Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail (ABFRL) is an Indian fashion retail company that is based in Mumbai. The company operates with more than 3000 stores, 25000 multi-brand outlets with more than 6500 point of sales in various departmental stores across India. Before its acquisition by Aditya Birla Group, the company was known as Pantaloons Fashion & Retail Limited. In 2019, the company acquired ethnic wear brands and also bought a stake of 51% in M/s Finesse International Design Private Limited. The portfolio of the company included several brands such as Van Heusen, Louis Philippe, Peter England, and Allen Solly.
ABFRL has recently announced its partnership with Sabyasachi by signing an agreement for buying a 51% stake. Sabyasachi is one of the largest and influential luxury designer brands in India. The brand has many categories like accessories, jewelry, and apparel and also has a franchise in UK, US, and middle east. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail will accompany Sabyasachi in its journey to become a luxury brand not only in India but also across the world. It is expected that this partnership will add an advantage to ABFRL’s ethnic wear category. The partnership is an attempt to capture a large share of ethnic wear through an attractive portfolio of brands and to build a large ethnic wear business in the long run as the company believes that ethnic wear is going to be an important category.
The company believed that the context in which a brand’s perception gets affected in minds of people is if there is an attempt made to bring the Aditya Birla Group branding visibly along with Sabyasachi’s branding and if the experiences are made ‘mass’. The luxury brands have to be exclusive and elitist and it is suitable for few and not for the masses. Luxury brands build more exclusive narratives that appeal to the privileged few. These brands leverage platforms such as one-of-a-kind experiences, rarity, craftsmanship, and total personalization. The luxury brands don’t sell benefits, they sell membership into a way of life. The mass brands on the other side sell benefits, features and provide value for money. These brands may also leverage stereotypes and use celebrities to enhance their appeal. This investment will help the brands reach a wider segment and thus will be a benefit for both brands.
