15 October 2022, Mumbai:

Indian consumers are lapping up everything from cars, houses, and television sets to travel, fashion and jewellery.

Online and offline sales during the Hindu festival period starting in the last week of September and lasting until early November are estimated to be 25 percent higher than last year. Retail sales always peak from October to November, when the nation of 1.4 billion celebrates Dussehra and Diwali. It's also an auspicious time to get married.

But the surge this year is much larger, mainly due to pent-up demand as Covid recedes two years after devastating the country, as well as a rise in wages and an increase in jobs as the economy recovers. With a four-fold rise in online buyers since 2018 and demand for items like mobile handsets and fashion garments spreading to small towns, such sales are likely to remain strong at least for the next three months.

Auto sales, including those of two-wheelers, rose 57 percent during the nine most auspicious days in the Hindu calendar this month compared to last year and were nearly one-fifth higher compared to the pre-pandemic period in 2019. In the country’s top seven cities, home sales in the September quarter rose nearly 70 percent from a year earlier.

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12 October 2022, Mumbai:

Elle bags are available at Lifestyle. Elle is a premium brand from France and the high-end bags for women exude sheer elegance and effortless style and have a sophisticated color palette with the finest silhouettes and eye-catching designs.

Some of the must-haves are the classic tote bags, the hands-free cross-body bags, the weight-balanced sling bags, the tiny chic clutch bags, and the unique round bags aka circle bags. The range of gorgeous handbags from Elle is sure to elevate all outfits from casual to elegant.

Department store chain Lifestyle is a part of the Dubai-based Landmark Group. The retailer sells clothing and accessories both via stores and online. Lifestyle opened its first store in India in 1999. Lifestyle stores sell apparel, footwear, children’s wear, beauty, and accessories across both the retailer’s private labels as well as third-party brands.

Lifestyle revenues for fiscal 2021-22 rose 38 percent. Lifestyle will diversify into smaller cities. One reason is the rising real estate costs in metros and large towns. Lifestyle has 85 stores across the country with more than 70 percent in metros and Tier I locations. The retailer is looking to expand in phases and by the end of March 2023, at least 1,518 stores in Tier II markets are expected to be operational.

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07 October 2022, Mumbai:

Pooja Hegde is brand ambassador for Forever New. The partnership with her will enable Forever New to showcase some of the most elegant products from the world of fashion, style and glamour to a much larger audience of women in India aspiring to wear high fashion, high quality, and on-trend clothing. <p>

Forever New, based in Australia, a women’s western apparel brand, blends modern and contemporary feminine trends with flattering silhouettes and classic styling backed by impeccable quality. The collection is famous for its timeless wardrobe staples as well as trending pieces. A Forever New woman dons a style that marks a moment and projects a stylish and classic statement every time she is out to attend a gathering or enjoy herself. From classic knitwear and workwear tops to luxe evening dresses, the brand has something to suit every style and every body type.  There is hot pink for occasion wear and glamorous dresses in vivid blue, dark florals, and ravishing red for everyday go-to outfits. For a night out there is a fun mini dress with a bold gingham print or sleek ruched detailing. For a more casual get-together there is a vintage-inspired floral dress while luxe velvet or cut-out midi dresses are meant for high glam parties.

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06 October 2022, Mumbai:

Uniqlo will open a high street store in New Delhi next week. This will be the Japanese retailer’s ninth store in India. The store is set against a historic building and measures close to 8,000 sq. ft. of sales area across three levels. The store features natural light on the first floor through the skylight.

The store will introduce a brand new shopping experience for customers with its thoughtful designs, and high-quality and functional products that are made for all. The store will feature UniqloLifeWear, available in a variety of colors and styles for people of all ages. This apparel comes from the Japanese values of simplicity, quality, and longevity. It will also offer an entire range of fall and winter products for men, women, and children. Customers can also find easy care rayon, denim, fine cloth shirts, and smart ankle pants.

Uniqlo remains committed to being an integral part of India’s retail growth and in fact its first store in India was in New Delhi. For the first time since it came to India three years ago Uniqlo has made a profit. As an international brand, it is able to get good locations and is a preferred tenant.

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13 October 2022, Mumbai:

The National Basketball Association (NBA) has launched its merchandise in India in collaboration with Reliance Retail.

This includes a comprehensive range of adult and youth apparel, accessories, back-to-school supplies, toys, collectibles, and more.

Reliance Retail is India’s largest retailer and has been a partner of the NBA for years. NBA is one of the most followed sports leagues globally. As the NBA’s popularity in India continues to grow, making products more broadly available reflects its commitment to providing fans in India with a memorable experience.

The National Basketball Association is a global sports and media organization with the mission to inspire and connect people everywhere through the power of basketball.  Built around five professional sports leagues, the NBA has established a major international presence with games and programming available in 215 countries and territories in more than 50 languages, and merchandise for sale in more than 200 countries and territories on all seven continents. 

The NBA has created one of the largest social media communities in the world, with 2.1 billion likes and followers globally across all league, team, and player platforms.  Through NBA Cares, the league addresses important social issues by working with internationally recognized youth-serving organizations that support education, youth and family development, and health-related causes.

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11 October 2022, Mumbai:

Fabindia has opened a store in Jhansi.

The store has sections for menswear and womenswear and has Fabindia’s new festive collection featuring occasion wear in crimson and jewel-toned hues. The store also retails traditional accessories and jewellery.

