Flipkart to acquire India brand rights for Lee and Wrangler

Walmart-owned Flipkart is negotiating with the American clothing company Kontoor Brands to acquire the brand rights of Lee and Wrangler in India.

If the materializes, Flipkart will acquire manufacturing and distribution rights of these brands. Earlier this month, Flipkart had announced a House of Brands initiative to bring together Flipkart Fashion Originals, Myntra Fashion Brands and Myntra Brand Accelerators under one umbrella.

Reports suggest Flipkart has already bought a significant minority stake in Arvind Youth Brands that owns the Flying Machine brand. When Arvind was running Lee in India, in the late ’90s, it was the top denim brand in terms of sales.

But after VF Corp took over, it started selling Lee and Wrangler in the same stores which led to a decline in the sales of these brands.