Reliance Industries acquires John Players from ITC

By

Isabelle Crossley

Published
Mar 26, 2019

Reliance Industries’ retail unit has acquired the menswear brand John Players from ITC Limited. The acquisition adds around Rs 350 crore ($52.6 million) to Reliance Retail’s fashion business as ITC shifts its focus to the premium segment.

The deal was signed last week and is estimated to be worth around Rs 150 crore, as per a report by ET Bureau. Reliance Retail now owns the assets of John Players, including distribution rights across 750 stores and 65 flagship outlets, with management of the the mid-to-value men's fashion brand falling to Reliance Retail divisions, Reliance Trends and Ajio. John Players is the latest acquisition for Reliance Industries, as its retail branch continues to consolidate its fashion and lifestyle market dominance in India.

“The acquisition will strengthen Reliance Retail’s readymade garments and accessories portfolio in the fashion and lifestyle retail space, and further consolidate leadership position as India’s largest, most profitable and fastest-growing retailer,” said a Reliance Industries spokesperson in a statement. 

“A substantial portion of John Players business, around 65%, was already undertaken through Reliance Retail, through Reliance Trends stores and Ajio.com,” a source told ET Bureau.

Comparatively, ITC is currently working on shifting its apparel business focus to the premium section of the market. In conjunction with offloading John Players, ITC relaunched its ITC Wills Lifestyle stores as WLS stores in February. The business does not disclose its financials but media reports have stated that it is currently loss-making.