Brands
Christian Louboutin announces a joint venture partnership with ABFRL
Mumbai: Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd (ABFRL), India’s leading fashion company, has announced a partnership with Christian Louboutin, one of the world’s most famous shoe designers known for his high-end footwear and iconic soles. This joint venture envisages the transfer of the current Indian business into a newly incorporated subsidiary of ABFRL where the partners will hold equal stake.
Founded in 1991 in the heart of Paris, Christian Louboutin is one of the leading names in global luxury, world famous for its signature red sole shoes. Christian Louboutin has successfully diversified its business into men’s footwear, leather goods & accessories, beauty and kids. Christian Louboutin has established its retail presence in over 30 countries.
“We are excited to partner with ABFRL’s team and look forward to working with them to manage and develop the business in India which is an extremely important market for us,” commented Christian Louboutin’s Group CEO Alexis Mourot.
Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited managing director Ashish Dikshit commented “We are thrilled to announce our strategic alliance with Christian Louboutin, a true icon in luxury footwear. This partnership reflects our commitment to offering our discerning customers the very best in elegance and style. It also exemplifies our ambition to develop and shape the future of the luxury market in India.”
“We are excited to welcome Christian Louboutin into the ABFRL family and building a strong platform for the brand in India. The brand’s distinctive style and craftsmanship appeals to a discerning Indian audience that is growing rapidly,” commented Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd CEO of international business Sathyajit Radhakrishnan.
The company’s international brands portfolio includes – The Collective, Amongst India’s largest multi-brand retailers of international brands and has long term exclusive partnerships with select brands such as Ralph Lauren, Hackett London, Ted Baker, Fred Perry, Forever 21, American Eagle, Reebok and Galeries Lafayette.
Van Heusen innerwear, athleisure and active wear is establishing itself as India’s most innovative and fashionable brand. The Company’s foray into branded ethnic wear business includes brands such as Jaypore, Tasva & Marigold Lane. The company has strategic partnerships with Designers ‘Shantnu & Nikhil’, ‘Tarun Tahiliani’, ‘Sabyasachi’ and ‘House of Masaba’.
In addition, to cater to the needs of digitally native consumers, ABFRL is building a portfolio of Digital-first brands under its technology-led ‘House of D2C Brands’ venture TMRW. TMRW is on a path to building a portfolio of digital-first brands in partnership with founders of emerging brands in the e-commerce market. With a focus on fashion & lifestyle categories, TMRW is building a portfolio of the most loved consumer brands that tap into the significant growth potential in India and globally.
Brands
Faber-Castell India appoints Sunaina Haldar as director – marketing
With stints at Tata, SleepyCat and ADF Foods under her belt, Haldar is primed to redraw Faber-Castell’s brand story
MUMBAI: Faber-Castell India has poached Sunaina Haldar from ADF Foods, appointing her director – marketing as the German stationery brand looks to muscle up in a category that is rapidly reinventing itself around creativity and self-expression.
Haldar hit the ground running. “My first couple of weeks have been incredibly energising, understanding consumers, visiting markets, engaging with retailers and immersing myself into the world of Faber-Castell Group,” she said.
She arrives with considerable firepower. At ADF Foods, Haldar ran marketing across India and international markets for a portfolio spanning Ashoka, Aeroplane, Camel and ADF Soul. Before that, she was vice-president – marketing at direct-to-consumer mattress brand SleepyCat, where she helmed brand, content and performance marketing. Her résumé also includes a stint leading marketing, new product development and CRM for Tata SmartFoodz at Tata Consumer Products, no small proving ground.
Between corporate roles, Haldar also operated as a fractional CMO for early-stage startups, building marketing strategy and operational structures from scratch, a signal that she knows how to move fast with limited resources.
With 18 years straddling FMCG, D2C and the startup world, Haldar now takes the reins at a brand that has long owned the classroom but is clearly hungry for the living room. In a stationery market where the pencil has become a lifestyle statement, Faber-Castell has picked someone who knows exactly how to sell that story.
