Brands
Reliance Retail snaps up Kelvinator in bold consumer durables play
MUMBAI: Reliance Retail has bagged Kelvinator in a deal that signals its aggressive push into India’s Rs 75,000 crore consumer durables market. The acquisition brings the century-old global refrigeration pioneer under the wing of one of India’s most voracious retailers.
The details of the acquisition were not revealed at the time of writing, but Reliance Retail, had earlier signed a 10-year deal with Electrolux for brand licensing, manufacturing, marketing, and distributing the Kelvinator brand. The latter’s consumer cooling products have been absent from the Indian market for while now
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Kelvinator, a household name in the ’70s and ’80s, was once the epitome of Indian middle-class aspiration with its catchphrase, “The Coolest One.” Reliance now plans to reboot the brand’s nostalgia with cutting-edge appliances, promising mass access to global-quality tech at local prices.
“Our mission has always been to serve the diverse needs of every Indian by making technology accessible, meaningful, and future-ready,” stated Reliance Retail Ventures executive director Isha M Ambani.”The acquisition of Kelvinator marks a pivotal moment, enabling us to significantly broaden our offering of trusted global innovations to Indian consumers. This is powerfully supported by our unmatched scale, comprehensive service capabilities, and market-leading distribution network.”
The move aligns neatly with RRVL’s ambition of “democratising aspirational living.” With 19,000+ stores and 3 million merchants in its ecosystem, the company is now eyeing deep penetration of premium appliances into Indian homes.
Reliance Retail reported Rs 3.3 lakh crore in turnover and Rs 25,053 crore in EBITDA in FY25, maintaining its perch among the world’s fastest-growing retailers, according to Deloitte.
With Kelvinator’s legacy and Reliance’s distribution muscle, the group is betting big on middle India’s thirst for quality, affordability—and a bit of old-school cool.
Brands
Dabur buys minority stake in Ras Beauty for Rs 60 crore
Dabur Ventures deal backs fast-growing luxury skincare brand
MUMBAI: Dabur India Limited has dipped into the world of luxury skincare, signing a definitive agreement to acquire a minority stake in Ras Beauty Private Limited for Rs 60 crore. The investment marks the first bet from Dabur Ventures, the FMCG major’s Rs 500 crore platform set up in October 2025 to back high-potential, new-age direct-to-consumer brands.
Founded in Raipur by Shubhika Jain, her sister Suramya Jain and their mother Sangeeta Jain, Ras Beauty has grown from a family-led passion project into a fast-scaling “Farm-to-Face” skincare label. Its range of face elixirs, serums and moisturisers blends essential oils with nature-derived actives, striking a balance between botanical purity and laboratory precision.
The numbers tell their own story. Ras has clocked a three-year Cagr of around 75 per cent and an annual run rate of approximately Rs 100 crore, all while maintaining strong gross margins. That growth has been fuelled by a digital-first approach, in-house R&D and manufacturing, and a sharp focus on clean, sustainable sourcing.
Dabur India executive director and group head corporate strategy Abhinav Dhall, said the company was drawn to Ras’s distinct positioning at the intersection of nature, science and luxury. He added that the premium beauty segment is poised for robust expansion over the coming decade, and that Ras is well placed to capture that opportunity.
For Ras, the partnership is as much about scale as it is about shared philosophy. Co-founder and CEO Shubhika Jain said Dabur’s 141-year legacy of building trusted, purpose-led brands makes it a natural ally. The capital infusion, she noted, will help accelerate the brand’s omnichannel footprint, deepen research capabilities and invest in team and brand building, with an eye on establishing Ras as a leading Indian luxury skincare name both domestically and overseas.
With this move, Dabur is not just investing in a skincare label. It is placing an early wager on India’s growing appetite for premium, conscious beauty, and signalling that heritage FMCG players are ready to play in the new-age D2C arena.
