By Rumman Ahmed
BANGALORE--Indian apparel company Arvind Ltd. (500101.BY) said
Thursday it has entered into franchisee agreements with U.S.-based
branded-apparel maker VF Corp. (VFC) and U.K. retailers Debenhams
PLC (DEB.LN) and Next PLC (NXT.LN).
A unit of Arvind has taken over the local franchises of these
three international brands from Planet Retail Holdings Pvt. Ltd.,
which previously sold them in India, the company said in a
statement.
Arvind plans to set up 30 more Nautica stores in India in the
next three years. The addition will take the tally of Nautica
stores in India to 41 stand-alone outlets and 71 shop-in-shop
stores, it said.
It also plans to quadruple the number of Debenhams store to
eight and Next stores to 12 in India in three years.
Arvind Chairman and Managing Director Sanjay Lalbhai told
reporters that the company plans to invest 1.50 billion rupees ($28
million) in growing these three brands over the next three
years.
India allows foreign retailers full ownership of their local
operations in the single-brand segment, but many of these companies
prefer to come into the country through the franchisee route.
Write to Rumman Ahmed at rumman.ahmed@dowjones.com
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