21 February 2023, Mumbai

Indian luxury handbag brand Aranyani has opened a flagship store in the UK.

The name Aranyani means goddess of the forest and the new boutique offers an experience based on the idea of a journey through the forest while highlighting the brand’s focus on sustainable artistry, nature and quality.

The 550 sqft ground floor area is primarily focused on retail — creating a calm and inviting space to showcase the quality and artisanal skills used to make each bag. And on the 850 sqft lower ground floor there’s a space for a VIP experience, allowing the customisation of the product, in a luxurious yet approachable environment.

The customer starts their journey at the forest edge as they enter the store, moving deeper under the canopy as they explore – this is a place of curiosity and intrigue with a range of bags beautifully illuminated on elegant, tiered shelving as if resting on the branches of trees. The space draws the customer into the central glade, a sculptural area of soft light that illuminates hero products on large slabs of British stone and Irish marble. The brand brings together the best heritage artistry from India and incorporates them on bags in a contemporary aesthetic.

Aranyani provides an inspiring and enriching environment for artisans and craftsmen to collaborate and create. Each Aranyani handbag is the result of their collective inspirations, talents and dedicated craftsmanship.

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28 February 2023, Mumbai 

DLF Ltd, one of India's largest publicly listed real estate companies, has announced that it will invest Rs 200 crore to expand its mall at Vasant Kunj in Delhi, with a dedicated shopping area for luxury products.

DLF plans to develop 300,000-400,000 sq. ft. of space as a luxury retail area next to DLF Promenade. This additional space will cater to the growing demand for luxury retail post-Covid and help DLF get international and domestic luxury brands as tenants.

DLF has several expansion plans and new development phases lined up for the mall, and is set to introduce new brands and infrastructural changes that are expected to revolutionize the mall industry.

DLF Promenade aims to introduce three new consumer experiences in the coming years, including a creche for parents to leave their kids, gaming and engagement zones for teenagers, and a variety of brands for consumers to choose and shop. The mall has also launched the biggest Zara store in Delhi, featuring a beauty section.

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25 February 2023, Mumbai 

By the end of 2025 Metro Brands plans to add 260 new footwear stores.

Metro Brands which now has some 720 stores and nearly 4,000 employees overall will also hire between 1,500 and 2,000 workers in the country to staff the new footwear stores.

The rising affluence in the country and a shift in consumer spend from mom-and-pop stores to bigger chains have set Metro up for sales gains. The company’s revenue rose by 68 per cent for the nine months ended December 31, 2022. The footwear company runs four brands under its umbrella, Metro Shoes, Mochi, Crocs and Walkway. Online marketplaces including Myntra, Flipkart and Amazon collectively contribute 85 per cent of its online sales whereas its own portal contributes 15 per cent of the sales. Additionally, it plans to expand the product portfolio.

In 2015 Metro signed a retail partnership agreement with Crocs to help increase the global footwear company’s presence across the nation. As per the agreement, Metro Shoes would open exclusive brand outlets of Crocs footwear across the country.

Metro, which operates nearly 200 exclusive stores selling only footwear made by Crocs, expects to benefit from the US company’s plans to sharpen its focus on sandals, which is commonly worn by Indians.

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18 February 2023, Mumbai 

Norblack Norwhite has opened a store in New Delhi.

The store features the brand’s latest collection of bright and bold garments, displayed among a selection of art pieces. The store launch party featured music by Digging in India as well as live art and an installation. A large tapestry made of an illustration by Toronto-based artist Rajni Perreira hangs in the store and a projector shows a time-lapse video of its creation.

This eclectic mix of art and fashion is reflected in Norblack Norwhite’s clothing designs, which play with colour and proportion.

Norblack Norwhite, based in Mumbai, opened in 2010. The label is designed to celebrate traditional craft techniques and mix them in new ways for a modern audience. The brand also retails from its dedicated e-commerce store.

The brand’s latest designs include patchwork style quilted jackets and layered tie dye garments to create a colourful and eclectic look.

In addition to designing, producing and promoting Indian crafts to the world, Norblack Norwhite operates as a creative studio that provides design and diversity consultancy, servicing and collaborations. The brand was born out of paying respect to the past, questioning the present and creating for the future.

One way is of developing fresh ways to re-interpret tie dye textiles and create awareness about how precious these underrepresented art forms are from an aesthetic, process and value point of view.

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28 February 2023, Mumbai 

Tencel brand partnered with Intimasia 2023 to showcase the future of intimate wear in India. Intimasia, held in Mumbai from 20th to 22nd February 2023, was South Asia's largest B2B fashion expo in the intimate wear category, with over 200 brands, 100 raw material suppliers, 15,000 retailers and distributors, and 500 delegates present in the 120,000-square-foot venue.

Products from lingerie to sportswear and accessories such as lace, packaging, retail software, display solutions, and machines were exhibited.

Lenzing’s Tencel brand exhibited innovations at the event, with its lyocell and modal fibers in high demand in the Indian intimate wear market. These fibers, made from sustainably harvested wood, offer superior comfort, smoothness, and temperature regulation, and effectively absorb moisture while creating a less favorable environment for bacteria growth. National and international brands have adopted these fibers as they offer more value than existing fibers like cotton and are becoming more cost-competitive.

