Zara's India plans (finally!)... and what happens to Gucci?

Online retail newsletter Retail Angle says that Tata's retail arm Trent Ltd has formed a 51:49 JV with the Spanish Inditex Group, which owns Zara.

As part of the memorandum of understanding (MoU), Inditex will hold 51% in the JV, while Trent Ltd will hold 49%. The first of the stores will be opened in 2010 in New Delhi, Mumbai and other major cities of India. The agreement was inked at the Inditex headquarters in Arteixo, Spain.

In other news, Armani has apparently shelved plans for India's first Armani Cafe in Bangalore. Says Retail Angle:

For over a year, Giorgio Armani India, a 51:49 joint venture with DLF, has been reported to be working on setting up a 10,000-sq ft Emporio Armani store accompanied by an elite cafe-cum-bar at The Collection Luxury Mall, a part of UB City on Vittal Mallya Road, promoted by UB Group and Prestige Developers. This was to be India's first Armani cafe, which normally operates as part of the large format fashion retail stores. Media reports now say that the plans for Armani store and cafe at UB City have been dropped, for the time being at least. The decision to slowdown new stores was taken as a result of deteriorating consumer sentiments, and given the fledgling nature of India's luxury market. In late 2008, Armani had opened its first stores at DLF-owned Emporio luxury mall in New Delhi and was expected to roll out stores in Bangalore and Mumbai in 2009.

And finally, the Economic Times recently reported that the Murjani Group may sell its stake in the Gucci India business. The newsletter continues:

The Mohan Murjani family's Indian arm, Brand Marketing India Ltd (BMIL), is preparing to divest the Indian operations of Gucci. They have appointed an investment banker to help them find a strategic partner for the Gucci business. The Mumbai-based BMIL operates with a number of domestic licensing rights for international brands like Gucci, Calvin Klein, French Connection, Jimmy Choo, Bottega Veneta and La Perla. In recent months, BMIL has given away the rights for Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta stores in New Delhi and that of the yet to-launched French luxury intimate wear La Perla. The move to divest Gucci comes at a time when speculation has been gaining ground about the liquidity position of the Murjani company.

Armani says, 'Me too!'

In July, I'd written about how Samsung was considering an arrangement with Giorgio Armani to develop a line of fashionable products like mobile phones. Now, the news has been confirmed.

Mint reports that Armani and Samsung have tied up to design a television and mobile phone, along with other consumer products. In fact, Armani is all set to unveil the phone at the Milan Fashion Week today, where he is showing his SS08 Womenswear line.

The Armani-Samsung phone will be the size of a credit card and 10.5 millimetres thick, the companies said in a statement. Armani said the liquid crystal display (LCD) television will be unveiled in January 2008.

Armani online

Seven years is a long time to be thinking about selling luxury and fashion online, but it seems the reputed business genius Giorgio Armani has finally seen the light. In a quote to WWD in early August, he said about Emporio Armani's e-commerce launch in the USA:

"In the last seven years, I have seen mounting enthusiasm for online fashion shopping in the United States through the growing success we have had with our A|X Armani Exchange site," Armani said. "Over this same period I have also observed the increasing sophistication of fashion consumers shopping online, which has encouraged me to develop this new site for my Emporio Armani lifestyle."

"There are many attributes of an e-commerce store that I find especially appealing: the ease with which we can change the merchandise offerings; the instant information we receive on the way customers are shopping on the site, [and] the fact that the collection can now be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week, to so many people who have not had access to one of my stores in the past."

In the meantime, The Business of Fashion says Dior, Gucci and Coach have all discovered that an online store rapidly becomes one of the top (if not the top) store in a brand's network. Better late than never, the Emporio Armani site had a soft launch on August 14, and an official launch will follow in September. However, shopping on the site will be available to US residents only. Europeans and Asians will have to wait until next year.

Image courtesy: WWD
Link: The Business of Fashion

Armani's envy, Prada's pride?

After the LG Prada phone, it might be the Samsung Armani handset next. South Korea-based Samsung has said today that it is considering an arrangement with Italian designer Giorgio Armani to develop a line of fashionable premium products. This effectively means mobile phones and/or television sets with the Italian designer's stamp all over it.

Interestingly, Samsung's domestic rival LG Electronics too tied up with an Italian label last year and produced the uber fashionable Prada phone this year. Playing follow the leader, are we?