Reliance Brands plans to open Balenciaga store
03 December 2022, Mumbai
Reliance Brands plans to open a Balenciaga store in DLF Emporio Mall in New Delhi.
DLF runs Emporio Mall, a luxury shopping center that is home to dozens of ultra-luxury labels including Louis Vuitton, Bvlgari, Armani, Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo, and Versace.
Reliance Brands has signed a long-term franchisee agreement with French luxury group Kering to sell Balenciaga products in India. After Bottega Venta, Balenciaga is the second partnership for Reliance Brands with Kering, a French group that also owns luxury brands Gucci, Saint Laurent, and Alexander McQueen, among other labels.
Reliance Brands, the high-end fashion and lifestyle retailing unit of Reliance Retail, has in the 15 years of its existence marketed around 100 luxury and bridge-to-luxury global brands in India including Armani, Ermenegildo Zegna, Jimmy Choo, Salvatore Ferragamo, Burberry, and Bottega Veneta.
Earlier this week, Balenciaga sparked a heavy global backlash from consumers and from social media users for referencing child pornography and featuring child models alongside fetish-themed teddy bears.
The controversial ads also came under attack from Balenciaga’s brand ambassador Kim Kardashian who said she was shaken by the French brand’s latest commercials’ disturbing images.
The spots were created to advertise the French luxury brand’s spring 2023 activewear brand in collaboration with Adidas. The backlash has forced Balenciaga to remove the controversial ads from its website.