The store also has a more casual offering for men and women with ethnic sets and fusion-style separates. Other segments include a home textile and crockery section as well as an organic food section which retails naturally produced foods from across India with the aim of supporting local producers.

The store has a dedicated segment for the brand’s FabEssentials line of personal care and beauty products. Launched in December 2021, the line is Fabindia’s foray into the fast-growing Indian skin & beautycare market with natural products inspired by traditional herbal remedies and Indian flora.

Fabindia is ethnic wear and lifestyle retailer. Fabindia’s revenue rose 31 percent in fiscal 2022 over fiscal 2021. The one-third increase in revenue significantly wiped out the adverse impact of the pandemic on sales.

Following relaxation in Covid pandemic-related restrictions starting June 2021, improved customer sentiment, further aided by the festive season and expansion of the retail store portfolio, the trajectory of revenue continued to improve month-on-month till year-end.

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06 October 2022, Mumbai:

Fabindia has opened a store in Mizoram. The ethnic wear and lifestyle brand’s new outlet houses its clothing, homeware, jewelry, and personal care lines and has dedicated sections for men’s wear, women’s wear, and children’s wear with its latest collections for the festive season as well as casual wear options. The store also has fashion jewelry, personal care, skincare and beauty, homeware, lighting, tableware, curtains and organic foods.

Fabindia, which has opened a number of stores in autumn 2022, has also increased its focus on sustainable product lines. The brand recently launched its Tarini collection of homeware and accessories which are handwoven by the brand’s artisans. The products are made using polypropylene with acrylic yarn embroidery, sustainably sourced from cement bags procured from scrap shops which are cleaned and processed.

Following relaxation in Covid pandemic-related restrictions starting June 2021, improved customer sentiment further aided by the festive season and expansion of the retail store portfolio, the trajectory of revenues continued to improve month-on-month till year-end. Fabindia has more than 300 stores.

India is still a largely unorganised market for traditional and ethnic products but several retailers from leading department chains have been offering contemporary styling in the ethnicwear space.

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12 October 2022, Mumbai:

Uniqlo will soon open its seventh store in Delhi NCR. This brings Uniqlo’s store total in India to nine. The store measures close to 8000 square feet and the location was previously occupied by Italian clothing brand Benetton.

The store is part of Uniqlo’s growing India network across Delhi, Gurgaon and Noida as well as Lucknow and its latest opening in Chandigarh.

The spacious store features three storeys and has a bright, modern interior. It will offer the entire range of fall and winter products for men, women and children including its innovative and functional Ultra Light Down, Heattech garments and recycled fleece as well as products featuring premium fabrics such as flannel, cashmere, lambswool and merino.

Customers can also find Uniqlo’s essential items such as easy care rayon, denims, fine cloth shirts and smart ankle pants. The Japanese fashion brand will run a series of contests and offers to draw customer footfall to the new store. The first 20 shoppers will receive a fleece yarn jacket as a free gift and shoppers spending over Rs 5,000 will receive an exclusive notebook.

For the first time since it came to India three years ago Uniqlo has made a profit.

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10 October 2022, Mumbai:

Lifestyle revenues for fiscal 2021-22 rose 38 per cent. Department store chain Lifestyle is a part of the Dubai-based Landmark Group. The retailer sells clothing and accessories both via stores and online.

Lifestyle opened its first store in India in 1999.Lifestyle stores sell apparel, footwear, children’s wear, beauty and accessories across both the retailer’s private labels as well as third party brands such as Pepe Jeans, United Colours of Benetton, Biba, Allen Solly, among several others. In 2005, Lifestyle launched its first specialized, standalone home improvement store, Home Centre, that sells furniture, homeware and soft furnishing.

Lifestyle will diversify into smaller cities. One reason is the rising real estate costs in metros and large towns. Lifestyle has 85 stores across the country with more than 70 per cent in metros and Tier I locations. The retailer is looking to expand in phases and by the end of March 2023 at least 1,518 stores in Tier II markets are expected to be operational. The business model in Tier II locations will be different, with a different store size, different products and a different brand mix. Products will be created separately for these markets. The first choice will be a mall where there is like-to-like participation of other brands. The second choice would be a standalone store on a high street.

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04 October 2022, Mumbai:

Trends has opened two stores in Orissa. One is 9587 sqft and the other is 4300 sq ft. They boast of modern looks and an ambience featuring an exciting range of good quality fashion merchandise that is relevant to the consumers of the region and at prices that are affordable and seen as high value for money. Customers can look forward to a uniquely special and superlative experience of shopping for trendy women’s wear, men’s wear, children’s wear and fashion accessories.

Trends, the apparel and accessories specialty chain of Reliance Retail, is democratizing fashion in India by strengthening its reach and connecting with consumers in India – right from metros, mini metros to Tier I and II towns and beyond. The Budgam Trends store is 10,000 sq ft.

Reliance Retail plans to capture a lion’s share of the organised Indian retail market. The Mukesh Ambani-led retail giant is charting aggressive expansion plans. It will further consolidate its leadership position through a four-pronged strategy—expanding geographical reach into smaller towns, innovating more concept stores, going omni-channel and leveraging technology and data analytics. The company also plans to converge its offline and online business by way of the omni-channel strategy to offer a seamless experience to customers.

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