RBL to expand luxury retail chain, ‘The White Crow’ across India
12 August 2024, Mumbai
As luxury shopping gains momentum in India, Reliance Brands (RBL), a subsidiary of Reliance Retail, plans to expand its luxury retail chain, ‘The White Crow’ across India. Currently operational in 12 cities of India, the five-year-old multi-brand retail chain intends to extend to more cities. Capitalising on the model’s scalability to penetrate both metro and mini-metor markets, the retail store chain plans to expand to cities like Delhi, Bengaluru, and Kolkata.
With sizes ranging from 8,000 sqft to 10,000 ft, the White Crow stores offer a curated selection of luxury brands such as Armani, Burberry, Salvatore Ferragamo, Kate Spade, Michael Kors, and Canali. These stores are designed to appeal to affluent consumers through a combination of curated collections, streamlined product categorisation, and mixed merchandising.
As per SusilDungarwal, a retail and mall specialist, the availability of luxury retail destinations in India is limited. The country needs to set up more luxury retail formats to cater to the expanding base of luxury shoppers.
A report by Bain & Company projects, rapid economic growth and an increase in the number of ultra-high-net-worth individuals will drive India’s luxury market from its current size of $25 billion to $90 billion by 2030. This growth prompts large retailers like Reliance Retail to rapidly expand their luxury retail footprint.
Another retailer, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, which operates ‘The Collective,’ a luxury store chain with over 30 outlets across the country, each measuring around 10,000-11,000 sqft, plans to add 15-20 more outlets in the next year, reflecting the growing demand for luxury retail spaces.
