26 December 2022, Mumbai
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail is in advanced talks to acquire a 51 per cent stake in TCNS Clothing.
The deal will be a mix of stock and cash, and is likely to be signed and announced soon. The transaction will provide Aditya Birla Fashion access to a strong portfolio of women’s wear brands with a strong distribution network. TCNS Clothing is the owner of the popular women’s wear brands W and Aurelia.
TCNS Clothing reported a 46 per cent growth in revenue in the September quarter from a year ago. Operating profit grew by six per cent while net profit declined 31 per cent.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail sells clothes and accessories from Louis Philippe, Van Heusen, Allen Solly and Peter England, among others. Aditya Birla’s strategy is to build a portfolio of new-age, digital brands across categories in fashion, beauty and lifestyle segments. Aditya Birla plans to enable multiple founders to operate within a synergistic platform that will have shared capabilities and make eight to ten investments in early-stage digital first brands by the end of this financial year with the initial focus being on broad categories of fashion.
Traditional companies have the wherewithal to acquire new D2C brands to compensate for their late entry in the online space, a channel that now accounts for 30 per cent to 50 per cent for several brands.
