AB Fashion in talks with RIL and Maker group to open Saks stores

Saks sells luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Giorgio Armani, and Tod's

After bagging franchisee rights for US-based luxury department store chain Saks Fifth Avenue, Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail, part of Aditya Birla group, has started scouting for properties for Saks stores.

Saks, owned by Hudson's Bay Co, sells luxury brands such as Jimmy Choo, Giorgio Armani, and Tod’s, besides premium brands such as Fila and Puma. The chain has stores in US, Europe and West Asia.

Aditya Birla Fashion & Retail has held talks with Mukesh Ambani’s Reliance Industries (RIL), property developer Maker Group and Oberoi Realty to open its stores in their upcoming malls in Mumbai, a source in the know said.

Both Birla and Saks have not made any official announcement on the tie up so far.

All the three companies are opening luxury malls in Mumbai — RIL and Maker in Bandra Kurla Complex (BKC) and Oberoi Realty in Worli area of Mumbai.
 

Recently, a team from the chain met the developers for negotiations, sources said. Saks is looking to open stores of 100,000 sq ft.

Saks Fifth Avenue is looking to open couple of stores in Mumbai and Delhi and then expand further. It is believed to be opening its store in Bharti Realty’s Worldmark 2 complex in News Delhi’s Aerocity.

A Saks spokesperson said: “We don't comment on rumours or speculation.” A mail sent to Aditya Birla and RIL spokespersons did not elicit any response. US-based property consultant CBRE, which is acting as real estate agent for Saks, could not be reached for comments.

RIL is building a luxury mall of 'substantial size' in its convention centre project in BKC. Maker group, which has a joint venture with Reliance for the Maker Maxity commercial complex in BKC, is also looking to build a luxury mall in the locality, said a source. The group is developing the mall as part of its MGM Bellagio hotel project there. Maker could not be reached for comments.

Oberoi Realty is looking to build a 500,000 sq ft luxury mall in the city's Prabhadevi area. Aditya Birla has a luxury department chain, The Collective, and has stores in Bengaluru, Chennai, Gurugram and other cities in the country.