Zara shuts its iconic flagship store in Mumbai, new tenant Purple Style Labs to pay rent of Rs 10 lakh a day

Spanish fashion brand Zara has shut its flagship store in South Mumbai’s historic Ismail Building, paving the way for luxury chain Purple Style Labs to lease around 60,000 square feet of retail space in the Edwardian-era property near Flora Fountain.

The annual rent for the new tenant’s five-year lease stands at Rs 36 crore in the first year, eventually climbing to Rs 45.6 crore in the fifth year, according to property registration documents obtained by Propstack. That translates to roughly Rs 10 lakh per day for Purple Style Labs, which specializes in high-end designer labels under Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop brand.

According to the property records, Purple Style Labs will pay a total rent of Rs 206 crore over five years.

Before closing on Feb. 23, Zara had occupied about 51,300 square feet in the neoclassical building for nine years, on a 21-year lease it registered in 2016. However, property records show the apparel giant opted to exit early.

The reasons for the closure remain speculative, but retail experts suggest a combination of high rent, foot traffic shifts, and the brand’s other prominent locations—like the Palladium Mall in Lower Parel—may have made the South Mumbai site less viable over time.

“Nine years is a reasonable period to assess whether the store is financially sustainable in South Mumbai,” a retail consultant told HT.com. “The demographic who can afford Zara has mostly shifted to central Mumbai, especially in Worli and Lower Parel, where they’re likely shopping at Palladium Mall.”

While Zara still retains multiple stores in Mumbai—including sites at Palladium Mall, Phoenix Market City in Kurla, Oberoi Mall in Goregaon, and Infinity 2 Mall in Malad—this departure underscores the evolving landscape of premium retail destinations in the city.

Meanwhile, Purple Style Labs, founded by Abhishek Agarwal in 2015, stands to expand significantly by taking over the space vacated by Zara. Documents show Purple Style Labs will pay Rs 3 crore a month in the first year, escalating to Rs 3.8 crore per month in the fifth year, with a security deposit of Rs 18 crore.

Through Pernia’s Pop-Up Shop, Purple Style Labs carries lines from well-known designers including Tarun Tahiliani, Falguni Shane Peacock, Amit Aggarwal, and Gaurav Gupta, among others.