Diesel to cut deal with Arvind Mills

FINALLY, cult designer Renzo Rosso is cutting a deal with textile baron Sanjay Lalbhai. Iconic Italian clothing company Diesel is expected to ink a joint venture with Arvind Mills to enter the Indian market. Diesel, famous for its edgy denims, has narrowed down the search for a local partner to Arvind Mills after looking at other potential allies like Murjanis and AV Birla, informed sources said. Both players are currently involved in finalising a business plan following which the equity structure of the JV would be firmed up. Diesel could take a majority stake in the venture. A formal deal is likely to be unveiled in the next few months, a company official said. Renzo Rosso and Adriano Goldschmied founded Diesel in 1978. The former took complete control of the company in 1985 and unleashed an international marketing blitzkrieg in the early 90s. It is learnt that Darshan Mehta, who has spearheaded Mr Lalbhai’s branded apparel business lately, will be at helm of the JV initially. This will be the second JV between Mr Lalbhai and an international designer brand. Arvind Mills already has an equal JV with Murjanis for operating Tommy Hilfiger brand in India.

Diesel denims to cost Rs 10k

SOURCES said Diesel is unlikely to unfurl a major retail push straight-away and could settle for two to four stores in the initial phase. The Italian brand is expected to price its denim line starting at Rs 10,000. Currently, other international denim brands like Energie and Replay are priced at Rs 7,000-8,000. Levi’s has a significant share of the super-premium domestic jeans market, which is growing at a fast clip. Arvind, one among the world’s top three denim mills, has been instrumental in developing market for clothing major VF Corp’s denim brands like Lee and Wrangler — initially through a licensing deal that morphed into an equity joint venture last year. India’s denim market, which is growing at 16-18%, is estimated at around 35 million pairs, valued at Rs 4,000 crore.

Courtesy: EconomicTimes