Clothing brand Kiabi pursues talks to enter India market

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 13, 2023

French business Kiabi plans to enter the Indian market. The value fashion retailer is currently looking for locations in which it would be suitable to open stores in metro areas and recently sent a team to the country for research. 

“The company had initiated the discussion to enter [the] India market pre-pandemic but covid slowed down the process,” an anonymous source close to the development told ET Bureau. “They have now appointed a consultant to facilitate the India entry.” 

“In line with our vision and as part of our development strategy, we are currently studying the Indian market,” said Kiabi’s international development heads Florence Leclerc and Sébastien Garin in an email interaction with FashionNetwork.com. “To do this, we are accelerating our international development by optimising our partnerships, multiplying our business formats, and adapting to the local market. We will go from 560 to 680 contact points in 30 countries by the end of 2023, and in order to achieve this we are constantly looking for new partners.”

On their trip to India, members of Kiabi’s global team surveyed potential retail spaces and also visited a number of premium malls in the Delhi NCR, according to the source. Kiabi is looking into opening large format stores to house its full product selection. 
 
India’s growing middle class and increasing consumer demand for branded fashion presents a significant growth opportunity for apparel retailers both in metro areas and beyond. This, coupled with a growing adoption of western wear across the country, makes India an attractive destination for international clothing brands. 
 
Kiabi retails in around 15 different countries and the business is owned by the Association Familiale Mulliez which is the holding company of the Mulliez family. AFM also runs sportswear business Decathlon and supermarket chain Auchan as well as numerous other retail brands.