Further expanding in the apparel and underwear sectors,India’s retail giant Reliance Retail Ventures (RRV) has acquired a majority stake in Clovia, a popular lingerie brand, for US $125 million or Rs. 950 crore (owned by Purple Panda Fashions).
This investment is through a combination of secondary stake purchase and primary investment.
RRV, the retail arm of Reliance Industries Ltd., is India’s largest retail chain. In the statement, Reliance said that it will own an 89 per cent equity stake in the brand.
The statement reads, “With this acquisition, RRVL (Reliance Retail) will further strengthen its portfolio in the innerwear segment, having already acquired Zivame and Amante brands.”
Founded in 2006, Reliance Retail owns brands across segments panning groceries, neighbourhood convenience stores, electronic goods, clothes, jewellery, furniture and medicines. It reported a consolidated turnover of about Rs. 1,57,629 crore (US $ 21.6 billion) and net profit of Rs. 5,481 crore (US $750 million) for the year ended 31 March 2021.
Launched in 2013 by Pankaj Vermani, Neha Kant and Suman Choudhary, Clovia is a bridge-to-premium D2C brand.
Isha Ambani, Director, RRVL said, “Reliance has always been at the forefront of enhancing choices and offering best value proposition to consumers. We are pleased to add style, quality and design-led intimate wear brand ‘Clovia’ to our portfolio. We look forward to working with the strong management team at Clovia to take the business to greater heights.”
Pankaj Vermani, Founder & CEO of Clovia, resonated with Ambani’s thoughts and expressed that the brand’s vision is to provide world-class quality design and fashion in the intimate wear category.
BDA Partners acted as exclusive financial advisor to Clovia, while Shardul Amarchand Mangaldas acted as legal counsel and Deloitte, Haskins & Sells LLP provided due diligence services for the transaction.
This is Reliance Retail’s second acquisition this month as on 1 March, the company announced an investment in 30-year-old designer brand Abraham & Thakore (A&T) for a majority stake.
