The success of Zudio, a value apparel brand from Tata which sells clothes below Rs 1,500, has prompted Reliance Retail to foray into the mass priced apparel retailing segment.
The company intends to compete directly with Zudio, Shoppers Stop’s mass-market brand InTune and Landmark Group’s Max. Reliance Retail is already in talks to lease 6,000-9,000 square feet of space across malls and high streets for the new brand, the name of which has yet to be revealed.
“While Tata has Westside and Zudio in the mass and low-priced segments, Reliance has Trends as well as the recently launched premium fashion and lifestyle store AZORTE, which will compete directly with fast fashion brands Zara and H&M in India. It had nothing to compete with Zudio and Max, and the new brand, which will sell clothing in the Rs 1,000 range, will assist it in expanding its offering, ” officials with knowledge of the launch said.
India’s consumption structure has traditionally been skewed towards a small group of high-income consumers accounting for a sizable portion of the overall market, say experts.
However, the opportunity for value formats and value brands has steadily grown as the economy expands into more cities and has a greater impact at lower income levels
“In the next few months, we will see multiple stores coming up in this segment as big brands want to tap this segment. After the consumption has increased in metro cities as well as tier-2 cities, retailers are eyeing growth in 2023,” said a retail expert.
Reliance Retail opened 789 new stores, totalling an area of 6 million square feet in Q3 FY 23.
As consumers returned to stores, it also recorded the highest ever footfalls at 201 million across formats and geographies, a growth of 25.6 per cent during the same period.
