear, Massimo Dutti, Breshka, Oysho, Stradivarius, Zara Home and Uterque.
Trent runs department store Trent, hypermarket chain Star Bazaar, book chain Landmark among others. The company posted revenues of Rs 716 crore in FY11.
