Flipkart Looking to Buy Manufacturing & Distribution Rights of Wrangler, Lee in India

• Over the past few months, Flipkart is heavily investing in offline retailers to strengthen its roots in the retail and fashion sector.
• Earlier this month, Flipkart had also announced a 'House of Brands' initiative to bring together all its fashion subsidiaries under one umbrella.

After a couple of acquisitions in recent months, Walmart-owned Flipkart is now looking for manufacturing and distribution rights of Kontoor Brand's Wrangler and Lee in India.

Kontoor Brands is a global lifestyle apparel company, with a portfolio of some of the world's most iconic denim brands: Wrangler and Lee.

Over the past few months, Flipkart is heavily investing in offline retailers to strengthen its roots in the retail and fashion sector. Flipkart is already ahead of the rest in e-commerce fashion and the idea is to get bigger.

Earlier in July, the company invested Rs 260 Crore for a minority stake in Arvind Fashions’ (AFL) subsidiary Arvind Youth Brands, which owns the Flying Machine brand.

If Flipkart’s talks with Kontoor Brands fall in place, the apparel brands that would be under its roof are Calvin Klein, Tommy Hilfiger, US Polo Assn, Ed Hardy, Hanes, Arrow, Gant, Flying Machine, Nautica along with Lee and Wrangler.

Also read: Zomato To Charge Zero Commission On Takeaway Service From Restaurants

In Octobera also, Flipkart investment arm, Flipkart Investment Pvt. Ltd., said they will be buying a 7.8% stake in Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Ltd. for Rs 1,500 crore.

Flipkart has followed an acquisition strategy for other brands and verticals in the past as well in order to expand its operations and leverage strategic partnerships to keep its cost structures lean and scale rapidly. 

On November 6, Flipkart participated in the Universal Sportsbiz Series F funding round. The round also saw participation from Accel Partners.

Flipkart's latest acquisitions include augmented reality startup Scapic, Bangalore-based gaming startup Mech Mocha.

Follow IndianStartupNews on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter for the latest updates from the startup ecosystem.