Asos confirms India entry with Reliance Retail partnership

Following heightened media speculation, British e-tailer Asos has now confirmed that it will be entering the Indian market through a new long-term partnership with the country’s Reliance Retail.

With the deal, Reliance Retail will serve as the exclusive retail partner for Asos across all online and offline channels in India.

It has been tasked with introducing the company’s portfolio of own brand labels to the market via a multi-channel presence in a “diverse array of retail formats”. This will include exclusive brand stores, multi-brand store expressions and digital commerce platforms.

Speaking on the partnership, José Antonio Ramos, CEO of Asos, said in a release: “Our purpose is to give fashion lovers around the world the confidence to be whoever they want to be through access to the latest and best trends.

“Together with Reliance Retail, we’re excited to be bringing some of our fashion-led own-brands to customers in India – including Asos Design, one of the biggest British fashion brands on the planet.”

Reliance Retail has been securing similar deals with other companies of Asos’ calibre, including Superdry, which is also looking to accelerate its growth in the region.

For Asos, however, the opportunity to expand into a new market comes at a time when the company continues to battle waning demand and resulting losses in Europe, a trend that fed into the first half period of the year, during which the company reported an adjusted pre-tax loss of 120 million pounds.