Although the final approvals for Reliance-Future deal are awaited, Reliance Retail has already started using Future Group’s supply chain. The retail arm of Reliance is tapping Future's network for its logistics and warehousing needs in the food, groceries and fashion retail segments.

Market regulator SEBI has already approved the acquisition of Future Group’s retail arm by Reliance Retail. However, several approvals such as National Company Law Tribunal (NCLT), no objection from Future Group’s creditors and minority stakeholders are still pending.

Reliance Retail is in the process of utilising other Future Group companies for its operations as well. The company’s capacity utilisation, which currently stands at 30 per cent, will increase to 85-90 per cent with Reliance as its principal client. Other Future Group companies such as Future Consumer and apparel manufacturing company Future Enterprises have also found a saviour in Reliance which has placed large orders with these companies.

Future Supply Chain has 70 warehouses with a space of 7.5 million sq. ft. It posted Rs 1,140 crore revenues in the financial year ended March 2020 but it declined to Rs 200 crore in the six months through September subsequently due to the lockdown. As a part of the Rs 24,713-crore Reliance-Future deal, retail and wholesale operations of Future Group will be hived off into Reliance Retail & Fashion Lifestyle, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Reliance Retail.

London based lifestyle brand – WKLIFE has launched its first outlet at City Centre Mall, Guwahati. Following the success of existing 1,000+ stores across 60 nations, the new store offers complete range of uniquely designed lifestyle electronic gadgets and accessories with multiple attributes.

Spread in 1,000 sq. ft, the new store has been designed to satisfy brand-conscious buyers, truly making it a shopper’s paradise. The tagline “Born to Live”, provides an extensive range of products ranging from electronic accessories to lifestyle products by putting customers’ ideas and concepts into practice.

According to the brand, Guwahati is the style capital of the North East, where fashion and lifestyle trends are becoming popular and the people are more upbeat. Currently, there are limited options when it comes to style and accessories brands thus affordable premium lifestyle brands like, WK Life see immense potential in this market.

German lifestyle brand Birkentstock has strengthened its retail presence in India with the launch of first mono-brand store in Mumbai. This is the brand’s fourth store in India after Delhi, Hyderabad, and Chennai. The new retail space offers more than 200 different models.

The brand plans to open exclusive outlets in Bengaluru, and Chandigarh in the coming months to enter new cities and further strengthen its presence in the country. Following a strong market entry of the brand in 2020, the brand’s quality products enjoy a great consumer appreciation in India. The opening of Mumbai store as one the country’s key fashion hubs is just another stepping stone in the strong growth plan for the year ahead. Birkenstock, which has a history dating back to 1774 and is present in 100 countries, entered the Indian market in December 2019 and launched a dedicated e-commerce store. It also retails through multi-brand outlets.

The revival in fashion and lifestyle segment has seen the operating profit for Reliance Retail jump 13.3 per cent. In the quarter ending December 2020, fashion and lifestyle segment grew 1.5 times over the last quarter. Reliance Retail added 327 stores in the last quarter alone, taking the total to 12,201 stores in the country. Reliance Retail managed to clock in record profit despite 18.6 per cent fall in revenue compared to the same period last year.

This particular segment, which includes Reliance’s partnership with brands like Burberry, Armani, Diesel, Marks and Spencer, as well as online platforms like Ajio.com, contributes only 8 per cent to Reliance Retail’s total revenue, but brings in a big profit margin. In the quarter ending December 2020, the segment grew by 1.5 times over the last quarter.

This was led by near doubling of fashion and lifestyle earnings, continued benefits from cost management initiatives and a boost from higher investment income of Rs 775 crore, Reliance Industries, said in a statement. This was the quarter when Reliance closed all fund raising for its retail unit.

Reliance added 327 stores in the last quarter alone, taking the total to 12,201 stores in the country, compared to 11,300 at the end of 2019. Retail contributes to about a quarter of RIL’s total revenue and about a third of its operating profit.

