Reliance Retail is set to add almost 12 luxury stores of its ethnic handicrafts under its Swadesh brand in India and overseas. It is being said that these stores will be similar to Government-run Central Cottage Industries Emporium stores but with a more upscale focus.
The Swadesh stores will be large format, roughly 30,000-35,000 square feet each, in Delhi, Bengaluru, Mumbai and Hyderabad. These stores will be company-owned.
As per a report from Economic Times, the company is in talks with local and global high-end designers and artisans to form strategic partnerships for ethnic handicrafts, fusion clothing, home decor, and carpets and other handicraft products.
The company has not said anything in this regard.
Recently in the AGM, Nita Ambani, founder and chairperson of Reliance Foundation has said that Reliance Foundation skilling centres for artisans, a new venture under the group, will create “capacity building to transform the crafts sector by creating livelihoods of Indian artisans across the country”.
Reliance will link Swadesh with JioMart, its e-commerce marketplace, for the venture. JioMart, which has tie-ups with seven state government emporiums to sell on its platform, plans to onboard more than one million artisans and weavers by 2025 for Swadesh.
The company is also looking to develop JioMart Haat villages for the new venture.
In the Western lifestyle and fashion space, Reliance Retail currently has tie-ups with close to a 10 global luxury designer brands including Versace, Balenciaga, Armani, Jimmy Choo, Gas and Hugo Boss.
