Abercrombie & Fitch eyes India to revive fortune

By

Maverick Martins

Published
Aug 28, 2017

US-based brand Abercrombie & Fitch is looking to India to revive its fortunes after sales continue to plummet in the American and other international markets. The company is believed to be in talks with a host of Indian companies for its foray into the lucrative fashion market.

 Abercrombie & Fitch is in talks with a host of Indian companies, including Myntra.com, to open standalone outlets of Abercrombie & Fitch and Hollister and to give their online selling rights to the Indian firm, Economic Times report citing sources.
 
"There's no truth to the rumour and there are no current plans to open A&F or Hollister stores in India," an Abercrombie spokesperson said. However, when asked if he was denying the NYSE-listed retailer is in talks with Myntra, he said: "We have no comments beyond this statement."

The Indian apparel market is expected to grow to $180 billion by 2025, according to a global textile report by Axis Direct while the domestic online fashion market is estimated to reach $12-$14 billion by 2020, according to a joint study by the global Boston Consulting Group (BCG) and social media giant Facebook.
 
With the above numbers it is no surprise that American and European brands are targeting companies with online presence for their foray into India to capitalize from both the online as well as offline markets.
 
If the talks with the Indian firms are successful Abercrombie & Fitch is likely to enter the Indian market by 2018.
 
New Albany, Ohio-based Abercrombie operates around 700 stores in the United States and nearly 200 more internationally.