Competition Commission of India (CCI) has approved Flipkart’s acquisition of a 7.8 per cent minority stake in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail. Aditya Birla Fashion had in October last year approved plans to raise Rs 1,500 crore by issuing a 7.8 per cent stake on a preferential basis to Walmart-owned Flipkart Group.

While Flipkart Group will own a 7.8 per cent equity stake in ABFRL on a fully diluted basis, promoter and promoter group companies of ABFRL will hold about 55.13 per cent upon completion of the issuance.

Clothing brand Shrutkirti, plans to bring back traditional Indian techniques in contemporary fashion, says owner Vishakha Sethi. Each outfit is handcrafted and is adorned with lively colours and prints, specific to different cultures blooming across India. Sethi feels, one may not be keen to wear your mom’s old denim bell-bottoms straight out of the 70s with their tweeds and pinstripes, but you would never say no to your grandmother’s beautiful handcrafted silk sari. Something like that would be considered classy and vintage; and even if you don’t wear saris often, the idea of converting that silk sari into a gorgeous evening dress is irresistible.

Shrutkirti works with an array of people: loom owners, independent weavers, manufacturers, and traders. The focus is on making versatile garments that are very easy to style. The startup uses natural dyes for traditional printing techniques like batik, block, table print, indigo, baghru, etc. The product is finished with embellishments using hand embroidery. The home-grown and sustainable brand is suitable for all age.

Decathlon is the official licensee of National Basketball Association (NBA) across India, Africa, Asia, Europe, the Middle East and Latin America markets. The sports goods retailer has signed a multi-year merchandising partnership with NBA. As per the terms, Decathlon will design a dedicated range of NBA team and league-branded base layers, accessories and footwear and sell it under its basketball brand 'Tarmak'.

The collection will be sold through over 1,200 Decathlon stores worldwide including all outlets in India, and online at Decathlon.com. Products will be available for pre-order beginning March 2021 ahead of the April 2021 launch in stores.

Through this partnership, NBA fans and basketball players around the world will have access to an exciting and innovative range of merchandise to help them get in the game. This marks Decathlon's first partnership with a North American sports league. Headquartered in France, the retailer has presence across 1,600 locations in 59 countries.

Created in 2016, Tarmak is Decathlon's basketball brand which designs its own products and technologies, including balls, boards, clothes, shoes, training accessories, protections and supports.

Flipkart starts campaign with Alia Bhat and Ranbir Kapoor to promote its fashion segment. The theme of the campaign is ‘Wear the Next’ aimed at inspiring customers across the country to buy the latest fashion products from Flipkart. The eight weeks campaign will run on television and digital platforms. The etailer is also partnering with brands and on-boarding new sellers to strengthen its fashion vertical.

The company says consumers today are fashion-conscious, value-seeking and aspire to own the latest celebrity fashion trends. The company believes in addressing these needs meaningfully by collaborating with the best in the industry and is constantly on-boarding new brands, sellers, and partners to enhance the customer shopping experience.

Through its latest campaign featuring the stars, the company wants to inspire consumers across the country to explore the latest trends and create their style that they have always wished for. Flipkart sees huge growth potential in the fashion segment and looking to further expand its fashion portfolio through moving to acquire manufacturing and distribution rights for the international denim and casual wear brands.

Amazon Global Selling Propel (AGSP) programme, Amazon’s acceleration program, has partnered with the government’s ‘Invest India’ initiative to help around 10 Indian start-ups to reach global markets.

The company will provide a grant of $50,000 (Rs 37 lakh) to the top three winners of the programme. It has also tied up with venture capital firms Sequoia Capital India and Fireside Ventures, which will invest in some of these businesses.

Amazon India in a statement stated the partnership with Start-up India to launch the accelerator programme will provide emerging brands an opportunity to bring their business propositions to life and help create globally popular brands from India. Amazon India helped over 70,000 Indian sellers and small businesses from its global selling initiative to generate sales worth $2 billion to date and expects goods worth $10 billion to be exported from India by 2025.