Arvind Fashions Sells Unlimited Retail Business To V-Mart

V-Mart Retail Ltd. has agreed to acquire assets of Arvind Lifestyle Brands Ltd.’s ‘Unlimited’ business for about Rs 150 crore, expanding its presence to southern and western region in a hope to become a pan-India retailer.

As part of the deal, the wholly-owned subsidiary of Arvind Fashions Ltd. will sell fixed assets of all 74 stores and warehouses, leases, identified inventory, contracts, assigned trademarks and goodwill, and other current assets of the ‘Unlimited’ business, according to the parent’s exchange filing.

Arvind Lifestyle will also receive contingent payments based on certain milestones achieved by V-Mart over the next few years, post-acquisition of the assets. The transaction is expected to be completed in 60 days.

Arvind Fashions, according to a media statement, intends to utilise the amount for debt repayment and working capital purposes.

‘Unlimited’ sells fashion apparel and accessories for men, women and children at affordable prices. This business, the filing said, reported a turnover of Rs 289 crore and accounted for 25% of Arvind Lifestyle’s revenue and 13% of Arvind Fashions’ consolidated revenue in 2020-21.

The sale, the statement said, will help Arvind Fashions focus on its six “high conviction brands, including U.S. Polo Assn., Tommy Hilfiger, Arrow, Flying Machine, Calvin Klein and Sephora”.

Shailesh Chaturvedi, chief executive officer at Arvind Fashions, in the statement said, “We had created a scalable format with significant product capabilities in value retail. However, in line with our strategy of focusing on our six high-conviction brands, we decided to exit the business. This would help us put capital behind growing our six focus brands, helping generate significant shareholder value.”

According to Lalit Agarwal, managing director at V-Mart Retail, “the business had been turned around by Arvind Fashions, and fits well with our strategy of expanding our regional presence as well as adding capabilities in select categories”.

“Our combined strengths — V-Mart’s expertise in creating a scalable and profitable value fashion retailing business model, and Unlimited’s large presence in south India with strong fashion mindset and delivering a differentiated store experience to customers, provides a long runway for sustained stakeholder value creation, and will allow us to gain strategic insights and presence in this very attractive market,” Agarwal said.

Shares of Arvind Fashions ended 20% higher on Thursday, while V-Mart stock closed 2.6% up.