Reliance Brands Ltd, a part of Reliance Industries’ retail arm Reliance Retail Ventures is said to be in talks to buy Alia Bhatt’s kidswear brand ‘Ed-A-Mamma’ for around Rs 300-350 crores with the deal being said to be in the final stages. The acquisition is said to strengthen Reliance’s children’s wear portfolio which currently includes Reliance Trends and Indian branch of ‘Mothercare’.
Ed-a-Mamma is owned by Eternalia Creative and Merchandising, in which Alia Bhatt is a director. The brand was started in 2020 and focuses on sustainable and comfortable clothing for children by using certain types of fabrics at an affordable rate. The kidswear brand dominantly operates online but recently it also started selling through some big retail companies. Last year, the brand also extended its product line to maternity clothing.
Commenting on her plans for Ed-a-Mamma for the next 2-3 years, Alia had told news agency PTI last year, “I would like to expand more into the infant segment. I would like to even add more vertical categories in and around the space of family care.”
Reliance Brands Ltd which was established in 2007 has collaborated with almost 50 international brands and operates over 2000 stores in India. It has partnerships with several noted international brands in luxury, and other segments such as Armani Exchange, Burberry, Bally, Bottega Veneta, Canali, Diesel, Dune, Hamleys, Emporio Armani, Ferragamo, GAS, Giorgio Armani, Jimmy Choo, Kate Spade, Marks and Spencer, and Micheal Kors, among others.
Recently, Reliance Retails has made many attempts to increase their share in the online retail market. The brand is also in talks to bring back Shein, a Chinese fast fashion brand which was banned in 2020 post border tensions. However, this deal is said to be stringent in spite of Reliance getting the approval of the Indian government. The deal will include the clause that in order to sell the clothes in India, Shein will have to set up a manufacturing plant in India.