H&M now in India
Swedish fast-fashion brand Hennes and Mauritz AB (H&M) opened its first Indian outlet in South Delhi's Select CityWalk Mall. India is H&M's 60th market worldwide. The company plans to invest €100 million (about Rs.730 crore) over the next five years in opening at least 50 stores in the country. Brands like Zara, Marks&Spencers, Gap, Forever 21, Mango are its competition in the same mall.
Fashion retailer Zara opened its first Indian store on 31 May 2010. This was a joint venture between the Spanish owner Inditex and the Indian conglomerate Tata Group. Zara made retail history in India as the store recorded the maximum single-day sales by a global retailer in India. Zara has a total of 12 stores in India as of now.
Bebe, a beloved name in women's fashion retail hit the Indian market in October 2011. Major Brands had partnered with Bebe, and had opened the first store at the Pacific Mall, New Delhi. The brand had plans to expand to 7 outlets at Infiniti Malad, Khar Linking Road, DLF Promenade, Vasant Kunj, Market City, Pune, Market City, Bangalore by Dec 2011.
Superdry opened its first store in Mumbai, as a joint venture between the British fashion brand Superdry and Mukesh Ambani's Reliance Brands. A unit of Reliance Industries, Reliance Brands, has signed a 20-year licensee agreement with UK's SuperGroup, owners of the Superdry label. Superdry has expanded to 8 stores by now.
30th May saw the opening of GAP's first store in India at Select Citywalk, Saket, New Delhi. It was inaugurated by Bollywood celebrity - Kangana Ranaut. The store was in partnership with Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd and offers GapKids, Gap for women and men, babyGap and the Summer 2015 collections. GAP is expecting Rs. 1000 crore revenue in the coming 5-6 years from India.
Hennes & Mauritz (H&M) have decided to set foot in India and will open their first store in the Indian capital by September 2015. Like GAP, H&M will open their first flagship store at Select Citywalk in Saket and will offer retail for women, men and children. The H&M Group hopes to open at least 50 stores in India over time.
After H&M, brands like Children's Place, Abercrombie & Fitch, Topshop and Zara's higher end label Massimo Dutti are all set to make their Indian debut by 2016.
H&M will operate as its own 'single-brand retailer' complying with Indian FDI norms, unlike Zara and Gap, which entered India with local partners.