Avinash Mane, Commercial Director of Lenzing fibers, South Asia, commented on the brand's commitment to expanding the Indian intimate apparel market through TENCEL INTIMASIA, stating that the event provided an excellent platform for networking.

The event featured panel discussions with industry experts and showcased product demonstrations and collection debuts, bringing together producers, wholesalers, suppliers, retailers, and other industry experts.

The Indian innerwear and comfort wear market, valued at INR 600 billion, is expected to reach INR 900 billion by 2026, offering significant growth opportunities.

Yusuf Dohadwala, the Chief Organizer and CEO of Intimate Apparel Association of India, stated that the success of INTIMASIA has set a new milestone for the Hosiery & Knitwear Industry, with record participation from both exhibitors and visitors. He further emphasized that the show displayed India's preparedness to increase exports for the intimate wear industry and replace China soon.

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24 February 2023, Mumbai 

Fitkin is an athleisure brand that champions the goal of making fitness an affordable and attainable lifestyle.

The collection boasts a diverse array of categories, sports bras, training tights, workout tees, tanks, sweatshirts, jackets and joggers.

The brand based in India opened in 2020 and since then has achieved a three-fold year on year growth. Fitkin’s devotion to crafting exceptional active wear accessible to all reflects its forward-thinking ethos and highlights its unwavering mission to create a positive impact on the world.

The vision is to transform fitness from a monotonous chore into a full-blown lifestyle. Fitkin intends to diversify its offerings by introducing an assortment of sizes ranging from children’s collections to multiple collections catering to both men and women, thus ensuring the availability of exceptional activewear for all.

Fitkin has garnered numerous accolades and recognitions, establishing its reputation as a trailblazing brand in the industry. Among the prestigious accolades it has achieved is being recognized as one of the top five women startups in India. The brand has also been widely celebrated in prominent media outlets commending Fitkin's exceptional quality and design.

Fitkin aims at being a top choice for individuals looking to embrace an active lifestyle without compromising on quality or breaking the bank.

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India Beach Fashion Week was held in Goa, February 13 to 14, 2023.

Vikram Phadnis launched his maiden resort wear collection. With bright greens, tie dye, and hints of traditional patterns, the collection was youthful, wearable, and playful. The free-flowing silhouettes reflected Vikram’s love for bohemian prints, cuts and styling. The clothes were comfortably chic, but since he was showcasing them at the curtain-raiser he glammed them up with elaborate hair-dos and funky makeup. Designer and former Miss Teen Universe Srishti Kaur’s collection was designed to blend art and fashion and mixed dramatic silhouettes with glittering embellishments. Actress Sakshi Malik walked the ramp as showstopper for Kaur wearing a tactile silver dress featuring intricate bead work and a dramatic neck piece. Open-air ramps, including India’s longest ramp and the first one facing the sea, made it a one-of-its-kind fashion festival. There were designated festival areas and brand engagement booths, makeover zones and experience zones with store installations and villa blocks within the main show area and even an after-party conclave zone. The event was presented by Ikonic and powered by Timex. India Beach Fashion Week’s experience partner was Dubai-based record label Royal Falcon Music Production which provided live music for the shows.

25 February 2023, Mumbai 

Kolkata’s retail leasing momentum remained strong in the fourth quarter of the year driven by continued bullishness in consumer spending on categories such as fashion, consumer electronics, jewellery, and accessories. So says Cushman & Wakefield.

Due to limited mall supply, main streets in Kolkata are expected to dominate near-term leasing in the retail space. Prominent shopping malls and main streets saw a sharp increase in footfalls in the quarter exceeding pre-Covid levels, both on weekdays and weekends, with festive season demand driving retail sales higher.

Total retail leasing volumes grew by 25 percent to 30 percent over the previous quarter. Although malls accounted for around a quarter of leasing volume in the fourth quarter as compared to less than five percent in the previous quarters, main streets accounted for 75 per cent of leasing volumes. The fashion and apparel segment accounted for around 60 per cent of retail leasing in the fourth quarter followed by consumer electronics at 20 per cent.

The QSR segment within the food and beverage sector is likely to expand not just in Kolkata but also in surrounding markets, says Cushman & Wakefield. However, a major proportion of this expansion is likely to be concentrated around main streets due to space constraints in existing Grade A malls and low visibility of mall supply over the next few quarters.

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16 February 2023, Mumbai

For the third quarter Liberty Shoes’ net profit fell by 63 per cent. Revenue for the quarter rose by five percent. Liberty’s total expenses during the quarter grew to Rs 156 crores as compared to Rs 146 crores in the year-ago period. The company has seen continued demand through online and offline stores for its products.

During the third quarter overall ebitda in terms of value decreased by Rs 3 crores as compared to the corresponding quarter of the previous fiscal mainly due to an increase in overhead cost and incurring of marketing expenses as planned to maximise customer attraction during the festive season, the results of which are yet to be seen.

The company feels its performance in the current financial year till now has shown improvement at all fronts including profit and the company is hopeful of continuing with this trend. Liberty Shoes currently has a total of over 400 flagship stores across India and is present in over 5,000 multi-brand outlets. It also retails from its e-commerce store.

Liberty has been one of the favourite footwear brands of India for many decades. Liberty is successfully capturing the markets of Tier II and Tier III cities of the North.

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