Reliance Retail has made its move to take control over the rights of the French multi-brand retailer of beauty and personal care products, Sephora, in India.
The LVMH-owned beauty brand is currently operating under the umbrella of Arvind Fashions Ltd. in India along with other brands such as USPA, Tommy Hilfiger, Flying Machine, Arrow, and Calvin Klein.
Sephora was first brought into the subcontinent under the DLF Group but after their partnership was strained in 2013, Arvind Fashions took over in 2015.
Across 13 cities in the country, the beauty brand operates over 20 stores as reported by Arvind Fashion Ltd.’s Financial Year 2021 annual report. The brand deals in varying categories from cosmetics, fragrances, makeup, skincare as well as hair care.
The brand houses multiple premia to luxury beauty brands like Benefit Cosmetics, Makeup Forever, Cover FX, Stila, Becca, Smashbox, Glam Glow, The Balm Cosmetics, Boscia, Burt’s Bees, Klara Cosmetics, Dior, Estee Lauder, Clinique, Tom Ford Private Blend, Givenchy, Shiseido, Forest Essentials, etc.
They are also known for their in-house Sephora collection of cosmetics. At a global level, the brand has over 2700 stores spread across 35 different countries.
Why is Reliance Retail interested in Sephora?
Owned by billionaire Mukesh Ambani, Reliance Retail is a subsidiary of its parent company Reliance Industries Ltd. and is the biggest retailer in the country.
It has successfully brought in several premia to luxury global brands into the country like Georgio Armani, Jimmy Choo, Emporio Armani, Tumi, Michael Kors, Muji, Kate Spade, Villeroy & Boch, Bottega Veneta, Canali, etc.
They have also been responsible for bringing Tiffany & Co, Burberry, and Diesel to the Indian markets and are now set to launch Valentino in the country.
The conglomerate had also recently signed a franchise deal with French fashion house Balenciaga and made a long-term agreement with Gap Inc. after the latter terminated its partnership with Arvind Lifestyle Brands in 2021.
“India’s beauty retail market is expected to reach ₹2 trillion by 2025 driven by a higher propensity to shop online owing to increased internet penetration as well as a large millennial and gen-Z populations with aspirations and growing disposable incomes, Motilal Oswal Financial Services Limited (MOFSL), said in a 2021 report,” as reported by livemint.com.
After building a successful and strong presence in the retail industry, Reliance Retail now sees immense potential in venturing into the beauty industry and is thus seizing all opportunities.
The Indian beauty market is currently under the monopoly of the e-commerce beauty brand Nykaa (founded in 2012) and is growing at an exceptional rate.
Falguni Nayar, founder of Nykaa stated in an interview at the beginning of this year that the Indian beauty market is set to be the fifth largest in the world soon and overtake many European markets.
