Reliance Retail acquires majority stake in Clovia for Rs 950 Cr; 3rd loungewear acquisition after Zivame, Amante

Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd (RRVL) on Sunday announced the acquisition of a majority 89 percent equity stake in Clovia, an industry leader in the bridge-to-premium intimate wear category, with an investment of Rs 950 crore.

RRVL has acquired 89 percent equity stake in Purple Panda Fashions Pvt Ltd, which owns and operates the Clovia business, through a combination of secondary stake purchase and primary investment, said a joint statement.

The founding team and management will own the balance stake in the company, it added.

With this acquisition, RRVL will further strengthen its portfolio in the innerwear segment, as it already has acquired Zivame and Amante brands in the past.

Launched in 2013 by Pankaj Vermani, Neha Kant, and Suman Choudhary, with Soumya Kant and Abhay Batra later joining as co-founders, Clovia is India's leading bridge-to-premium D2C brand in innerwear and loungewear for millennial women.

It commands a strong customer following in the intimate wear space and is known for its design-led fresh styles and sharply-priced offerings to customers.

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Commenting on the development, RRVL Director Isha Ambani said, "Reliance has always been at the forefront of enhancing choices and offering the best value proposition to consumers. We are pleased to add style, quality and design-led intimate wear brand Clovia' to our portfolio. We look forward to working with the strong management team at Clovia to take the business to greater heights."

Clovia Founder and CEO Pankaj Vermani said, "Clovia is excited to become a part of the Reliance Retail family. Through this partnership, we will benefit from Reliance's scale and retail expertise, extending the presence of the brand and bring together stronger value proposition through world-class quality, design and fashion in the intimate wear category. We look forward to making Clovia the most loved brand in this category."

RRVL is a subsidiary of oil-to-chemical conglomerate Reliance Industries Ltd.

Last year, in November, RRVL acquired the retail lingerie businesses under the Amante' umbrella brand from MAS Brands, a wholly-owned subsidiary of Sri Lanka-based MAS Holdings, for an undisclosed amount. It had also acquired a minority stake in Actoserba Active Wholesale, which owns and operates online lingerie store Zivame.

In October, RRVL acquired a 52 percent stake in veteran couturier Ritu Kumar's firm Ritika Pvt Ltd for an undisclosed amount. Besides, Reliance Brands Ltd (RBL) has announced picking up a 40 per cent minority stake in renowned fashion designer Manish Malhotra's MM Styles Pvt Ltd.