NEW DELHI : Iconix Lifestyle India Private Limited, a joint venture between homegrown Reliance Brands Limited (RBL) and American firm Iconix Brand Group Inc, on Wednesday announced the acquisition of IP rights of British brand Lee Cooper for the Indian market.
The JV, Iconix Lifestyle, will not operate any stores but instead appoint a local licensor to operate Lee Cooper stores as well as run the brand's online operations in the country. Lee Cooper, the original British denim brand, was founded in London in 1908.
Reliance Retail is likely to be the local licensor partner of the over 100-year-old-brand that sells apparel for men, women and children, footwear, bags, accessories, watches and other products, said a top executive at Iconix Lifestyle India.
“We will work with a partner whom we will give a long-term license to and then that partner will operate, of course in collaboration with us. In all likelihood Reliance Retail, which is independent of Iconix, would be a partner," said Darshan Mehta, managing director, RBL and director on the Board of Iconix Lifestyle India Private Limited.
To be sure, the Iconix Lifestyle India joint venture owns rights to almost two dozen fashion and home brands from the Iconix Brand Group’s global portfolio for the Indian territory. These are across fashion, lifestyle and home categories and include brands like Candie’s, Bongo, Badgley Mischka, Rampage, Mudd, Danskin, Ecko Unltd., Ocean Pacific, London Fog, Starter, Ed Hardy, Joe Boxer, Umbro, Rocawear, Artful Dodger and Marc, among others. It typically works by handing out long-term licenses to local partners and earns a royalty income in turn.
In all, these brands are sold across 2,500 points of sales.
The acquisition of IP for Lee Cooper will allow Iconix Lifestyle India to expand the brand’s presence in India by enabling distribution across all retail channels and strengthening marketing and brand management, the JV partners said in a statement to the press.
“Gaining Lee Cooper’s IP rights aligns with our long-term strategic approach to growing our brand presence in India," said Bob Galvin, chief executive officer and president, Iconix Brand Group Inc and director on the Board of Iconix Lifestyle India Private Limited.
Interestingly, Future Lifestyle Fashions held the distribution rights for brand Lee Cooper in India. It already had over 400 points of sales in the country and these will be reassessed by the new local partner. However, the license agreement between the global owner, that is, Iconix Brand Group and Future Lifestyle Fashions stands terminated.
Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd had, last year in August, said it will acquire Future Group's retail and wholesale businesses, as well as other assets for more than ₹24,000 crore. The deal, contested by Amazon, is still pending.
Lee Cooper is currently present in 126 countries, and retails across 7,000 points of sale.
In India, Lee Cooper competes with other denim brands such as Flying Machine, Levi’s, Spykar and Numero Uno.
Globally, the denim market was valued at $21.8 billion in 2020. It is expected to increase to over $ 26 billion by 2026. The retail sale of denim or blue jeans is projected to reach $71.8 billion by 2027, according to industry estimates.
Mehta said the consumer shift towards denim, casual athleisure, and dressing down are the "big" trends post-covid. “Within those, denims has had a very major powerful play," he said.
The move to acquire Lee Cooper IP comes as Reliance Brands Ltd has been on a portfolio expansion spree. It is already home to more than 60 brands, a majority of them international. It has a retail footprint of 595 stores and 744 shop-in-shops in India. Earlier this month, RBL agreed to buy a 40% stake in MM Styles Pvt. Ltd, owned by homegrown designer Manish Malhotra.
Days later, Reliance Retail Ventures Ltd announced it had acquired 52% equity in India's oldest fashion house Ritu Kumar. The two investments point to a growing consolidation in the fashion industry, parts of which were significantly impacted during the pandemic year last fiscal.
Iconix Brand markets, merchandises and licenses brands in fashion, accessories, sports and home segments. It has over 1,100 licenses with retailers and manufacturers worldwide that sell across various distribution channels. Globally, it owns brand Lee Cooper and works with 40 licensee partners internationally.
