Mumbai
ITC sold the brand John Players and related trademarks and intellectual property to Reliance Retail as part of its restructuring plan, an ITCspokesperson said. The two companies, however, did not disclose the financial details of the deal.
It was earlier reported that Reliance bought the John Players brand and distribution rights through 750 stores, in addition to 65 exclusive franchise outlets, for an estimated Rs 150 crore ($21.79 million).
Earlier this month, sources said Reliance planned to grow the number of low-cost Reliance Trends fashion stores across India to 2,500 from 557 over the next five years and integrate them with its online business.
Reliance plans to diversify into e-commerce and expand in fashion as the conglomerate’s billionaire owner aims to grab a dominant share of Indian consumer spending in a struggle with rivals, particularly Amazon.com Inc and Walmart Inc’s Flipkart. Reliance shares climbed 1.6 percent while those of ITC were 0.95 percent lower in Mumbai trading.
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