Giorgio Armani is ending its Indian joint venture with DLF Brands. The Italian fashion house will now enter into a franchisee deal with Genesis Luxury to expand its retail presence in India.
All the three companies confirmed the development.
DLF Brands Chief Executive Officer Dipak Agarwal said the break-up with Armani is in line with its strategy of withdrawing from luxury. “We are not expanding in luxury anymore. Also Armani wanted to move to a franchise mode which we could not do,” he said.
Armani will now sign a franchisee deal with Genesis Luxury, which has a joint venture with Burberry in India and represents brands such as Canali, Jimmy Choo and Bottega Veneta in the country.
Once the deal is signed-it is expected this week-Genesis will take over the management of the three Armani stores in India. It plans to open 20 more Armani stores over the next four-five years and take Emporio Armani, Giorgio Armani and Armani Jeans brands to cities such as Chennai, Bangalore and Kolkata.
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